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Best Man Speech Jokes
The duties of a "best man" in a wedding party have evolved greatly over the years. Today, his jobs include hosting a Bachelor Party, holding onto the rings during the service, and more. It's also his responsibility (and honor) to give a speech and toast the newly married couple at the wedding reception.
To properly toast the couple, the best man should first stand up. He'll then need to get the attention of the room before he proceeds farther. The best man can do this by raising a filled glass and lightly "tinking" it with his metal spoon or fork. Once the crowd has quieted down, he should announce to the wedding party and to the guests that he would like to make a toast. {GoogleAd1}
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Best Man Jokes
You will note that these Best Man jokes are short one-liners which are a far safer option to use in your Best Man speech as long meandering jokes are generally not as well-received. If your speech is littered with short jokes then you should be assured of consistent laughs throughout your speech. Let us not forget the most morale-boosting tonic to anyone giving a Best Man speech is the sound of glee and amusement of the Wedding Guests.
- I can honestly say in all our years of friendship, I have never heard anyone question John’s intelligence, to be perfectly honest I never heard anyone even mention any intelligence on John’s part.
- John it’s alright muttering a few words in the church and finding yourself married, but if you mutter a few words in your sleep you might find yourself divorced.
- Ladies and Gentlemen, if there is anybody here who is feeling, worried, nervous or apprehensive it is probably because you just married John.
- I’ve know John a long time and am considered a bit of a father figure to him. I have watched him crawl around on his knees, drink from a bottle and I’ve cleaned up after him but enough about the Bachelor Party.
- A lady once said to her friend, “It is I who made my husband a millionaire”, the friend was impressed and asked what he was before he married her, to which she replied, “a multi-millionaire”.
Using Best Man Speech Jokes
The first rule of best man jokes is to always keep it clean. No matter how much you may think the groom will find it funny to tell crude jokes, curse, or say anything that could be offensive to anyone present at the wedding reception, you should leave it out.
Ask yourself if what you are going to say would be suitable for any children present, not to mention grand parents. And make sure you say nothing that could cause offence to the bride, her parents or the groom's parents either.
The way to approach humor in a best man speech is to think of any stories or circumstances that might be funny if told in the right way. You can easily embellish any story to make it funnier, but starting with a story based on fact can be helpful for your own thought processes.
Delivery of any kind of humor depends to a great extent on two things; one is familiarity with your material so you feel confident with it; the other is to project yourself well and your timing. If people laugh, even if it wasn't when you anticipated, pause to let them quieten down again before continuing, and enjoy the moment too.
And if the wedding guests don't find your style of humor funny, then just move on and don't worry about it. However, they are more than likely to be receptive to your best man jokes and you'll find it a great confidence booster.
The Speach
Public speaking is one of society’s most prominent phobias, but a joke can break the ice into a meaningful best man toast. Many groomsmen opt for jokes in their speeches because they may be uncomfortable expressing their heartfelt wishes for the happy couple, but gentle humor shows affection, acceptance, and appreciation. A joke can be used to open a speech, as part of a humorous anecdote, or as a whimsical close after a moving oration.
First, the best man needs to decide if a joke is a good element for his speech. Weddings that work well with lighthearted speeches include…
- Small, casual weddings with only close family and friends.
- Weddings for a fun-loving couple that enjoys humor in their relationship.
- Weddings when both families already know each other well and are comfortable lowering their guard.
Weddings where jokes may not be as acceptable include…
- Formal affairs with prestigious guests and lengthy guest lists.
- Weddings with couples who are more reserved and proper in their demeanor.
- Weddings where the families have only recently met and may not be familiar with each other’s foibles.
Once a best man has determined if jokes will be welcome in his speech, he has to be sure the jokes will be suitable.
Inappropriate Jokes
Certain types of jokes are more appropriate than others, and often it can be easier to discern what is not suitable. Vulgar or ribald jokes with adult content or foul language are best left unspoken or restricted to an intimate party (the bachelor party, perhaps), and not in front of parents, siblings, coworkers, and friends. No joke should be at the expense of either the groom’s or bride’s dignity and well-being. While some mild embarrassment can be funny, a private embarrassment – perhaps an incident that was shared in confidence between two close friends – should be kept private. Any racial, ethnic, or social slur jokes should be dismissed, because while some guests may find them amusing, others may find them offensive.
Appropriate Jokes
There are many types of appropriate best man speech jokes, however. Gentle jabs at the groom’s quirks or a reference to how he’s lucky to have found a doting bride to deal with his eccentricities can elicit smiles from the happy couple. Recounting a well-known humorous story – one that has been frequently shared before but that everyone attending the festivities may not have heard – is another funny option. General jokes about marriage are nearly always appropriate, so long as they are in good taste, though no joke should refer to paying off wedding bills, honeymoon intimacy, or hurrying to start a family.
The Power of Humor
Using jokes in a speech is a great way to get families and friends to open up to one another, creating a new level of friendship at what is already a happy event. Jokes also show a person’s humanity and keep an event real rather than creating a fantasy world that a newlywed couple cannot hope to continue past their honeymoon. Inappropriate humor, however, can cast a sour mood over an event, ostracize the best man, and alienate the newlyweds’ families, not to mention destroy the relationship that led the groom to ask the best man to stand with him in the first place.
When a Joke Goes Wrong
Different people have different ideas of what is funny, and if a joke goes wrong all is not necessarily lost. The best course of action when considering best man speech jokes is to ask the bride and groom if they mind a joke or two, and if they are nervous about the prospect, share the joke with them for their approval first. After all, they will understand the guests better than the bridal party can, and their judgment can help determine what is acceptable.
When a joke is poorly received, the first thing the best man ought to do is simply move on. Trying to salvage humor that no one finds humorous will only accentuate the faux pas. Any additional jokes should be stricken from the speech just in case they, too, could be considered offensive – the best man’s judgment is obviously off already and it is best not to take additional risks. After the speech, the best man should privately apologize to the offended parties, whether it is the happy couple themselves, their parents, or other guests. The apology needn’t be extensive, but a simple and sincere comment will be appreciated, and likely the offended individual will soon be able to see the best man’s point of view and the humor in the speech, even if they still disagree with it.
Appropriately chosen best man speech jokes can be a great tool to enhance either a lighthearted or a heartfelt toast to the bride and groom. A newlywed couple, after all, must be able to keep a sense of humor to help their marriage succeed.