SAY HELLO
The Greatest Guide For Writing A Unique Wedding Speech or Toast
Wedding speeches are about as traditional as it gets, but that doesn’t mean your can’t steer away from the norm and create a wedding speech that is unique. Speeches can be fun, anecdotal, intimate … however are your feeling a little daunted by the idea of getting up to speak in front of all of your guests? Planning and practicing your wedding speech will make it a piece of cake. It’s time to assemble. What makes a great unique wedding speech? What makes some wedding speeches fun and memorable and others cringe and a tad boring.
In this blog, I’ve put together The Greatest Guide For Writing Your Unique Wedding Speech that’ll keep everyone entertained and engaged.
So let’s start. First things first how do you write a wedding speech, like where on earth do you begin? Here 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.
Preparation Is Key
Begin writing the speech, at least a month before the wedding, not the day before. Trust me you can tell the speeches that were written the night before. 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. Lots can happen, so many stories to tell.
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, or if like me hundreds of reads through. You don’t want just an ‘okay’ speech, you want your wedding speech to be epic. Give yourself enough time to fine tune and practice plenty of times.
Time To Get 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 a close connection you have to the happy couple. And this wedding is going to be one epic celebration!
Since you know the couple as well as you do – you probably have a plenty stories to share! So the 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. But check the couple are happy for you to tell these stories.
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 members partner or how you remember them being described to you in the early stages of the relationship. If you don’t know the 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 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!
Story Time
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 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 own wonderful self on the day. Keep in mind when you write your speech that it’s important you are genuine and heartfelt.
Thank you for reading – The Greatest Guide For Writing A Unique Wedding Speech. I hope you’ve found these tips for writing your wedding speech helpful.
Not ready to stop wedding planning mode? If you’re not then these next three articles are a must read!
The Ultimate Wedding Planning Guide
Writing the Perfect Modern Wedding Vows: A Guide to Crafting Heartfelt and Memorable Promises | Including 24 Vow Examples
The Story Behind Wedding Favours: A Timeless Tradition