Sooner or later, at some point in your life, you may be called upon to speak at someone’s wedding. Perhaps you’ll be the proud father of the bride or someone’s best man. Whatever the case may be, it can be a good idea to know how to make the appropriate wedding speech.
Some people may think these points are obvious, but they’re not the ones that are giving the speech. If you’re not much for public speaking, you may find these tips helpful if you ever have to speak at someone’s wedding.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” – Maya Angelou
Keep it Short:
The worst part of any wedding celebration is when some long winded buffoon drones on and on during his opportunity to make a wedding speech. No one wants to listen to your ramblings for forty minutes, no matter how interesting you may think they are. People are at the wedding to share in the coupleís joy and have a good time. No one will be able to do either if you talk for too great a length of time. Try to keep your speech under five minutes long if possible.
Save the jokes for Simon Cowell:
Public speakers often like to try and break the ice with a joke, have you ever noticed that? Have you also noticed that the jokes are usually bad? These people have professional speech writers working for them. You do not. Unless you are truly a funny person (your name is Robin Williams, for example), steer clear of the jokes. If you do have to make jokes during your wedding speech, try to make them appropriate for the occasion. Jokes about weddings in general or the people in attendance will always work better than jokes of the ìa guy walks into a barî variety. Also remember that jokes at the groomís expense are funny while those at the brideís expense are not. Thatís just the way it is.
Sentimentality Works:
People get all warm, fuzzy, and gushy at weddings. Sharing sentimental stories about the couple and how in love they are, about your own wedding, or any other appropriately smarmy topic will have them eating out of your hand. Make the focus of your wedding speech the subject of love and roses and good feelings and puppies and you canít go wrong.
This Day is Not About You:
This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when preparing and making a wedding speech. No matter how popular you are, no one is there to see you. The wedding day is all about the bride and groom. This is their day in the sun, so to speak. Keep your stories and anecdotes focused on the happy couple so that they can stay that way while you are speaking.
