Best Man Speech Examples: Funny, Short & Heartfelt Templates

A good best man speech is 3 to 5 minutes long, roasts the groom gently, then turns sincere and finishes with a toast to the couple. The jokes get the room on your side; the last minute is what people remember.

This guide gives you a timed structure, a fill-in template, three complete best man speech examples (funny, heartfelt and short), a joke bank with clear limits, and delivery tips for the night itself. Every example is original and written with [Name] placeholders, so you can adapt the shape without sounding like a copy of someone else’s speech.

What the best man speech has to do

You are the groom’s representative, and your speech has four jobs:

1. Introduce yourself and how you know the groom.
2. Show the room who he is, usually through a couple of well-chosen stories.
3. Celebrate his partner and the relationship, not just the groom.
4. Lead the toast to the couple.

Some best men also thank the bridesmaids or the couple on behalf of the wedding party, especially if the groom has thanked them first. Ask the groom whether he wants you to, so you are not doubling up.

Where the best man speaks in the Australian order

The usual order at an Australian reception is the father of the bride, then the father of the groom if he is speaking, then the best man, then the maid of honour, and finally the couple. That puts you in the middle of the speeches, when the room is warmed up and ready to laugh. Our wedding speech order guide covers the common variations, including weddings where the best man and maid of honour speak together.

Being third or fourth also means you should check what the parents are saying. If the father of the bride or the father of the groom already has the childhood story about the groom, you do not want to tell it again.

Best man speech structure (with timings)

Section	What to cover	Time
1. Opening	Who you are, a quick line to settle the room	20 to 30 seconds
2. The groom	Two or three short stories that show his character	90 seconds to 2 minutes
3. The turn	One sincere line that shifts the tone	10 to 15 seconds
4. The partner	What changed when they met, what you admire in them	45 to 60 seconds
5. The toast	Ask guests to stand, raise glasses, say both names	15 to 20 seconds

That lands at 3 to 4.5 minutes. The average English speaker talks at about 150 words per minute, and slightly slower is easier to follow (Tools for Clear Speech, Baruch College), so with pauses for laughs, plan on about 130 words per minute.

Fill-in-the-blank best man speech template

Good evening, everyone. For those who don’t know me, I’m [Your name], and I’ve known [Groom] since [how you met]. I’ve been his [friend / brother] for [number] years, which means I’ve had [number] years of material, and about four minutes to use it.

[Story 1: a quick, funny story that shows a trait, e.g. how competitive / disorganised / loyal he is.]

[Story 2: a second story, ideally showing the same trait from a different angle, or his good side.]

But here’s the thing about [Groom]. [The turn: one sincere sentence about what kind of person he really is.]

When he met [Partner], [what changed in him]. [Partner], [what you admire about them, specifically]. [One line about them as a couple.]

So please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

Best man speech examples

1. Funny best man speech (about 4 minutes)

Good evening, everyone. For those who don’t know me, I’m [Your name], and I’ve been [Groom]’s best mate since Year 7, when he sat next to me in maths and copied my answers for a full term. We both failed. That’s the kind of friendship we have: loyal, but not especially smart.

I want to start by saying how good [Groom] looks tonight. Honestly, mate, you scrub up well. It’s a big improvement on the last formal event we attended together, which was his Year 12 formal, where he wore his dad’s suit, his dad’s shoes, and a tie he’d borrowed from my mum.

[Groom] is the most competitive man I’ve ever met. Board games, footy tipping, who can finish a parma fastest. When we were twenty-two, he challenged me to a fun run. He trained for six weeks. He bought new shoes. He told everyone. On the day, he sprinted the first kilometre, overtook me, waved, and then had to sit down on a kerb for twenty minutes. I finished. He got a sausage in bread from a volunteer. He still claims he “won the experience”.

He’s also, and I say this with love, not a natural planner. For his twenty-fifth he booked a weekend away for six of us. It was a great house. It was also in a different state from the one he’d told us. We found out at the airport.

