Weddings are generally joyous family occasions and I was surprised when I discovered that there’s a convention attached to them. I mean the wedding speeches. Because, wedding speeches are traditional and there are generally three wedding speeches acceptable. These speeches are given by the bride’s father, by the bridegroom, and the last speech is given by the best man. Sometimes, the maid of honor will say a few words in response to the bridegroom. And nowadays, the bride may want to give thanks; it’s fitting when she does that either together with her newly-wed husband (let’s not forget that it’s her wedding too), or just after her father’s speech, thanking him for his words.
Wedding speeches are the highlight of a wedding reception, everybody present looks forward to them, except the persons that are going to give them. Quite often, they are dreading them.Such is the price of fame when public speaking….
Have you ever been in a situation where the groom or the bride asked you to give a short speech at their wedding? How are you going to come up with an appropriate wedding speech that fits in with the tradition, is humorous and will be remembered by everyone present?
Here are a few recommendations for the different speeches at a wedding reception. If you mind them, you will not have too much trouble delivering a memorable wedding speech.
The speech of the bride’s father is usually all about welcoming the people present. In particular, he mentions the bridegroom’s parents, the relatives of both families, and of course the guests. Very importantly, he then welcomes the groom to his family. If you’re the bride’s father, you now have the opportunity to talk about your daughter and extol her virtues. Finally, you then propose a toast to the bride and groom for a healthy, wealthy and happy life together.
The next speech will be the one by the bridegroom, in response to his father-in-law’s speech. He will thank the bride’s father for his speech and toast. If you’re the groom, you have now the opportunity to express your happiness today, and also say something about your absolutely dazzling, intelligent and fantastic new wife. You can then present your gifts of thanks and appreciation to anybody that has helped with the day. This will be the best man and the bridesmaid, the bride’s mother and your own, and everybody else that has made the day successful. After giving out the gifts, you then end your speech by toasting the bridesmaids.
Finally, the time has come for the most awaited of all the wedding speeches: the Best Man’s speech. It is the final speech, and as such, the one that is expected to be the most memorable, funny and impressive. If you have the honor to give this speech, you will first have to thank the groom on behalf of the bridesmaids. You will then launch into any anecdots about the groom’s previous life. The best man’s speech should be humorous and very enjoyable. But not so much that you offend anybody. This means that your speech appeals both to the parents and your mates. Combine lighthearted humor with a few more tender moments. Thoughfully match your jokes and your more serious reminiscences and say something nice about the groom. Finish your speech by wishing the happy couple a long and happy life.
Here are a few tips on how you can deliver outstanding wedding speeches:
– Try to limit your speech to around 7 minutes or about 1000 words.
– Write the whole speech out. Learn your speech and write out short notes. If you need to read out your speech, learn the first and last two lines by heart, then read the rest. Look up from time to time and at your audience — this will give your speech more immediacy.
– Practice, practice, practice. Don’t think you will remember what to say on the day without rehearsing because you won’t. Even great public speakers practice and rehearse, every time.
– Be sincere, but also include sufficient funny comments to make it enjoyable.
– Speak slowly and with a strong voice. Use pauses for maximum momentum, especially between paragraphs. And wait for the laughs!
– And as far as laughs are concerned…Wait until the laughter has died down, then continue. If you’re not sure how to, learn from comedians and great public speakers — they use this technique to great effect.
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