Duncan Gelby asked:
Before we go into the nitty-gritty of how to prepare a wedding speech, you must keep the following basics in mind:
1. Your speech has to be short, say 5-7 minutes at the most.
2. Make your speech humorous – everyone will love it.
3. Focus the speech on the couple, not on yourself or on your pet dog’s lover.
4. The couple’s parents will be present – so, no off-color and honeymoon jokes please!
5. Rehearse the speech a few times before you deliver it, and deliver it in a style that has a lot of drama, action and emotion built into it.
6. Don’t drink before you deliver your speech.
7. Remember to look good when you’re on the podium. Finish your rest room tasks before you begin.
8. If you’re not good at reading written speeches, then carry cue cards and keep your speech informal. Read a cue card, look at the audience mood and then talk impromptu.
Now, here’s how you prepare the speech:
1. Does the audience know you? If not, prepare a small paragraph that introduces you to them and explains your relationship with the couple.
2. Next, heap praises on the emotion-charged wedding ceremony and about how marriages are made in heaven, and so on.
3. Prepare two paragraphs that talk about the sterling qualities of the couple, one paragraph devoted to the bride (ladies first!) and the other to the groom.
4. Now it’s time to talk how the couple got together, some personal trivia that can be made public, why they love each other, why their love will last forever, and a little about their families. This section can be about 2 paragraphs.
5. Though humor works well, don’t force it in and don’t include it if you cannot talk funny with a straight face.
6. Lace your speech with memorable quotes – you’ll find loads of quotes on the Internet.
7. Don’t talk about ex-boyfriends/girlfriends or spouses of the couple.
8. Refrain from talking about any plans the couple has told you about.
9. The last paragraph must be motivating. Take an example of a successful-in-life-and-still-together couple and draw parallels.
10. Once done, ask all to raise a toast to the couple. Cheers!
Finally, remember that you have to be, or at least act, confident while delivering your speech with a clear voice that doesn’t spew words like a machine gun spews bullets. Speak at a slow, measured pace and try your best to hold the attention of all the guests. If you are running out of time or just so busy to write your own speech, you can surely find someone to write a wedding speech for you. In so many ways it can help you save your time and will free you from stress of finding an appropriate words to write to make your speech entertaining. Make sure to enjoy on delivering your speech because no matter how joyful your speech was if you appeared boring you won’t get the satisfaction that you want from the listeners.