The thought of having to speak in front of a large group of people can be nerve wracking for most, especially at such a momentous event as a wedding!! One of the best ways to alleviate those nerves is to be prepared! Whether you’re the one tying the knot or it’s your friend who is getting married and asked you to give a speech, this blog is full of tips to help you write and deliver an amazing wedding speech or toast!
Photography: Keani Bakula | Venue: Halekulani Resort
Before we get into tips for the actual speech & toast let’s breakdown the type of speakers we typically have!
Member of the Wedding Party
Two popular members of the Wedding Party that are often seen giving a speech to the happy couple are the Maid of Honor and the Best Man.
A tip for the speaker:
In your speech you have the opportunity to share how wonderful of a friend the bride or groom is! We often hear stories that are funny that get all of the guests laughing, or stories that are heartfelt that have guests looking for a tissue to dry their eyes.
If you’re not sure on the type of speech you want to deliver, have a chat with your friend who’s getting married! In case there are certain things they’d like you to say, or even things not to mention, it could help you ensure that you deliver a speech that they’ll love to hear on their wedding day!
A tip for the couple:
Think about your wedding party and their individual skills. If you have a bridesmaid or groomsmen who is a great public speaker (even if they’re not your maid of honor or best man), consider having them deliver a speech!
You could even have your wedding party work together to write something and have one person deliver the message!
Photography: Christie Pham Photography | Venue: Halekulani Resort
Family Member of the Couple
The family members we often see saying a speech for the Bride or Groom are their parents or siblings. Unlike speeches given by a member of the wedding party these speakers can share a few words about their child/sibling to describe how they have grown up to be where they are today.
Last but not least we have the newlyweds of course!
Newlyweds
We often see the couple say a short speech that sometimes includes recognizing family members, guests who are visiting from out of town, and thanking all of their friends & family for being there to celebrate the occasion with them! Instead of worrying about forgetting to thank someone and taking up a lot of time of your program, we recommend thanking everyone who has helped you throughout your lives and for making the wedding day one you’ll never forget!
Those are the folks we typically see deliver wedding speeches but of course your speakers can be anyone!
Now for the tips for your wedding speech or toast!
Print it Out
Photography: Garrett Nose Photography
Having a copy of your speech ready will prevent you from having to “wing it” and give you something to refer to when speaking to your audience! We recommend printing it out, as paper typically looks better in photographs than a phone and just to have the peace of mind that if your phone battery dies or the speech accidentally gets deleted you’ll have your hard copy speech ready to go!
Short & Sweet
We typically allot for speakers to have 5 minutes to deliver their speech. Keeping your message short & sweet will ensure that you won’t lose your audience’s attention!
Focus on a Message
One way to keep your speech from going all over the place is by choosing one main message to share and sticking to it for the entirety of your speech!
Toasts
Toasts are typically shorter than a speech and rather than telling a story is usually a concise message that sends a wish to the newlyweds!
Photography: Derek Wong Photography | Venue: Kahala Resort
One toast that’s very popular at local Japanese weddings is the banzai toast! This toast is done twice typically by two different people, one to send a toast to the happy couple from their guests and one from the guests to the happy couple! The speakers delivering this toast should be able to deliver it loud and boisterous, so keep this in mind when choosing who will be giving your banzai toasts! For more details and the instructions of how to deliver this toast check out our blog HERE!
Things to Avoid
A few things to avoid in your speech or toast:
Including inside jokes that the majority of the guests won’t understand.
Stories that would make any guests feel uncomfortable.
A story the Bride/Groom may not want family to know about ;-)
Photography: Bianca Photography | Florist: Spinning Web Florist | Venue: Kahala Resort
Good Luck!!
After you’ve made your speech practice it on your own and with others till you feel confident enough to share it on the wedding day!
We hope this helps you deliver a spectacular speech or terrific toast! :-)
XOXOXO
(A Perfect Day)
A Perfect Day Hawaii, Wedding Planner, Hawaii Wedding Planner, Hawaii Weddings www.APerfectDayHawaii.com