It’s not natural to get up in front of crowd of the most nearest and dearest to you but as groom you don’t have much choice. Most people become a bag of nerves when it comes to speeches however to help you and gain confidence use the following as a guide to give a speech.
1) Order of the wedding speeches
It’s traditional for the father of the bride to give his speech first (which normally welcomes and thanks guests for attending, followed by a few words on how great his daughter looks). Once over it’s time for the groom. In general the groom speech will thanks various people who have helped with the wedding. There should also be a tribute to the new wife and how they met. Finally it’s the best mans speech which brings a light-hearted touch to the ceremony. More recently there has been an increase in popularity of the maid-of-honour and even the bride of giving a speech at the ceremony.
2) Writing the groom’s speech
To be honest the groom’s speech is not as taxing as the best mans (there tends to have more pressure on the poor fella). Ideally the grooms speech should not be any longer than 10 minutes so make sure you practice this a couple of weeks beforehand and time yourself. Following are elements you should try and include in the speech.
1) Thank your new father-in-law for his speech and the in-laws for welcoming you into their family.
2) Thank your own parents for everything.
3) Thanks guests that have turned up (and any absent friends).
3) Tell a brief story of how you first met your wife but don’t be too sentimental.
4) Thank the bridesmaids and any other relevant people.|
When proposing the toast at the end take your time and start with “Ladies and Gentleman, will you please be upstanding and raise your glasses…” wait for everyone to stand up and say “…to the bride and bridesmaids”.
3) Delivering a groom speech
It’s important that you try and feel relaxed and enjoy yourself remember you’re married so the hard bits over. Try to avoid using a microphone as they can be too echoey and distracting. Instead speak both loudly and clearly to the audience. We certainly recommend practicing to a group of people before hand. When it comes to speech delivery practice does make perfect. Just in case you get stuck it’s a good idea to have a selection of handy notes which can be used as trigger reminders. Having a table in front of you acts as a ‘shield’ so you don’t feel as naked in front of people.
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