A Wedding Speech Should Be Short and Sweet

February 25, 2006 | All Wedding Articles, Wedding Toasts

The dream of every groom is to deliver a wedding speech that sparkles with wit and humor, and has the guests in splits. But at how many weddings do you see this happening? Very few, I am sure.

At most weddings, the speeches are eminently forgettable. At many they bring out yawns, giggles and glances of amusement. The groom invariably becomes too nervous, forgets his cues and makes a hash of an otherwise joyous occasion. The bride’s father may turn too sanctimonious, and bore the guests to death. The best man tries to steal the evening with stale punch lines.

But this does not mean that the wedding speech should be pushed to the sidelines. The wedding speech is important, and must be delivered in style. The guests must remember the wedding speech either for its content or its delivery style.

If you suffer from stage fright, and get tongue-tied even in the presence of your best friends and close relatives, then you must spend a few weeks writing and rehearsing your wedding speech. The groom is the cynosure of all eyes, the most important person other than the bride. He should not be seen to make a fool of himself.

You must remember that the people want to hear you, and not some stale jokes that they have heard at scores of other weddings or on the net. So, don’t waste your time collecting smart puns, one liners or jokes. Write a small speech. It should bring out your genuine delight at seeing so many friends and relatives present at your wedding.

Your wedding speech should be brief, and thank everyone. However, it should not degenerate into a string of “thank yous” only. There has to be some content, which shows how overwhelmed you are by the occasion. There should be some interesting anecdotes about your bride, about your family or about your best man. These should make good listening, and should not be aimed to offend any one.

You must remember that nothing is more boring than forced humor. So, be your normal self. It’s always a good idea to rehearse your wedding speech. You will find several dead sentences in your first draft. Delete them. Also, rewrite all those sentences that are too long or which don’t flow seamlessly into each other.

There are some essentials that you can’t ignore. These are: thanking the bride’s father for proposing the toast, the guests for their good wishes and for attending the wedding, and of course, your wife for marrying you. Don’t forget the bridesmaids who helped your wife get ready for the big occasion.

Keep it nice, and sweet, and savor the occasion. It’s your wedding, man!

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