The Groom's Wedding Speech - Dos and Don'ts

Every speech requires a different approach and every speaker has a different style, but these tips are relevant to pretty much every groom’s wedding speech.  I hope you find them useful.

A Groom SHOULD:

• Thank their guests for attending, particularly those who have travelled from far and wide
• Mention any special guests (i.e. elderly relatives)
• Thank their new in-laws (particularly if they are hosting the wedding)
• Mention their own parents - this is an opportunity to thank them for all those years of help and support
• Talk about the bride, in a way that balances warmth with a little bit of humour
• Introduce the best man
• Finish with a toast to the bridesmaids

A Groom SHOULD NOT:

• Spend more time building up the best man than the bride
• Waste too much time thanking people who’ve been paid to do a job (e.g. caterers or planners)
• List so many ‘thank yous’ that the speech resembles a school register
• Talk for too long. Generally I recommend 10 minutes as an optimum speaking time
• Forget this is a celebration of love, not an opportunity for a 10 minute comedy stand up routine

A Groom MIGHT ALSO Want to Mention:

• Any friends or family who have made huge efforts in organising the day
• The flower girls and page boys
• Those who are not able to be there on the day
• The ushers
• A relative/close friend who has been a particular source of strength to the groom over the years
• The Vicar/Priest/Rabbi or whoever conducts the ceremony

The balance between sincerity and humour is a difficult one for the groom. The hardest task is to fit so much into such a short space of time. The ultimate objective is to weave all these together in an original, memorable way. If you do have any concerns about your own speech, I would be delighted to chat, edit your draft or even write it for you.

Article by Wedding Speech Writing Specialist Lawrence Bernstein

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