Four Tips to Making An Excellent and Memorable Wedding Speech

“We do not read and write poetry because it is cute. We read write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering—these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” –John Keating (Dead Poets Society 1989) 

So, you were chosen to be your best friend’s maid of honor, and you could not contain your excitement. To you, this was an excellent honor, and in a sense, her designating you as her maid of honor was what you would describe as the pinnacle of your friendship. However, being the maid of honor does not only require you to be at the wedding venue, look beautiful, smile and attend to the bride’s needs. After all the requisite marriage rites have been done and dinner has been served, more often than not, you are required to deliver a speech for the couple.

This is where your palms start getting sweaty and you start fidgeting about what to say. You want to give an address that is unforgettable and something that would at least touch the newly wedded couple or at least leave them with wisdom. Witty, funny and entertaining is what you are hoping for, but with your wracking nerves, you are suddenly at a loss as to what to say. Well, fear not, if you have been tasked with delivering any speech on the wedding day, here are some of the things you should keep in mind:

1.) Start early 

If you have been designated the task of giving a speech on someone’s wedding day, you should start thinking about what to say as soon as you can. This is not the sort of spiel you come up with while waiting for the other guests to finish their dinner. No, this is the kind of task you start right away. Remember, the couple asked you to make a speech because they know that you know them well and that you would deliver. The least you could do is live up to that expectation and start your draft early.

2.) Begin with an introduction 

Unless the host of the wedding event already tells the wedding guests who you are, it would be excellent to start your speech with an introduction. Do not assume that everyone already knows who you are. Start your speech with an introduction, thank the bride and groom. Introducing yourself would give the wedding guests an idea of why you are given the honor of delivering a speech.

3.) Share an anecdote 

Do not let your speech fall flat by saying all the clichés you can name. Instead of saying things such as “You have always been my best friend” or “You two make such a lovely couple. I knew right off the bat you were going to get married someday”, explain why they are your best friend or why you think they are such a lovely couple. The wedding guests would not want to hear what they already know; they want to listen to what kind of life the couple had before their marriage which eventually led up to it. Share anecdotes and stories. It is one way to keep your speech entertaining and ascertaining the guests would not be bored.

4.) Keep it short and sweet 

While you want to make a lasting impression and leave a good witty closing remark, you do not want to do this by reading out a novel-length speech. Keep it short and sweet and do not out the wedding guests to sleep by droning on and on. Before delivering your speech, read your final draft and see how long it lasts. If it clocks any more than ten minutes, then cut some of it short.

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