So, when he told me he’d organised a proposal, I was worried. Then I heard [Partner] had planned the date, the restaurant and the backup plan for rain, and I knew it was going to be fine.

But here’s the thing about [Groom]. Under all the chaos, he’s the most reliable person I know. When my dad was sick, [Groom] drove me to the hospital every weekend for two months and never once made it a big deal. That’s who he is when it counts.

And then he met [Partner]. Overnight, he started replying to messages. He owns a calendar now. He’s been on time to three things this year, including today. [Partner], you are smart, you are funny, and you’re clearly very, very patient. You’ve made my best mate the happiest I’ve ever seen him, and we’re all grateful. Mostly for the calendar.

So please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

2. Heartfelt best man speech (about 4 minutes)

Good evening, everyone. I’m [Your name], [Groom]’s [brother / oldest friend]. I’m not much of a public speaker, so I’ve kept my notes on cards and my jokes to a minimum. You’re welcome.

I’ve known [Groom] for [number] years. We met at [place], and within a week he’d lent me his car, his couch and a fair bit of money I’m not sure I ever paid back. That’s [Groom]. He gives first and asks questions later, if he asks at all.

When I moved to [city] for work and didn’t know anyone, he called every Sunday night. Not to talk about anything in particular. Just to check. Over a year, I think he missed two. I didn’t realise at the time how much those calls held me together, and I’ve never properly thanked him. So, mate: thank you.

I’ll tell you when I knew [Partner] was the one. It wasn’t when [Groom] told me he was in love, though he did that, at length. It was a Tuesday night, at their place, when [Groom] was telling a long, rambling story, and I looked over and [Partner] was watching him like it was the best story she’d ever heard. It wasn’t. But she meant it. And he looked back at her the same way.

[Partner], you’ve brought out a calm in him that I didn’t know was there. You make him laugh, you make him think, and you make him want to be home. Thank you for loving my friend the way you do.

To both of you: I hope you always look at each other like you did that Tuesday night.

Please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

3. Short best man speech (about 90 seconds)

Good evening, everyone. I’m [Your name], and I’ve been [Groom]’s best mate for [number] years. I was told to keep this short, which is lucky, because most of my best stories about [Groom] can’t be told in front of his nan.

What I can tell you is that he’s the person you call when your car breaks down at midnight, and he’ll pick up on the first ring and complain the whole way there.

[Partner], we’ve all noticed how much happier he’s been since you came along. You’re clearly the best decision he’s ever made, and he’s made some questionable ones.

Please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

For more brief formats, see our guide to short wedding speeches.

If the groom is your brother

Swap the friendship origin story for a family one, and use the extra history:

• “I’ve known [Groom] his whole life, which means I was there for the bowl haircut, the frosted tips, and the year he insisted on being called ‘Dazza’.”
• “Growing up, we shared a bedroom, a bike and, for one long summer, a pair of thongs. I’m happy to say tonight he’s gone and found someone to share the rest of his life with instead.”
• “Mum and Dad always said we’d look after each other one day. Tonight I get to hand that job to someone far better at it.”

A best man joke bank (with limits)

Openers

• “For those who don’t know me, I’m [Name]. For those who do know me, I’m sorry in advance.”
• “I’ve been asked to keep this clean, so it’s going to be short.”
• “[Groom] asked me to say a few words. I’ve picked ‘punctual’, ‘organised’ and ‘humble’, so the rest of the speech is going to be pure fiction.”

Gentle roasts

• “[Groom] is a man of many talents. None of them are cooking.”
• “He’s always been generous. Mostly with other people’s chips.”
• “He has a great sense of direction. Unfortunately it’s mostly in the wrong one.”

The turn to sincere

• “But if I’m honest, and it is a wedding, so I have to be…”
• “Jokes aside, I need to tell you what kind of mate he really is.”

