Professional wedding observers have noticed that the best man is the biggest potential flashpoint for discontent at modern weddings. In one or two ill-chosen sentences or drunken jokes a best man can destroy the enjoyment and memories of the entire wedding event, on which hundreds, if not thousands of dollars or euro has been spent.
In most cases, the damage is done before anybody knows about it. Out from the mouth of the best man comes a joke or a statement or a reminiscence that is just not acceptable anywhere! And then it’s too late for the bride and her parents and guests to do anything except grin and bear it.
Most times, the best man hasn’t a clue how badly he has put his foot in it, and genuinely thinks that he is the life and soul of the party. Part of the reason for this is that all the guests are actively ‘willing’ the day to go right for the bride, and are prepared to go to any lengths to collectively laugh-off any crude or rude remarks made by the best man.
So, one thing follows another and as the best man hears laughter in response to something that he says (even nervous, uncertain laughter), he falls into the trap of assuming that what he is saying is acceptable – enjoyable even – and from then on in there is no stopping him. But is it the best man’s fault?
Patrick O’Reilly the creator of a dedicated Irish web site which sells best man speeches: www.mybestmansspeech.com doesn’
They simply don’t have control over themselves, with the result that they say uncontrollable things and come out with stupid jokes that, afterward, they wish they hadn’t said.
Other best men have simply no idea what is required – right from the beginning they are not up to the job. And still others genuinely believe that they must live up to the expectations of their mates in the pub rather than the expectation of the bride and the groom.’
Wedding speech professional, Patrick O’Reilly, strongly believes that the best man should seek professional advice when it comes to drafting up his best man’s speech. ‘After all, everything else about the wedding is paid for ... the flowers, the service, the limousines, the dinner, the wedding dress and so on. Why leave one of the most important parts of the entire wedding celebrations in the hands of, at best: a complete amateur, or at worst: a drinking-buddy whom you wouldn’t even trust to leave a coherent message on his answering machine.
No! My advice to anyone who is about to be a best man at a wedding is to go to the dedicated wedding web site for best men: www.need-
