Writing A Wedding Speech

The Ultimate Guide to Writing A Wedding Speech

Having speeches at a wedding is about as traditional as you can get, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t veer away from the norm. Speeches can be fun, anecdotal, intimate… but public speaking is scary, which is why so many people avoid it! But when you’re asked to make a speech for a loved one, it’s time to assemble. What makes a great wedding speech? What makes some wedding speeches fun and memorable and others cringe and a bit boring?

In this blog, we’ve put together the ultimate guide for writing your wedding speech that’ll keep everyone entertained and engaged.

If you are wondering how to write a wedding speech, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Plan Early

If you’re not getting married yourself today, introduce yourself and how you know the couple

Congratulate the happy couple on their wedding day and compliment them!

Thank the hosts and any special mentions the couple have asked you to include

Consider your audience – are there going to be children or sensitive ears present? Plan accordingly!

Keep it short and sweet – leave everyone wanting more

It’s okay to keep it simple but meaningful

As soon as you know you’ll be giving a speech at a wedding, create a little document on your phone or buy a notebook and begin by jotting down your initial ideas. It’ll be a great tool to keep coming back to whenever you’re inspired by a thought or anecdote that may be worth retelling on the day. By the time you are sitting down to write your amazing speech, you’ll have a pool of ideas to draw on.

Be prepared!

Begin writing the speech, at least a month before the wedding. You’ll need time to revisit it, edit, and practice! Plus in the run-up to the wedding there’ll likely be other wedding appointments you’ll need to attend too – so don’t leave it too late to start writing but do leave some space for any stories from the hen and stag do’s or other wedding festivities that you may want to include.

You may decide to sit and write your wedding speech all in one go! This is fine too, however, do make sure you sleep on it and come back to it with fresh eyes – and give it a couple of reads. You don’t want just an ‘okay’ speech, you want your speech to be awesome. Give yourself enough time to fine-tune and practice plenty of times.

Make it Personal

Whether you are the maid of honour, best man, father of the bride, friend or even more importantly you’re the bride or groom you are giving a speech because of the close connection you have to the happy couple.

And since you know the couple as well as you do – you probably have plenty of stories to share! So

our next tip is not to hesitate to make it personal and share those stories. It’ll help guests to know the couple even more – and also the other half of the couple they may not know as well, or perhaps are only meeting for the first time. All guests love hearing entertaining and personal stories they may not have heard yet.

Another tip is to make sure you talk about both members of the couple. Perhaps you’re a friend of only one of the couple, but part of the wedding speech is to ensure it circles back to the occasion at hand and to the two of them as a couple. Retell the story of the first time you met your friend or family member’s partner or how you remember them being described to you in the early stages of the relationship. If you don’t know their partner too well, now’s your opportunity to arrange a dinner or some days out with your friend and their partner, so you can all get to know each other better.

And remember to talk about how great they are as a couple and how happy they both make each other!

Have a beginning, middle, and end!

Remember when you were in school and you were told that your writing should have a beginning, middle, and end? Good speeches have a good flow and take the whole audience along with what they are saying.

Ensure your speech flows well by giving it a structure or an overarching theme. No, it doesn’t need to be a novel or an essay but most people follow a story easier when there is a clear direction for the speech. Make sure there is a direction to where your speech or anecdote is going, and the destination, joke, anecdote, or sentiment is achieved.

Consider Your Audience

This is the wedding speech, not the speech for the hen or stag do! There may be a wide range of people present from children to close friends of the bride and groom, perhaps even employers and work colleagues in the room too. Make sure the speech is free of anything too embarrassing or any crudeness that may not be fit for such a varied audience.

If entertaining and jokes aren’t your thing – that’s okay. Don’t force it! Just be yourself, you are making a speech because you are important to the couple and they’ll likely just want you to bring and be your wonderful self on the day. Keep in mind when you write your speech that you must be genuine and heartfelt.

Hopefully, you found these tips for writing your wedding speech helpful. If you’ve liked this content and want more – make sure you follow our socials.

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