Keep it Short:

The worst part of any wedding celebration is when some long winded buffoon drones on and on during his opportunity to make a wedding speech. No one wants to listen to your ramblings for forty minutes, no matter how interesting you may think they are. People are at the wedding to share in the couple's joy and have a good time. No one will be able to do either if you talk for too great a length of time. Try to keep your speech under five minutes long if possible.

Save the jokes for Henny Youngman:

Public speakers often like to try and break the ice with a joke, have you ever noticed that? Have you also noticed that the jokes are usually bad? These people have professional speech writers working for them. You do not. Unless you are truly a funny person (your name is Robin Williams, for example), steer clear of the jokes. If you do have to make jokes during your wedding speech, try to make them appropriate for the occasion. Jokes about weddings in general or the people in attendance will always work better than jokes of the "a guy walks into a bar" variety. Also remember that jokes at the groom's expense are funny while those at the bride's expense are not. That's just the way it is.

Sentimentality Works:

People get all warm, fuzzy, and gushy at weddings. Sharing sentimental stories about the couple and how in love they are, about your own wedding, or any other appropriately smarmy topic will have them eating out of your hand. Make the focus of your wedding speech the subject of love and roses and good feelings and puppies and you can't go wrong.

This Day is Not About You:

This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when preparing and making a wedding speech. No matter how popular you are, no one is there to see you. The wedding day is all about the bride and groom. This is their day in the sun, so to speak. Keep your stories and anecdotes focused on the happy couple so that they can stay that way while you are speaking.

Keeping these topics in mind will help you be successful when making a wedding speech. With the right ideas and a minimal amount of preparation, even the most tongue tangled individual can come off like The Great Orator at least for five minutes or so when speaking at a wedding.
About the Author

Kirsten Hawkins is an event planner from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.wedding411.net/ for more event planning tips, strategies, and resources.

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Weddings... Making a Budget For Your Wedding Just the thought of all the expenses that come with a wedding, can really put a damper on the most important day of your life, especially when you need to work within a financial frame of X dollars. To avoid the stress of facing too many decisions all at once, try making a budget for your wedding. Start out with an idea of what you have to spend. Keep in mind that you will have other expenses starting out on a new life together, and come to a mutual agreement of what kind of wedding to have. Then list the elements that your wedding will include, and decide that if it comes to a crunch, what items will take precedence over others. Things to consider when making a budget for your wedding, may include but are not limited to: ·Honorarium for church, or fee for other location of the ceremony ·Fees for reception hall ·Bridal dress ·Groom's tuxedo ·Flowers ·Wedding cake ·Catering ·Invitations ·Thank You notes ·Postage ·Photographer ·Gifts for bridesmaids and groomsmen ·Number...

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