In a rather lovely turn of events… ohh god, “rather lovely”, I can’t say that… in fact I’m not sure what I want to say about what it is that I want to say something about, bear with me.
The basic facts are thus; my good friend Stuart is getting hitched, he phoned me last week and asked me to be his best man. Simple enough.
It’s going to be a small and informal affair, with close friends and family only on the day itself (a Friday), and a larger reception on the Sunday evening. I’m truly honoured to be asked, as I’ve known Stuart for .. blimey.. 17 years. We met at Hospital Radio Lennox, as we were both completing our Queens badge for the Boys Brigade. A lot has changed since then, and we’ve been through our share of turbulent times but it’s always the same when we meet up. Comfortable and familiar. And yes, that’s a good thing.
The wedding day entails a civil ceremony, with a following ‘dinner’ in the Two Fat Ladies restaurant that he and his partner keep raving about. There won’t be the usual round of speeches, so from that point of view I get off the hook a little. I’ve still to discuss the stag night with him mind you…
Despite the ‘informal’ (non-traditional) stance, I do want to say a few words though, but it won’t be in the format of a ‘typical’ Best Man speech, mainly because everyone in attendance already knows most of the embarassing stories about Stuart, and the few that remain I can’t repeat in front of his mother… although I’m guessing that she knows them already.
However I would like to say something… so any suggestions are welcomed.
Ultimately it’s an honour and a pleasure to be able to stand up and congratulate the happy couple. Ohhh, I should just say that, right? Yes, that’d do the trick.
“It’s an honour and a pleasure to be able stand up and congratulate you both. To Stuart and Alan, the happy couple!”
Well that’s the ending nailed… maybe I should open with that story about him and the nurse…
I’m going to be giving a short speech at a friend’s wedding this weekend. It’s only going to be a few minutes long at most.
I’m planning to open with a silly joke that will probably not get any laughs. I’ll then move on to mildly humourous anecdotes of how I met the both of them, that I’ve been lucky to call them friends, and that I wish them all the best. Then I’m going to drink until I can’t remember what I said.
The only advise I can give, which is what I’m trying to keep in mind while coming up with my speech, is to keep it fairly concise and try to keep inside jokes out of it. You want it to be interesting for everyone, not just you and the couple.
Good luck!
I would agree with Rob. Keep things general. If you had to be there to find it funny, then best to leave it out. I’ve been to many a wedding and nothing is more boring to a guest than feeling left out. Also, don’t embarass yourself, keep it classy and you’ll be a star.
Yeah I’m leaning towards a nice simple, short, speech. A few words, a toast and then I’ll sit on my bum..