It is the most daunting task of the groom on every man's wedding day (apart from all of the pressure leading up to the big day of course, including ring shopping, asking her father, asking her, and giving away your feelings to a huge precession of people in the way of vows). That's right; it's the speech at the reception. Ahh!
But fear not grooms to be. The answer to some of your speech woes are right here in this easy to follow, step by step guide. So take a deep breath, collect yourself, and plunge on in.
- Thank the Bride's Parents for their lovely daughter and allowing you to be a part of their family.
- Thank the Bride's Parents for all their help in organizing a wonderful wedding.
- To Father of Bride… I will take care of your daughter, love and cherish her, and look after her. Thank you for all the help and support.
- Thank Your Parents for their support of the bride and yourself and all their help with the wedding.
- Thank all the guests for attending and for all the gifts. Make special acknowledgments to siblings from both sides of family and grandparents from both sides of family.
- Say how beautiful your bride is. Thank her for sticking by you and putting up with you at times (joke). Say how much of a great team you make. Talk about how much fun you have together and the experiences you have shared together already. Say how glad you are that she is your wife. Tell your wife that you love her.
- Acknowledge your best-man. You have been best mates for X amount of years. Thank him for all the support and help with the wedding. Thank the other groomsmen for their help.
- Express regret for people who could not attend the wedding due to unforeseen circumstances (family and good friends)
- Make any special acknowledgments to people who have helped you in a particular way that has been life changing or extremely significant in your development as a person.
- Propose a toast to the bridesmaids. Talk about their beauty and their help with the bride during the wedding day.
At the conclusion of your speech present your mother and mother in law with a bouquet of flowers each, your father and father in law with a bottle of rum each, and your best-man with a bottle of scotch as tokens of your appreciation.
These steps are best performed as guides for a speech which portrays confidence and to give the illusion that you are comfortable even if really you aren't. They can be used as prompts for an impromptu style speech or alternately, as points to make in the context of a fully written, practiced, formal style speech. Break the ice with a joke or a story about how you and your bride met before launching into the "meat" of the speech.
Good luck.
