Best Man Tips

Jokes

There are (at least) four types of joke that can be included in a wedding speech: jokes you tell, jokes at someone's expense, spoofs, and 'oops, that's not part of my speech'. We'll look at all of these.

Jokes you tell

Let's face it: some people are good at telling jokes, and some just aren't. Which are you? If you are not a natural joke-teller, it might be a mistake simply to lift a joke from a website or repeat one you have heard somewhere before, as you may not tell it well enough to get a laugh. Nothing falls flatter than a badly told joke.

Jokes at someone's expense

The rule about this is quite simple: don't make jokes at someone else's expense. Don't even make jokes that someone might think was at their expense. So, for example, you don't go to the reception with this great joke about two fat ladies, because, guess what? - the bride's two great-aunts are there, and yes, they're both very large ladies. There goes the joke that you thought would be the highlight of your speech.

Of course, an exception to the general rule about not making jokes at anyone's expense is the best man's speech. The best man is usually expected to make fun of the bridegroom and to tell jokes at his expense. But don't let it get out of hand: a little light-hearted banter is one thing, but making the groom look a complete fool is quite another.

Spoofs

Perhaps you could introduce into your speech something that relates to the groom's employment. For example, for a teacher, write an amusing report card about them. For a doctor read out a 'prescription for a happy marriage'; similarly for a cook, there could be a 'recipe for a happy marriage'. For a lawyer or a trade union official, you could read their 'marriage contract'. For a lawyer, a police officer, or a prison officer, you could read out their 'sentence'. And so on.

Oops, that's not part of my speech

As an example of this, the best man might address the bridegroom as follows:

John, I've known you a long time, and I probably know you better than almost anyone else here. What can I say about you? Turn over to what should be the next sheet of your notes. You're nothing but an ignorant, two-faced, conniving, free-loading waste of space. Pause to look at notes, confused. Oh, no, wait a minute. That's not part of my speech. That's a letter I wrote to my mayor. Turn over to next sheet. What I meant to say was: John, you're a really great guy...

It's not exactly a new and original idea, but if acted out properly, it can raise a laugh.