What You Should Know About Making Wedding Speeches

Wedding speeches should be humorous and heartwarming. Unfortunately, many people who deliver speeches do not prepare for their speech. So, often they’d end up stuttering or spouting inappropriate clichés.

Traditionally only the best man made a toast. Later the maid/matron of honor was given equal time. Lately they've evolved into speeches. More and more fathers are being asked to speak.

I went to one wedding where the speeches went on for an hour and 15 minutes. Needless to say, the bar was very busy at that time.

My cousin recently got married and he and his wife limited it to one toast, when I asked him why he said it was because everyone had a chance for speeches at his stag party.

There are basically three kinds of wedding speeches – the father-of-the-bride speech, the bridegroom speech and the best man’s speech. Often, it is the bride’s father who’d kicked off that portion of the wedding. The host or the toastmaster would call on the father. If you’re the father, you are expected to deliver a funny and warm speech. You’re supposed to extend your warm wishes to the newlyweds. It’s nice to inject in a little humor to your speech, but avoid nasty comments against your son-in-law. Putting down the groom would ruin the whole occasion. Avoid crude jokes and especially avoid taking the opportunity to talk about yourself.

After the father has finished his speech, the groom would then deliver his own speech. If you’re the groom, this is the perfect opportunity for you to extend your gratitude towards your parents. Also, it is a good idea to take your time to extend a word to your bride’s parents. Extend your gratitude to all to the guests as well. The gist of this speech is to give thanks to everyone attending the occasion. You can finish your speech with a few words to your new wife.

The famous of all wedding speeches is the best man’s speech. This is the portion of the occasion where you’d literally see people cringing and ducking for cover to snicker when a not-too loquacious best man delivers his speech. Best man speeches require warmth and humor. This is not the time to reminisce about your time in Hawaii with the groom and how much fun he had with the ladies. Humor should be lighthearted and heartwarming and yes, very, very entertaining.

Things to say and do
• Keep speeches short.
• Practice them in the mirror and then in front of someone else.
• If you can, add a funny story.
• If you get sentimental, you'll be a hit, so don't be embarrassed about it.
• Look around at the guests and the wedding party.
• Speak from your heart.

Things you shouldn't say or do
• Don't be drunk before you give your speech.
• Don't curse.
• Don't chew gum.
• Don't speak slang.
• Don't bring up the couples past relationships.
• Funny is one thing, but taken to far can become humiliating.

If you're having more than five speakers try and fit a couple of speeches in between dinner courses. People tend to get bored if they have to listen to one speech after another. Keeping the speeches between 2-3 minutes will also help keep guests interested.
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