Best man speech opening lines
The first sentence of your speech is doing more work than you realize. Before you say your second word, the room has already decided something: is this person comfortable up here? Is this worth paying attention to? A strong opener answers both questions before you've gotten to your story.
Below are fifteen opening lines specifically for best men, grouped loosely by tone. Take the one that fits your relationship, your material, and how you actually talk. Then change whatever you need to make it yours.
Skip the apology
"For those who don't know me..." "I'll keep this brief..." "Bear with me, I'm not great at public speaking..." All of these signal to the room that you are apologizing before you have said anything worth apologizing for. Start with the story, or the observation, or the laugh. Context can come later.
Confident and direct
These drop the room straight into the friendship. They establish who you are and how long you have known him before the second sentence.
“I've known Marcus for twenty-two years. And in that time, I have watched him be wrong about exactly two things: the 2019 playoff odds, and the idea that a person like Ellie would ever fall for a person like him. Turns out he was right about the second one.”
Sets up a long friendship, gets a laugh, and lands in admiration. The room knows immediately what kind of speech this will be.
“I want to start by saying that everything you are about to hear is true. Some of it is flattering. Most of it is not. All of it is evidence that this man has been my best friend for fifteen years and I would not trade a single story.”
Signals honesty and affection at the same time. The room trusts you before you've told a single story.
“Before I begin: everything in this speech has been pre-approved by the groom. The stories he asked me to cut are the best ones. The stories you are about to hear are the ones he could not reasonably stop me from telling.”
Gets a laugh while showing the closeness of the friendship. Works best when you have genuine material to back it up.
“Everything I know about love I learned from watching this man get his heart completely broken and somehow come back kinder than he was before.”
Confident and unexpectedly emotional. Earns attention by skipping the setup and going straight to something true.
“Most people describe their best friend as their brother. I will just describe mine accurately: the man who once convinced me to drive to another state for a sandwich and genuinely believed it was worth it. It was.”
Grounded in a specific absurd detail. The final two words do a lot of work.
Funny
These earn a laugh in the first breath. They work because they imply a lot of material -- and a lot of shared history -- without revealing any of it yet.
“I have been asked to keep this under six minutes. So I cut it down from forty-five.”
Short, clean, and immediately funny. Works because it implies a lot of material without revealing any of it yet.
“When James called me to be best man, I said yes before he finished the sentence. Then he told me I had to give a speech, and I asked if I could change my answer.”
Self-deprecating without being apologetic. Signals you're in on the joke and comfortable up here.
“I have three stories ready. I am only going to tell you two of them. Jake knows which one I am leaving out, and I think we can all agree that is the right call.”
Makes the audience complicit. Everyone spends the rest of the speech wondering what the third story is.
“There are two things I should tell you upfront. One, I'm his brother, which means I have a legally distinct category of embarrassing material. Two, our mother is in the front row, which means I'm going to use almost none of it.”
Classic brother-speech setup. The callback to the mother being present always lands.
“I was asked to keep this under five minutes. Ryan said, and I'm quoting directly, "please don't make it weird." Ryan, I have known you for twelve years. I'm going to do my absolute best.”
The direct quote makes it specific. "I'm going to do my absolute best" is funnier than any explicit punchline.
Heartfelt
These signal from the first line that the speech will be honest, not just entertaining. They work by establishing a specific moment or truth rather than a generic sentiment.
“There is a text on my phone from three years ago. I have been saving it for today. It reads: "She said yes. I think I'm going to be sick." I have never been more proud of him.”
The specific text message does more work than any general statement about friendship could. The vulnerability in the quote makes it land.
“The night before Tom's first date with Sarah, he called me and said: "I think this one is different." I have heard that from him before. But the way he said it this time was different.”
Establishes history without dwelling on it. The repeated word "different" is doing real structural work.
“I've been trying to write something funny for two weeks. And every time I try, I come back to the same thing: I don't want to make you laugh. I want to tell you what I've watched happen over the last four years.”
Honest about the process of writing the speech, which immediately builds trust. Works when you genuinely mean it.
“I should warn you: James and I have only known each other for three years. Which, at a wedding, is basically the guy who showed up late. But in that three years, I've seen enough.”
Addresses a real constraint directly. The room trusts you more for naming it rather than hoping they don't notice.
“I want to be honest with you: I don't know Mei that well yet. I know Marcus. I know his version of her. And then I spent this weekend watching the real version, and I have some thoughts.”
Honesty about limited familiarity is more charming than fake closeness. The phrase "and I have some thoughts" keeps the room leaning in.
What all great best man speech opening lines share
They skip the preamble
No "for those who don't know me." No "I'll keep this brief." The room does not need context before you earn their attention. You earn their attention first.
They establish the relationship
The best openers tell you something true about who the speaker is to the groom. Not a job title or years known. A moment, a text, a memory that shows rather than tells.
They create forward motion
An opening line is not the destination. It is the reason to keep listening. Every great opener makes the room think: where is this going?
Ready to write yours?
SpokenVow asks 16 questions that pull out the good stuff: the stories you almost forgot, the moments that show who he really is. Then it writes three versions of the speech so you can pick the one that sounds like you.
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