A Guide To Writing

The big day is approaching and you have to give one of the most important speeches of your life, in relation to the rest of what is going on with you; and you probably wish there was a way someone else could give your bridegroom speech for you. Well, face it; the commitment is yours, and if you want to stay in the good graces of your soon-to-be wife, her family, and yours; you had better prepare and get together what it is you should say and when.

By most traditions, your speech should follow that of the father of the bride at the reception, and the best beginning is to have a good opening line. There are all kinds of sites on the Internet that can give you ideas for good opening lines for your bridegroom speech, but mainly remember that your purpose is to catch the attention of the crowd and hold it, and sound sincere in all you say. Some guys like to start out with a quip about the wedding, or something on the jokey side, where others admit they are nervous in the opening line, or still others start out conservatively and just welcome everyone before they move into the body of the speech.

The very first thing you should do after the opening volley, is to give thanks and show your appreciation for what folks have done for you. Usually in a traditional bridegroom speech, you would start out by thanking the bride’s parents for all they have done; then thank your parents for your upbringing and whatever contributions they have made to the wedding; thank the guests for coming and for all the beautiful gifts they have brought; and if you wanted to extend the thanks to the minister and the bridesmaids, the best man—that is all well and good as long as you mean what you are saying. This is the most expedient time to make a positive and mature impression on all in attendance simply by what you say and how you say it.

Now you can draw on the feeling you have about joining another family, how much your new family and your own family mean to you; and add in some little bits of funny happenings that occurred while you and the bride were putting the day together. Just be candid and poke fun at yourself, and you will see just how easy it is to keep the attention of the group as a whole, because they want to hear funny, cute little things about you and the bride in your own way of speaking.

Remember to include your feelings about the day in general, how terrific you think your new wife looks, and what a lucky son of a gun you are to be standing in this position with all this great stuff coming down around you. A great feeling will permeate the room if you keep the crowd laughing along with you while you tell funny little happenings that went on during your courtship with your new wife; and make your bridegroom speech one that the group will remember for a long time, because they enjoyed it so, and felt that you were being sincere and open about what you were saying. Just keep in mind that the last thing you want to do is embarrass anyone, so be careful when poking fun at your wife or your new in-laws and don’t let things go too far.

Keep in mind that as much as everyone gathered cares about you, they don’t want to listen to you for the whole reception; so keep the bridegroom speech moving along at a good pace, keep everyone hanging on your words and laughing along with you, and all of you will have the time of your lives. This is not a performance but rather just a heartfelt expression of what the day and the event means to you, and the livelier you make it and the more fun; you and everyone else will enjoy it tremendously. To finish the speech, you may want to close with a tribute to friends, or a short poem, or a toast to your wife, your parents, your in-laws, the bridesmaids; you get the idea.

If you have your notes in order, and you are prepared to give your bridegroom speech when the time comes; you will find that you will have the time of your life talking up in front of the crowd and they in turn will enjoy every minute of listening to you. Just don’t let the talk drag on and on because people will get antsy and bored, so keep it light and funny and emotional, but not ponderous. Remember the group gathered in front of you is there to wish you well and they want only the best for you and your new bride, so most anything you say, if it is said from the heart and in a meaningful way, will be well received and remembered by the group as wonderful.