To avoid any problems on the day, it is best to be prepared when dealing with a wedding speech. While Hollywood might try to convince you that men often write their speech on a stray piece of paper the night before the wedding, this is not generally the case and shouldn’t be for you.
A bit of good planning ahead of time will lead to a successful speech that will have the girls in tears and the boys wishing they could get married too. There are a few things that you should do no matter the tone or audience.
Always copy your speech. It’s best if you can have as many as possible. The last thing you want to do is end up forgetting it and saying something in panic that you’ve had to make up on the spot. As well as your own copy, give copies to the best man and perhaps your father or someone else you trust. This way you can be sure someone will have a copy for you.
Don’t drone on. Try to keep your speech short and sweet – around 3 minutes or so is plenty. This way you can get a decent amount of information into your speech without sending guests to sleep. While it can be tempting to recount every day of your relationship, pick one or two particularly poignant moments and recall those instead.
If you make a mistake or forget something, make it into a joke. Be honest with your crowd and tell them you aren’t perfect. Use a bit of humor to recover from any issues you may have here. Your guests are much more likely to laugh it off with you if you don’t make a big deal of it, and laugh at yourself.
Believe it or not, people want to hear what the groom has to say. So practice and make sure you have a good idea of what is coming. Try out any jokes or funny stories on friends or the bridal party ahead of time to make sure they are appropriate.
Using a few simple guidelines you can be sure of presenting a speech that will make your new bride proud and your guests entertained.
