Who doesn’t love a wedding? Getting dressed up, romance, food and drink aplenty; it ticks all the ‘Good Time’ boxes. But wait! Maybe you’re the best man, maid of honour or father of the bride. If so, you might find yourself distracted by fear of delivering a wedding speech.
(Photo: Phil Hawksworth/flickr)
But you can’t let worries about public speaking ruin the party. You owe it to the couple to get this right. And with our top tips on how to write a wedding speech, you can be confident of doing just that.
1. The Essentials of a Wedding Speech
There is a basic structure that any wedding speech should follow:
- Introduce yourself and how you know the groom and/or bride
- Offer a couple of anecdotes about your relationship with them
- Talk about the bride and groom as a couple
- Thank anyone who you need to thank (e.g. guests, parents of the couple)
- Make a toast to the future
There is plenty of room for variation in here, depending on the tone you want to strike. But if you stick to this basic structure, your wedding speech will be on the right track.
2. Be Funny (But Not Too Funny)
It’s always a good idea to have a couple of jokes or funny stories in a wedding speech. You can look for jokes online, but people will probably have heard these before! Instead, try to come up with something personal to the couple. Jokes are always funnier if they are based on something true!
However, remember that this is not a comedy routine. Your main aim should be to celebrate the couple. If you’re making joke after joke, it might seem like you’re not taking their wedding seriously.
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3. Don’t Go There!
Here is a list of things you should not do in your wedding speech:
- Go on about the happy couple’s ex-partners
- Swear and/or tell filthy jokes
- Discuss the couple’s relationship problems
- Dig out all of the most embarrassing stories imaginable
- Make it all about you
- Talk for hours and hours (10 minutes maximum!)
You can bend these rules if you’re sure the couple and the guests will be fine with what you say. But remember that Aunty Ethel might not be as happy to hear your foul-mouthed story about what the groom did on holiday in Thailand as you and your mates are!
4. Get It Proofread
You might not think proofreading is important for a wedding speech, but it does offer advantages:
- Making sure it is error free will make it easier to read out loud
- Editing will keep your speech punchy and focused
- You can even request feedback on your jokes!
So if you want to make a good impression on the day, drop us a message and see how we can help.