Wedding Speech Template
Giving a wedding toast? Whether you’re the maid of honor, best man, father of the bride, mother of the groom, the officiant, the flower girl, the DJ or the one who paid for everything, you’re going to have all eyes on you when it’s your big moment on their big day. What should you say in the perfect wedding speech? Got you covered. Below you’ll find tips and a template to deliver the best wedding toast of all time.
1. Make a good first impression - not everyone in the room will know who you are, but if you start with something funny, meaningful or unexpected, they will remember you when you’re finished. Every wedding speech generally begins with a brief introduction of yourself, and your relationship to the couple, but beginning with, “For those of you who don’t know me…” can sound a little arrogant or redundant. Instead, make it special with something like…
When my little sister asked me to give a roast at her wedding I was surprised, but based on everyone else’s speeches I now understand this is actually meant to be a “toast,” so I’m going to throw out what I prepared and just speak from the heart…
2. Thank everyone – before you get into your brilliant words, be mindful of the fact that someone footed the bill for this event and it’d be lovely to offer sincere thanks for their hospitality. Sincere words are a great transition to help you land your next joke, so lay it on. For example…
Before we talk about the happy couple, let’s give it up for Mr. and Mrs. Holden for inviting us down to the country club for the evening. [applause] Every detail is gorgeous, the food is delicious and most of all I know my sister well enough to tell you this truly is her dream wedding come to life.
3. Find a word that defines your speech. Think of it as a theme for your toast, the concept, word or throughline idea that you’ll use to reiterate a message. Along the lines of…
When I think of Jenny, the word that comes to mind is strength. Not because she could beat you in an arm wrestling competition, or help you move. She’s nearly useless in a fight. I’m talking about the incredible tenacity with which she walks through life. She doesn’t give up on things that are important to her, whether that’s her job as an unstoppable accountant or her fondness for animals driving her to co-found a nonprofit. My little Jenny Bean doesn’t give up and she sees things through with aplomb. The closer they are to her heart, the harder she works… which is good news for Jimmy here – and the rest of us who’ve grown so fond of him.
4. Add supporting memories. The newlyweds chose you to give a speech because you offer a unique perspective on their relationship – the audience wants to hear it, so give them a tasteful taste of your memories of the couple together. These memories serve two purposes: substantiating evidence of the theme you started out with, and the color and personalization that every good presentation needs to captivate an audience. Such as,
My fondness for Jim really blossomed on a trip we took to Valle De Guadalupe together. Mexico’s wine country. Anyone been? I’m sure it’s lovely in winter and even springtime. In summer it’s like vacationing on the surface of the sun. It’s on average about a hundred degrees and air conditioning is more or less considered a luxury. Jenny was really playing fast and loose with my patience when she booked a wine tour that included a lot of outdoor sipping in the sweltering afternoon heat. But it gave Jim a chance to showcase that classic fixer-jimmer persona many of us know and love. He realized Jenny’s strength and resilience had overpowered her general concern for others and decided to buy a few bottles and suggest we bail on the tour to drink by the pool. As I sipped a rose from the pool in the shade of a palm tree – I told my dear sister – if you don’t marry him I’ll introduce him to one of my friends because I want to keep him forever.
5. Conclude with a summary that leaves your audience feeling like they know the couple a little better, and they like you a little more. Connect the dots on how the compliments you’ve given to these individuals make them better as a couple overall – and land it with a forward-looking statement about their longevity as a pair. For example,
If you know her well, you’re aware that my tenacious little sister loves gentle ribbing like that and for those of you who don’t, please note I am being entirely facetious. I don’t mean to imply that my heatstroke-fueled moment of honesty is the reason Jenny pursued Jimbo so hard after that vacation…. But here we are at the Holden family country club, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Kidding aside, I have to imagine your conclusions are close to mine which is that we are bearing witness to the union of two people who between them have the strength, resilience, emotional intelligence, wherewithal and problem-solving to embrace, tackle and surmount anything life throws at them. To me, that seems like a pretty incredible match and I’m so thrilled to celebrate them here tonight.
6. End with a toast. Your guests have been staring at their champagne flutes for five minutes now. Wap up by inviting everyone to join you in toasting the newlyweds. Such as…
So let’s raise a glass to the couple that makes each other better, has a bright future ahead, and most importantly, has great taste in friends and family (gesture around the place). Congratulations you two.
Cheers!
