- If you’re the first to speak, remember to introduce yourself and your relation to the couple. Will your speech follow another? Then acknowledge the introducer who spoke before you.
- Grooms can score serious brownie points for using their new titles as husband and wife, or Mr and Mrs. Brides love to hear this when their grooms give their speech.
- Keep brief cue cards to hand to remind you of what comes next, so you can relax and the speech flows.
- Cue cards also stop you from burying your head in paper – your guests want to see and hear you.
- Don’t rush – it’s easy to speed up when you’re nervous, so take deep breaths and pace yourself.
- If you’re hosting a large wedding or have chosen a venue with high ceilings, consider using microphones to ensure everyone can hear you.
- Practise your speech for the perfect timing. It shouldn’t feel too fleeting, but, for the sake of your guests, it’s best not to ramble on for hours on end.
- Anecdotes and stories are essential components of a quality speech – just make sure you string them together with a common theme.
- Make sure your speech celebrates and includes both newlyweds, and not just the person you are closest to.
- While you should definitely write the speech ahead of time, we love it when grooms leave a small space free to express how they feel right there and then – emotions that only actually getting married can bring.
- Road test your jokes. This will help you give any overly inappropriate innuendos or references to ex-partners the axe before it’s too late.
- But equally, don’t be too serious! Speeches at weddings and presentations at work are not the same thing.
- Don’t forget to finish with a toast, say the right thank yous and oversee the giving of gifts where required.
- Enlist an ensemble of visual aids or props if you wish, but ensure your venue is geared up for the technology and have a trial run in advance!
