You’ve been chosen to give the best friend speech, and now you’re staring at a blank page wondering how the hell to start. Skip the generic “I’ve known Sarah since…” opening—everyone’s heard it a thousand times, and it puts people to sleep before you’ve even warmed up.
1. The “They Said It Would Never Happen” Starter
This opener works beautifully when your friend was adamantly single, sworn off dating, or claimed they’d never get married. It immediately creates intrigue and gets people leaning in because everyone loves a good transformation story.
Start with something like: “Three years ago, Jake told me he was never getting married because, and I quote, ‘commitment is just setting yourself up for disappointment, and besides, I can barely commit to a Netflix series.”
Then pause, let people chuckle, and continue with how meeting their partner completely changed everything. The beauty here is that it shows growth and makes the love story feel even more significant because it wasn’t what anyone expected.
This approach works particularly well because it acknowledges your friend’s authentic past self without making them look foolish. You’re celebrating their evolution, not mocking their former beliefs. Plus, it gives you natural material to work with—you can weave in specific examples of their old dating disasters or anti-relationship rants, then contrast those with how different they are now.
2. The “Moment I Knew” Starter
This one’s gold because it cuts straight to the emotional core without any fluff. You’re not wasting time with background information—you’re diving right into the story that matters most. It could be the moment you knew they were perfect for each other, or the moment you realized your friend was truly happy.
Try opening with: “I knew Emma had found her person when she called me at 2 AM, not because something was wrong, but because she was too excited to sleep after her third date with Mike.”
This immediately establishes intimacy and shows your unique perspective as the best friend who gets those random phone calls and witnesses the behind-the-scenes moments.
The power of this starter lies in its specificity. Don’t just say you knew they were meant to be—paint the exact picture of that realization.
Maybe it was seeing your usually messy friend suddenly caring about having clean sheets because their partner was coming over. Or watching your friend who never shared food suddenly offering the last slice of pizza without being asked.
3. The “Disaster That Brought Them Together” Starter
Everyone loves a good “how we met” story, but the disaster angle makes it infinitely more entertaining. This works whether you’re talking about how the couple met through some mishap, or how a disaster early in their relationship revealed their true compatibility.
Open with something like: “Most love stories don’t start with food poisoning, but then again, most couples don’t meet in the emergency room at 3 AM on a Tuesday.”
Immediately, you’ve got everyone’s attention because that’s not your typical romantic beginning. The contrast between disaster and love creates natural comedy and shows that real relationships aren’t always picture-perfect.
This starter is particularly effective because disasters reveal character. When you tell the story of how your friend and their partner handled a crisis together—whether it was a ruined vacation, a family emergency, or even just a spectacularly bad first date—you’re showing the audience what really matters in a relationship.
It’s not about everything going smoothly; it’s about how two people support each other when things go sideways.
4. The “Before and After” Starter
This approach highlights the transformation you’ve witnessed in your friend since they found their partner. It’s not about saying they were incomplete before—it’s about showing how love brought out sides of them that maybe even they didn’t know existed.
Start with: “I’ve been friends with Lisa for fifteen years, and I thought I knew everything about her. Then she started dating Tom, and suddenly I discovered she’s actually a morning person who enjoys hiking and, most shocking of all, someone who willingly shares her French fries.” This gets laughs while showing genuine growth and change.
The key is focusing on positive changes that feel authentic rather than dramatic personality overhauls. Maybe your introverted friend became more social, or your workaholic friend learned to prioritize downtime.
These subtle shifts often say more about a healthy relationship than grand romantic gestures do.
5. The “Prediction That Came True” Starter
This one requires you to have actually made some kind of prediction about the couple, but if you have that material, it’s comedy gold. It shows your insight as a friend and creates a satisfying full-circle moment.
Open with: “Two months after David introduced me to Rachel, I told him, ‘You’re going to marry this girl.’ He laughed and said I was crazy because they’d only been dating eight weeks. Well, David, I hate to say I told you so… actually, no, I love saying I told you so.” This creates immediate engagement because people want to know what made you so certain.
The prediction doesn’t have to be about marriage specifically. Maybe you predicted they’d move in together, adopt a dog, or that your friend would finally learn to cook because their partner was a foodie.
The point is showing that their compatibility was obvious to someone who knew them well, even if they couldn’t see it themselves at first.
What makes this starter particularly effective is that it positions you as the wise observer who could see what was happening before the couple fully realized it themselves. It gives weight to your words and establishes your credibility as someone whose opinion about their relationship matters. Just make sure your prediction story is true—authenticity always trumps a good story.
Remember, whichever starter you choose, the key is making it genuinely personal to your friendship and their relationship. These aren’t templates to copy word-for-word; they’re frameworks to help you find your own story.
The best wedding speeches feel like conversations with friends, not performances, so pick the approach that feels most natural for how you actually talk and the stories you actually have to tell.
Your job isn’t to be a professional comedian or a romance novelist. Your job is to be their friend, standing up there sharing why you’re happy they found each other. Start with that truth, and the rest will follow.
