GROOM SPEECH GUIDE
This is the big one. The Groom Speech. You’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it in. You might be wondering: Where do I start? What order should I say things in?
Fortunately, A Figure of Speech has produced a guide to turn you from daunted to determined. Before we begin, here’s some points to consider:
Length: An effective Groom Speech should be between 5-10 minutes.
Balance: It’s important to balance humour and sincerity. This is an emotional speech and so it should be. You don’t need to go too heavy on the jokes with this one and I would always err on the side of sincerity.
Jokes: Speaking of humour, it’s best to avoid scripted jokes from the internet. If you find one that fits, fine. However, they rarely do and they are rarely funny.
With the above in mind, continue reading for a guide on how to write a successful Groom Speech. Still find yourself stuck? Check out our Groom Speech or Speech Editing Service.
The Opening lines
When crafting your opening lines, think about the steps that you need to take in order to kick the speech off in the right manner:
Welcome: You should welcome everyone on behalf of ‘my wife and I’. You’ll be guaranteed a cheer and there’s really no better way to start off a Groom speech.
Special Thanks: While this may seem obvious, you might wish to give special thanks to those who have really helped you out with the wedding plans or on the big day. Don’t thank the venue, caterers etc! You’re paying them enough already…
The Bridge
The bridge between the introduction and the main body of your speech serves as a transition, guiding the audience from one part of your speech to the next:
Putting people at ease: It’s important lighten the atmosphere and let everyone relax, so putting something funny in after your introduction can help put everyone at ease. That said, your first joke has to be a good one. If it falls flat, then it could be a very painful 10 minutes.
Avoid Icebreakers: We’ve all seen the ‘100 Best Groom Jokes’ on the internet. Avoid these, please. They are never funny enough. Instead, think of something funny that relates to a self-deprecating joke about yourself.
The Main Body
The trick to writing a successful Groom Speech is to keep the structure very basic. The reason for this is that you risk it becoming a rambling mess, thanking this person and that with a long, long anecdote thrown in.
Here’s a step-by-step approach to writing this section:
Your Parent(s): You should keep this part relatively short and avoid recounting lots of stories about your parents. Thank them for their years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication to bringing you up (adjust appropriately if you were brought up by one parent or by another guardian). It’s also a good idea to keep any stories to a minimum. It would be better to talk about what you have - or haven’t - inherited from your parents and make a joke based around that.
The Bride’s Parents: You should allocate roughly the same amount of time to the bride’s parents as you do to your own. Talk about how they’ve welcome you into their family; the parallels between them and the bride; or any specific times you shared that were meaningful or memorable. Keep any jokes light and definitely no sexual innuendo directed toward the mother-in-law.
The Best Man: This is where the bulk of your humour will come from. While it’s important to be sincere in thanking your best man and in saying what a great friend/relative he has been, it’s also a good opportunity to poke fun at him and get some laughs.
The Bride: This should be the conclusion of the main part of the speech and should take up a significant part of the time. In this section, you should describe how you met, the impact your bride has had on your life, what she is like as a person and your life now. This cannot be one huge chunk of emotion, there needs to be light and shade, funny ideas and observations about your new wife always go down well, and you should sprinkle these throughout. A common mistake is to repeat what you’ve already said but in a slightly different way. So, if you’ve said how much you love her in one way, then that’s enough.
Closing Lines
Your closing lines should tie everything together and leave a lasting impression on the audience. Here’s how to create a memorable conclusion:
Bring your points together: Refer back to something mentioned earlier in your speech to create a sense of continuity and coherence.
The Best Man: You should prepare the audience for the Best Man Speech at this point. It eases the transition from your speech to his without any awkward handing of the microphone.
The Bride: Your last words should always be about your bride and your future together.
The Toast
The toast is the final part of your speech and a chance to celebrate your marriage. The toast should be very short:
Invite participation: Encourage the audience to join you in raising a glass to your marriage. That’s it and you don’t need any last joke or anecdote. Keep it simple.
By following these steps and putting thought into each section of your Groom Speech, you can create a memorable and meaningful tribute to the bride and groom.
Still Stuck? Check out our Groom Speech Writing Service:
