Bride’s Wedding Speech

Planning & Advice

A bridal wedding speech is the perfect chance for you to have your say in a day that you created! Your speech doesn’t have to be too long either and if nerves might get in the way organise for the speeches to be made before dinner – everyone else that are also have to make speeches on the day will thank you for this!

Pick a wedding speech theme, which will make it easier for you to choose anecdotes. But you can also choose to combine a few themes, like humorous, anecdotal, sentimental and emotional. Or, if you like, it doesn’t have to follow any structure at all.

Start off by welcoming the wedding guests and thank everyone who helped make the day special. Give a special mention to your maid of honour and bridesmaids. Talk about the groom’s family and thank them for welcoming you in. Although you should try and thank everyone, you should also try and avoid thanking every single person – you really don’t want to bore your guests.

Thank your family also, particularly mentioning your parents and their marriage – which might be a tried and tested formula that you’d like to follow. Comment on any wedding advice that you were given in the lead up to the big day – this could be used for comic effect.

Love Story

The story of how you met your husband is an absolute must for your bridal speech, especially if it’s a funny one. You could also mention your first date, the beginning of the relationship, how he proposed and his part – if any – in the whole wedding planning process. It sounds great to pick a theme – like your husband being a hopeless romantic – so you can focus all your stories on that. If your husband is also making a speech (See How to Prepare the Perfect Groom’s Speech), don’t worry if the stories overlap, because you both will have different perspectives on them.

You could also use a PowerPoint display to show images of you and your husband, when you were children and as a couple and base your speech on the stories from the pictures. Interesting photos from the Stag and Hen parties might also make a few laughs, but remember to keep everything clean and censored so you don’t offend any of the older guests. Also, try not to include ‘private’ jokes as the majority of the guests will feel left out.

Toast

Most importantly, take a few moments to talk about your new husband, telling him how happy and content you are at being his wife, how he makes you feel and how much this day means to you.

Finish your speech off with a toast to your husband, family – new and old, friends and your guests, and then just sit back and enjoy yourself!

The most important thing is to keep your speech short and sweet. Practice it a few times out loud and tell it to a friend or a family member to see if it gets the desired effect – laughs, tears, or awww moments. It sounds so cheesy, but just be yourself and you can’t go wrong with that!

Photo by Michelle Prunty Photography