How to Use Quotes in a Best Man Speech
Very often a few well thought out words can say so much more than a best man speech of a 1000 words, but an even better idea is to combine the two. Quotes can work brilliantly in a speech but you should limit yourself to one very powerful one, somewhere towards the end, and avoid the temptation to add in detail such as the book or film it came from. The quotes don't have to be particularly highbrow but it helps, although the most important factor is relevance. "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning' and "Charlie don't surf son!" may sound great but unless the groom was fighting on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, they wouldn't make much sense. However, THE most important thing is to find yourself a quote that isn't used one million times every weekend, because it will have zero impact. Here are some quotes that you could use in your speech, remember pick one good one and weave seamlessly into the fabric.
Quotes about Friends
True friends stab you in the front. Oscar Wilde
A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably. William Penn
The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it. Hubert Humphrey
My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me. Henry Ford
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Benjamin Franklin.
There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship. Thomas Aquinas.
Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. Ernest Hemingway
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools. Ernest Hemingway.
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one. AA Milne.
Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything. Muhammad Ali
There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends. Sylvia Plath.
Life/Marriage Quotes
Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. Meninger
Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching. Satchel Paige
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Sun Tzu
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. Walt Whitman.
Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. Jim Carey.
Life isn't about getting and having, it's about giving and being. Kevin Kruse.
Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow. Helen Keller
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. Henry Ford
Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see. Confucius.
To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up. Ogden Nash.
Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends. WB Yeats.
There are a billion sites out there that can help you with quotes so it's definitely worth spending some time to find one that's not too over used and fits your speech perfectly. May the force be with you.