Caribbean Wedding: Best Man, Worst Public Speaker

A Wedding in Tobago (But I Wasn’t Working… Sort Of)

I was in Tobago for a wedding—not as a photographer, but as the Best Man. Which sounds like a relaxing gig until you remember it comes with a speech. A public one. In front of actual people.

Despite weeks to prepare, I hadn’t managed to get anything decent onto paper. I’d run through ideas, half-sentences, lame jokes… and binned the lot. Classic avoidance strategy.

The Accidental Photographer

On the day, with time on my hands (possibly because I was neglecting some unknown best man duty), I wandered back to the room where the bride and bridesmaids were getting ready.

When I’m working a wedding, this is often my favourite part of the day—not just because it’s full of anticipation and good light, but because it’s usually relaxed, and you can ease into the shoot without needing much gear. Makeup artists, conveniently, tend to pick the best-lit corners for you.

Technically, I probably wasn’t meant to be there—but since they were using my room, I felt justified.

Better Than Pacing

There was an official photographer, but he hadn’t arrived yet. So I started taking a few pictures, partly out of instinct and partly to give my nerves something to do besides pacing or panicking about my speech.

Capturing some candid moments was oddly grounding. It felt familiar, something I could control. And no one seemed to mind—if anything, it gave me a break from worrying whether I should be memorising lines or Googling “how to give a heartfelt best man speech without crying or vomiting.”

Honestly, it was the best therapy I could’ve asked for.