Wedding Speech - An Important Part of the Wedding

Wedding Speech - An Important Part of the Wedding

The wedding speech is one of the most important parts of the wedding reception, the bachelor party, or the wedding rehearsal dinner. Family and friends who have gathered to help the couple celebrate their wedding look forward to hearing the wedding speech delivered by the friends and family who have been asked to give a speech.

The responsibility of asking people to give a wedding speech usually falls to the bride and groom. They have to decide the people who would be willing to say a few words but at the same time do a good job, too. A very high percentage of people fear public speaking, so it may take several requests before they find someone willing to give a wedding speech. Of course, the three people expected to give a speech, the father of the bride, the groom and the best man, have no other choice.

When the bride and groom ask someone to give a wedding speech, they should not put pressure on the person if they are reluctant to speak. If the person asked to give a wedding speech is forced to do it, he or she may not be able to make a good presentation and may cause an awkward moment. This could also cause resentment.

Traditionally there were three people who gave a wedding speech at the reception: the father of the bride, the groom, and then the best man. However, the ladies felt left out and today's wedding reception programme includes the mother of the bride who follows the father of the bride; the father and mother of the groom; the matron of honour, the sister of the bride and the best man. Even this list is not written in stone. The bride and groom can add anyone to this list that they want.

Though it is a tradition for the father of the bride to give his wedding speech first, the bride and groom may consider letting a more experienced public speaker in the wedding party go first. An experienced public speaker can calm down a rowdy guest who may have had too much to drink and set the mood for the rest of the speakers.

The bride and groom should keep in mind to give each speaker no more than three minutes for their wedding speech. If you have five wedding speeches, that will take fifteen minutes of the reception time. Most receptions have a time limit on the rental of the hall, so the wedding speeches should be kept to a minimum. Also the newly wedded couple should take into consideration that the guests have an attention span of about twenty minutes.

The bride and groom look forward to hearing the wedding speeches. This is the time for beloved family members and friends to express their love for the happy couple. The wedding speech may leave the happy couple and guests laughing at funny memories the presenter shares, or weeping from the beautiful wedding speech full of heart-felt sentiment. The wedding speech segment of the reception sets the mood for the rest of the celebration.

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Wedding Speech - An Important Part of the Wedding

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