Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
Methods For Giving Great Wedding Speeches
1.
2. 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...
3. 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.
4. 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
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
Visit Weddingisque for more inspirational Wedding Speeches and Vows