Wedding Day Advice | Speeches

The man of the moment
Helping you prepare the perfect wedding speech

With all the wedding preparations going on, you have hundreds of things on your plate – preparing for your speech on the most important day of your life is just one of them. Luckily for you, we’ve put together a list of guidelines to help get you on your way. So grab a pen and paper and start reading.

Traditionally, the groom is introduced to speak second, after the father of the bride has delivered his speech and proposed the toast to the bride and groom, and before the best man speaks.

Your first step is to discuss the speeches with your bride-to-be. If the lovely lady is going to be speaking as well, it will change the content of your speech to a certain degree. You may want to consider speaking together, as has become a tradition at more informal, modern weddings. Either way, were here to help.

Photo courtesy of Aga Matuszewska

And introducing…
The elements of the grooms speech

There are no hard and fast rules about exactly what you need to say or how it needs to be said. Ask your fiance if there is anything that she would like you to include, and dont forget to practice your speech so that all youll need is a couple of key words on an index card. Here are a few points to consider.

Duration: 5-10 minutes (around 1000 words)
Message: Words of love for your wife; words of thanks for your parents, guests and the wedding attendants
Tone: Sincere, doting and grateful. The grooms speech should inspire the audience.
Humour: Light, but recommended (consult our jokes and quotations article for some ideas)

Speech components:

• A light opener or introduction
• The main body
• A closing quotation, poem or statement
• Your toast to the bridesmaids and maid of honour

Dont forget to:

• Welcome the guests and thank them for coming
• Thank the father of the bride for his words of welcome
• Thank the brides parents (by name) for the reception
• Warmly express your happiness to be part of your in-laws family and thank them for their daughter
• Convey your appreciation to your parents for bringing you up and giving you the best they could
• Mention any noteworthy individuals who could not make it to the wedding
• Talk about the best man, thanking him for his services and adding a funny story about him
• Discuss any interesting incidents that may have occurred leading up to the reception
• Deliver a sincere, heartfelt toast to the bridesmaids and maid of honour

When speaking about your bride:

• Tell your bride how radiant and how beautiful she looks
• Thank her for marrying you and for her contributions to the planning of the wedding
• Discuss your feelings for her and how much she means to you
• Describe your hopes for your future together
• Relay any anecdotes about how you and your bride met and your first impressions of each other
• Discuss any amusing stories involving the two of you leading up to this point

Remember:

• Unless your bride is speaking, sentiments expressed are from both of you
• Decorum is key, so avoid dissolving into full-blown tears (youll thank us when you watch the video!)
• An outpouring of love, gratitude, sincerity and warmth is your main aim
• If you need further inspiration, just search online for bridegrooms wedding speech examples

Visit www.chargeyourglasses.com where you can build your speech line by line.

Addressing a large audience is never easy, but if you follow our guidelines and practice your speech a good few times, we know that youre going to do just fine. Dont forget that everyone is already feeling warm and fuzzy your speech is just the cherry on top. Good luck and warm congratulations to the ecstatic husband!