Congrats on making it this close to your big day! Now all you have to do is write the perfect groom’s speech. Simple, right? When it comes to wedding speeches, we’re pretty sure the biggest thing giving you sleepless nights is what the best man is going to say! Definitely have a word with him but don’t forget to work on your own speech well before the day. With a few choice words and the right planning, you might just finally win the mother-in-law over!
We’ve compiled the comprehensive guide with a list of do’s and don’ts to deliver the ultimate groom’s speech.
Do’s
Do Keep It Short
Wedding Days can be long and let’s be honest, as important as your words are, the groom’s speech tends not to be the speech that people are looking forward to most. 10 minutes maximum should be enough of a speech duration. Anything longer than that and you’re just going to start losing people’s attention. By keeping all of the ultimate groom’s speech do’s and don’ts in mind, you’ll easily be able to keep your speech duration short and hopefully, memorable.
Do Include A Bit Of Humour
Odds on, a good chunk of the wedding party are going to be a bit tipsy at this stage so getting a few laughs won’t be a problem. Nobody wants to hear a long drawn out serious speech. You have their attention and if you can put a smile on their face, it will set them up nicely to enjoy the remainder of the day.
Harmless jokes about how your best man and groomsmen are looking are good but just remember you’re the groom and not a stand-up comedian so don’t go overboard!
Do Thank Everybody
This is possibly the most important point of the groom’s speech. This is your time to (in no particular order) thank the venue, thank the celebrant, thank the bridal party, thank your groomsmen and best man, thank the in-laws, thank your family and thank everybody for coming. Now is the opportunity to thank your parents / family for bringing you into this world and to express your gratitude for all they have done for you.
For extra brownie points a bouquet of flowers for your mother and mother-in-law will go down a treat 🙂
Do Remember Your New Wife
Obviously, the whole point of the big day is to sign your life away to celebrate your marriage to your beautiful wife. If you forget to mention this, it might be a very short married life! Include a bit of cheese, tell everyone how you met, how much she means to you and how happy she has made you. People love hearing a good love story and no doubt there’ll be people at the wedding itching to get the kleenex out, so keep this in mind when you go to write the ultimate groom’s speech.
Do Practice
We all know the saying, practice makes perfect. It’s no harm to run through your speech the night before or even in the morning if you have time. Try it in front of the mirror or try it in front of your best man or one of the groomsmen. This will make you feel much more comfortable when delivering the speech and as you practice, you also might decide to add/remove parts. This will go a long way when delivering the ultimate groom’s speech on the big day!
Don’ts
Don’t Hurry
Relax. This is not an Oscar acceptance speech. You’re talking to friends and family who know you so take your time. If you start rushing through the speech, you’ll probably forget something and nobody will have a clue what you’re talking about.
This is the bride and groom’s day and remember that you are the main man. People want to hear the groom’s speech and see how happy you are. If you are feeling a bit nervous beforehand, just a try a few deep breaths in and out – it’ll work a treat.
Don’t Picture Everybody Naked
You’re guaranteed the best man or groomsmen will throw this “helpful” nugget of information out when it comes to making your speech. Don’t go there. This will just make you feel uncomfortable especially when you turn to acknowledge your new mother-in-law!
Imagine looking at the bridal party and how beautiful they are then all of a sudden they’re stark naked… this might just prompt you to say/do something completely ridiculous or worse still, lose your concentration and make a complete tit of yourself!!
Don’t Drink Too Much
This will not help the groom’s speech and on a related note, it will also not help things in the bridal suite later on. It should be a given, especially considering it’s probably the most important day of your life. You might think it’s a good idea to get a bit of dutch courage but before you know it, you’ll be forgetting people’s names. If you are having a drink, leave it until after your speech is done and you’ll appreciate it more.
Don’t Outshine The Best Man
While it’s your day and you want to write the ultimate groom’s speech, a lot of people will also be looking forward to what the best man has to say. He might be a pain at times and has probably gotten you into a whole world of trouble with the Mrs but let’s allow him to have the spotlight for a moment. He’s probably worked really hard on his speech.
If you found writing the grooms speech tough, just think about how the best man has probably struggled with his speech. This will put you much more at ease. Best man speeches are a whole different minefield. While you should include some humour, leave the comedy and stories to him. Don’t be too worried, wifey probably has him under strict instructions to keep everything PC.
Don’t Go Overboard On The Bridal Party
It’s important to remember the bridal party and to comment on how beautiful they look. But just do that only. Don’t try and be funny by saying ‘if I wasn’t a married man…’ or ‘one time I got the sisters mixed up…’. A good idea is to look at everyone else while mentioning this topic and asking your audience to agree with you. Then move on. You do NOT want to upset your new wife. She takes priority when it comes to who’s looking beautiful.
We hope that will help you write the ultimate groom’s speech!
If you need a hand getting the stag organised, get in touch and we can help you organise the ultimate stag party too!
For advice for the bride-to-be, check out our sister site, The Foxy Hen.
Image credit: Alvin Mahmudov, by Unsplash
