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.
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 couple’s 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 Henny Youngman:
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 “a
guy walks into a bar” variety. Also remember that jokes at the
groom’s expense are funny while those at the bride’s expense are
not. That’s 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
can’t 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.
Keeping these topics in mind will help you be successful when
making a wedding speech. With the right ideas and a minimal amount
of preparation, even the most tongue tangled individual can come off
like The Great Orator at least for five minutes or so when speaking
at a wedding.