About the partner

• “[Partner] is the best thing that has ever happened to him, and she knows it, and he knows it, and now all of you know it.”
• “Since [Partner] arrived, his wardrobe has improved, his cooking has improved, and his taste in friends has stayed exactly the same.”

Toasts

• “To the couple: may your love be modern enough to survive the times, and old-fashioned enough to last forever.”
• “To [Groom] and [Partner]. Mate, you married up.”

What not to joke about

• Past partners, in any form.
• Anything from the bucks party. What happened on the bucks stays there.
• Money, weight, religion or family conflict.
• Anything that needs the line “you had to be there”.

The test is simple: if the groom’s grandmother would not laugh, and the partner would not want it repeated, cut it.

How to write jokes that actually land

• Be specific. “He’s always late” gets a polite smile. “He was late to his own 30th, which he hosted, at his own house” gets a laugh.
• Use the rule of three. Two normal items, then a surprise: “He’s loyal, generous and still owes me forty dollars.”
• Plant a callback. Mention a detail early (the calendar, the fun run) and bring it back in the final minute. Callbacks make a speech feel written, not improvised.
• Pause after the punchline. Count two beats before your next line, or you will talk over your own laugh.

Delivery tips that help on the night

Mic and notes

• Hold the mic a fist-width below your chin and keep it there when you turn to look at the couple. Drifting the mic down to your chest is the most common reason a speech goes quiet.
• If you get feedback, step back from the speakers instead of covering the mic.
• Use numbered palm cards with large type, held in your free hand at chest height. A phone screen will dim or lock just as you reach your best line.
• Underline the setup of each joke and write “PAUSE” after the punchline.

Timing around the run sheet

• Confirm with the MC when speeches start and where you are in the order. Speeches often happen between courses, so know which course you are after. Our wedding run sheet guide shows the usual slots.
• Pace your drinks. One before you speak is fine. The best man who has had five is the one people talk about the next day for the wrong reasons.
• Make sure glasses are topped up before your toast, and tell guests clearly when to stand.

The photo booth, the audio guestbook and the wedding party

Speeches are a natural pause in the night. If there is a photo booth in the room, ask for it to pause while you speak so the studio light and print noise are not competing with your punchlines, and make sure it is not set up directly behind the head table. Once the formalities finish, it is the obvious place to drag the whole wedding party for a group shot. Ghost Booth Events booths use face-detection printing, so the booth prints one copy per person in the shot and every groomsman walks away with a strip.

Two photo strips with a custom monogram design, one of the print formats the booth produces.

The bits of your speech you had to cut can still find a home. An audio guestbook is a vintage-style phone where guests pick up the handset, hear a greeting and leave a message after the beep, with no limit on length. After the speeches, round up the groomsmen and leave the couple the extended version, or the one story that was not quite right for the microphone but is perfect for them to hear the next morning.

A black audio guestbook phone with its instruction sign, set up on a side table by a window.

Read our audio guestbook message ideas if you want something to say beyond “congrats, mate”.

Common best man speech mistakes

• Making it about you. Two sentences on how you met is enough. The rest is about the groom and his partner.
• Forgetting the partner. A best man speech that never mentions the person the groom just married is a roast, not a wedding speech.
• Running long. Five minutes is plenty. Ten minutes is a hostage situation.
• Copying a speech from the internet word for word. Someone in the room will have read it.
• No ending. “Anyway, yeah, cheers” is not a toast. Write the last line out in full.
• Winging it after a few drinks. Write it, rehearse it out loud three times, and time it.

The other speeches on the night

Coordinate with the maid of honour so you do not tell overlapping stories. If she is a friend of the bride, our maid of honour speech for a best friend guide is worth sending her. The groom speech examples and mother of the bride speech guides cover the rest of the line-up.

Planning a reception with a photo booth or audio guestbook in Melbourne? Ghost Booth Events can help. Send your date and venue through our enquiry form and we will reply with options.

Best man speech questions