New Jersey wedding photographer, Vanessa Joy shares with us her advice on writing your best man/maid of honor wedding speeches.

“As a NJ Wedding Photographer, I hear A LOT of speeches at weddings. Good ones, bad ones and really, really bad ones. But my favorite maid of honor speeches and best man speeches are the ones that I can almost literally say right along with the person giving them. Holy Google Batman – you didn’t even try.

Now giving a speech at a wedding is not an easy task. We’re not all meant to be public speakers and considering that wedding speeches are normally given after cocktail hour, you’ve got to add the hurdle that the speech giver has probably been drinking considerably right before his speech.

Regardless, I think it’s fun to know whether or not your BM / MoH had to reach out for extra help to create their memorable moment for your wedding day. Here’s a list of the most common copied speech lines I’ve heard at weddings that’ll be a dead giveaway your friend Googled their speech.

•    Jane (bride), place your hand flat on the table, John (groom), place your hand directly on top of Jane’s. Great – now John, I want you to make the most of this moment, it’s the last time you’ll have the upper hand…”
Such a corny joke but I do have to admit, for those that haven’t heard it before, it usually does get some laughter!

•    “I hope that today, your wedding day, is the day that you love each other the least”
This one is the WORST one because it takes people a second to realize what the speech giver is saying. OOooooohhh, you meant that you hope they’ll fall in love with each other more and more as time goes on…oh…I get it. {Insert slow, awkward clap here}

•    “Here’s to love, laughter and happily ever after.”
Now who doesn’t love a good Dr. Seuss rhyme? The bride and groom can hang this one-liner right next to their “Live, Laugh Love” sign.

•    “I’ve known the groom for 10 years. John is smart, funny, good-looking and…. Wait…John I can’t read your handwriting on this last one.”
Yup, because the groom wrote the best man’s speech for him. {Insert joke drum beat here.} Does work for a chuckle or two from the crowd though.

•    “I’m so happy to have been chosen as the best man because it means that John has finally admitted that I am the better man.”
It is sometimes a good sign, though, when a speech is started out like this because you know that the rest of the speech is going to be a good old-fashioned roast!

So what does work when you’re trying to figure out how to write a best man speech? Three pieces of advice will get you a long way.
1. Be Short
Guests just want to stop standing there with a glass in their hand and get back to drinking, eating and dancing. Your speech will also probably not be the only one so if you take ten minutes, and the next person takes another ten, that’s a long time for guests to stand and listen to people talk. Hey, they were already at church that day right?

2. Be Yourself
If you’re a sappy person, then let the tears flow. If you’re the class clown, then this stage should be no exception. Create a memory for the bride and groom that is representative of your actual relationship together and you can’t go wrong.

3. Be Honoring
Every one loves a good roast, but limit your embarrassing stories to just one for this occasion. Not only will it keep the elegance of the event in tact, but it’ll help you stick to Rule #1 and too much of a funny thing just isn’t funny if it’s overdone.

Not to fret, however, if you have to write a best man’s speech. There are services out there to help you write an amazing wedding speech with a more personal touch like hiring Patricia at www.bestmanspeechwriter.com. It might be just the thing to help you compose one of the best best man or maid of honor speeches ever!”