Introduction With so many things that you have to prepare for your wedding, there is always something you end up leaving to the last minute. Dress for the bride? Check. Floral arrangements to be used as the centrepieces for tables? Check. Speeches? Ooops. Speeches are one of the most important parts of a wedding reception. During these moments, the couple, their parents, the best man as well as the maid of honour will give a speech about the couple and their wishes for their future together. For couples, speeches are a time for them to celebrate their love and reaffirm their feelings for one another in public. For their loved ones, it is a time for them to give their best wishes and to congratulate the couple on their marriage. As the contents of speeches can be quite personal, they often tug on the heart strings of guests as well as the couple themselves. Of course, besides touching speeches, there are also different types of speeches that people can deliver. If you are not used to writing such speeches, you may find yourself stuck as you try to write out the contents of your speech. This may be because you are unable to put your feelings into words, or simply because you are unsure of what should be written in a wedding speech. Even if you are able to write down your entire speech, you may not be aware of some taboos that you should avoid for your wedding speech. As you can see, wedding speeches are not as simple as just getting up on the stage and talking. So in this report we're going to cover what you need to do to deliver a great wedding speech, and what you should avoid completely. Let's get started...
The Different Types of Wedding Speeches As weddings are once in a lifetime events, it is extremely important for couples to get everything right. Not only do they need to make necessary arrangements to make sure everything will run smoothly on their big day, they also go the extra mile to make the day special and unique. While some people may hire wedding planners, others may choose to tend to matters personally. Apart from the usual preparations for a wedding, many also spend a great deal of time writing and preparing their wedding speeches. There are many types of speeches but what is said and how it is delivered depends largely on the people who are giving the speech. Aside from the couple, there are still other key people who will have to give speeches in a wedding ceremony. Their parents would also need to give their speeches. Throughout the years, people have changed the way these parents’ speeches are delivered. Most of the time, mothers and fathers of the newlyweds give their own speeches. However, some parents prefer to have one of them speak for both of them. As an example, the father may be too nervous so he’ll just ask his wife to do the speech to represent them as a couple. The best man and the maid of honour are also to give their speeches during the wedding. These people are usually the sisters, brothers or best friends of the couple. In addition to his main speech, the best man is also usually given the task of raising a toast to the couple. Some couples may also ask their primary sponsors to give speeches for their wedding.
What You Should Prepare In Your Wedding Speech Prior to the wedding, most times the people who will be required to give a speech will prepare some notes and actually practice their speech so that they will be able to deliver their speeches flawlessly on the night. If you are unsure of what to include in a wedding speech, especially if this is the first time you are preparing one, then you should take note of the following details. Prepare your theme Some people choose to deliver formal speeches. If you are one of them, you will have to choose the right words that will fit the tone of your speech. However, you may also choose to be humorous if you wish to lighten up the mood. It will be a great icebreaker and put everyone in a jovial mood. The speech should also reflect your personality, so if you're usually light-hearted and humorous, than that's what the theme of your speech should be as well. Prepare the main speech content Wedding speeches usually include stories or jokes from your own personal experiences with the couple, or of your partner if you are the one getting married. By including personal stories, everyone will find your speech memorable. This is also perfect for those who really don’t know what to say on a wedding especially if they’re not used to standing in front of others and giving speeches. Prepare your draft When you are putting together your speech, it's usually a good idea to type it out on the computer so you can go back and edit it when you get different ideas about what to say. You can rewrite it several times until you get the right speech that you want to deliver. Prepare note cards It may be difficult for some people to memorise their speech. As such, you can choose to take down notes on cue cards. These will help to prompt you when you are making your speech so that you will not go off track or forget what you wanted to say. Prepare yourself! Make sure to practice before the wedding day so you’ll feel comfortable with your
speech on that day. If you are afraid that you will get nervous speaking in front of an audience, you can practice your speech while imagining the guests’ eyes on you so that you can gradually get used to that idea. As long as you practice, you’ll be more at ease on the night and just deliver it according to what you need. With these tips, you are sure to deliver a good speech that will be memorable to everyone. Start preparing during your free time so you'll be more than ready once it’s your turn to take the stage.
Things You Should Say and Not Say in A Wedding Speech Weddings can be pretty stressful to organise and prepare, and everybody wants to get it all right. It's the same for your wedding speech. There are some things you should mention, and other things you should not talk about at all. So here are some tips for you when you're writing your wedding speech: What you should say If you're the one who’s getting married, you may start off with talking about your partner. Be romantic by sharing a story about your time together or touch everyone with a good anecdotes or quotes coming from a book. You may also talk about how happy you are to be sharing your special day with everyone. A speech full of blessings is also a good part of the wedding. This is perfect if you're a one of the couple’s parents. Some parents also give out reminders as a part of speech since they’ve had the experience of being married already. It’s a good way to celebrate not only the couple’s marriage but also the unity of their families. Friends who are supposed to give their speeches may also include some of their stories together with the couple. It will be good to talk about how they have witnessed the couple’s love for one another from a third party’s perspective. After the main speech, blessings may also be given by friends of the newlyweds. Gratitude should be expressed to the guests and to the family members who took the time to attend the wedding and for sharing the occasion with them. What not to say Make sure to scan your speech for any words that may offend a guest in any way.
Since you will know the people whom you're inviting, you should edit your speech so that it will not be taken the wrong way. Avoid mentioning anything negative about others. Even if you’ve moved on already, mentioning a negative story from the past on your wedding day may trigger some illfeelings. Remember that it’s a day for both of you, and instead of dwelling on the past, you should look towards the future. Jokes and witty lines are encouraged just to add a light feel on the speech but be careful in choosing them. Keep yourself from saying jokes that strike below the belt or are too vulgar for some of the guests, especially if they’re conservative individuals. Private jokes should remain as private jokes. Even if the joke is funny, your partner may not like it to be said in front of other people. These are some of the things to say and not to say in your wedding speech. Make sure to read your draft several times to ensure that you’ll not offend anyone and ruin the event. Remember that it takes only one word to ruin the moment and destroy relationships so be careful in preparing your speech.
Conclusion Wedding speeches may not be as easy as they seem to prepare and deliver, especially when you have to be the one on the stage instead of being part of the audience. When you are writing your speech, you will have to think carefully about the content. As mentioned above, there are some things which should not be included in a speech. It is extremely important to keep that in mind because once you have spoken, it will be difficult to take back your words. A wedding is a joyous celebration of the love between two people. As such, you should be careful not to create awkward situations or anger anyone with your speech. Make the speech about the future and about what a happy occasion it is. These tips will be enough for you to get started with your own wedding speech.
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