Wedding is a tradtion that has its roots in ancient customs and goes as far back as many centuries ago. Here in the west, there are many traditions that have developed to guide the speakers of speeches for weddings. Here are some of the notable ones.
The official order of the wedding speeches – Traditionally, there are only three speeches delivered in the wedding reception – the speech delivered by the father of the bride, the bridegroom’s speech and the best man’s speech. This is the order of the wedding speeches and has been for hundreds of years unchanged. In the recent years, however, rules as to which speech follows which has somewhat changed partially because of the introduction of newer speeches such as the bride’s speech, the bridesmaids’ speech, maid of honour’s speech and other speeches in between. Whether to follow the traditional or the modern succession of the speeches is entirely the call of the couple.
The structure of the wedding speeches – Although modern changes have altered the arrangement of wedding speeches, the structure of each speech has somewhat remained intact. However, emerging customs have paved the way for some changes in the format and tone of these speeches. Whereas the bridegroom’s speech used to be highly formal, it has now become a speech where humor is accepted. The best man speech, meanwhile, can now be delivered by two best men and in some occasions, by lady best man. Some things never change though. The speech delivered by the father of the bride, for example, still sounds very affectionate towards the bride.
Who says particular messages – The format, the tone and the arrangement of the wedding speeches may change but the general content of each speech don’t. The first speaker, the father of the bride, is usually the one who welcomes the guests to the wedding reception. This is followed by a short, affectionate description of her daughter with a hint of gentle teasing. He also say a few kind remarks about his daughter’s husband. He then ends his speech with a sincere toast to the couple.
The groom speaks after. His speech commences with welcoming the guests to the wedding, and recently with a joke or a funny one liner.
This speech is where gratefulness to all the people who have shared their time and resources is expressed. Sandwiched between the introduction and the ending toasts, the groom can choose to give out his gifts to some of the people in the audience. As part of the groom’s speech, the groom also expresses some kind remarks about his wonderful wife. His speech ends with a toast or with a short introduction of the best man.
Right after this speech is the best man’s speech, the funniest of all. Funny anecdotes about the bride and the groom and entertaining insights are often described in this speech. On a more serious tone, the best man offers the ‘toast of the parents’.
Speeches for weddingsare peppered with time-honoured traditions. With the passing of time, however, many of the aspects of these speeches for weddings have changed.
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