Wedding Speeches

Weddings are filled with numerous traditions from the rehearsal dinner to the walk down the aisle, garter and bouquet toss. One more tradition are the presentation of several wedding speeches. Not everyone chooses to give or have all these speeches but it is part of the traditional wedding process and most guests do expect one or more speeches and toasts to be done. Here is a breakdown of all the different wedding speeches that are involved in the traditional process.

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Rehearsal dinner toast
Whoever hosts the dinner (traditionally the parents of the groom) gives a brief toast thanking everyone for coming and welcoming them to the family. They also toast the couple and wish only the best for them and pray for a beautiful day of merriment the following day. 

Bride’s speech
Once the reception has started, usually after the grand entrance, the bride gets up and thanks everyone for attending the wedding and celebrating their special day with them. She may also acknowledge key people who were instrumental in putting the day on and bringing everything together.

Groom’s speech
The groom’s speech is optional but usually involves the groom toasting his bride and reiterating what she has already said but pointing out his own people for helping with the wedding. This can be as short as he would like or he may choose to speak instead of the bride altogether if she is too shy.

Father of the bride speech
The most touching and sweet speech of the day. This is about a father giving away his daughter and handing off the responsibility of caring for her to someone else. It can be heartbreaking or funny, depending on what the father decides to say.

Maid of honor speech
The maid of honor gives a speech of her choosing on any subject but generally about the bride and how happy she is that her best gal pal is finally getting hitched and creating her own fairy tale happy ending.

Best man speech
The best man gets to roast his groom and share a few words about how much he enjoys his buddy or how lucky he is to have found such a great gal.

Open microphone time
Sometimes other guests want to give well wishes and toasts to the happy couple as well. You can elect to have an open microphone time where someone walks around with a microphone and allows anyone who wants to make a toast or a speech do so. This is up to the couple as they need to judge their own crowd of guests and what may be said or how long it might take.