Your best friend since grade school is finally tying the knot and has, of course, asked you to be the best man. During the ceremony, you'll be at his side with all eyes on the happy couple, but at the reception, it'll be your time to shine in the spotlight. A tradition steeped in history, the toast given by the best man is expected to be a heartfelt, but not overly sappy, speech honoring your friend and his new wife.

Here are some helpful tips on how to give a memorable toast as the best man.

Preparation is of the utmost importance when asked to be the best man in someone's wedding. You'll have several responsibilities ahead of you, such as the ever-important wedding toast, so preparing early will allow you plenty of time to edit or re-write if need be. Even if you're at ease in front of a crowd, a wedding reception is a completely different environment than most are used to, so don't rely on the hopes that "something will just come to you" when it's that time.

A wedding can often be an emotional time as well, so you don't want to find yourself scrambling for something meaningful to say at the last minute in front of the crowd. Begin preparing your speech by writing down whatever comes into your mind first. Let the words flow without worrying about whether they would really make complete sense yet or not, you know what you're talking about, and there's plenty of time for revisions since you started planning early.

Practice can really help with perfecting a wedding toast. It's helpful if you time yourself in front of a mirror, this way you'll get an idea of exactly how long it takes you from start to finish. Then have a friend, not the groom-to-be of course, listen to the speech and offer their constructive criticism if needed.

Be sure you speak clearly without being too fast or too slow. You'll want the people in the back of the room along with those that may be hard of hearing to understand what you're saying too.

If you don't already know the bride-to-be, make it a point to get to know her sometime before the wedding, or ask your friend some thoughtful questions about her. Enlist the help of her friends and family for anecdotes or stories from her childhood that perhaps you could tie in with something about your friend. An amusing or meaningful story about the groom's youth would also be well received in a wedding toast as it shows who he was, not only who he is today.

Save the jokes and one-liners for amateur night at the comedy club and focus on the happy couple instead. Remember who your audience is, a good number of people will either be the elderly or young children so use your good judgment when giving your toast.

A little humor is always fine of course, but profanities or wild stories about the groom or the couple will make your speech remembered for all the wrong reasons, not to mention embarrassing the newlyweds as well.