Writing an effective father of the bride speech

There comes a time in a man’s life when his little girl flies the nest. On her wedding day it is customary that the father of the bride takes the stand and makes the first speech.

The father of the bride speech tends to act as the introduction and the warm-up so there isn’t too much pressure here. There are three things that if taken into consideration, you can’t go too far wrong.

Timing

One thing to really watch out for is timing, many father of the bride speeches through the ages have been criticised as boring and lengthy. I’ve written, and witnessed, many father of the bride speeches and the key to creating effect is keeping it between 7 – 10 minutes.

Humour

Luckily, there isn’t too much pressure for the father of the bride speech to be overly funny. However, there are some little opportunities to warm the guests up.

Some light-hearted and jovial references to how the groom asked for your blessing create a great opportunity to add humour into your speech. I’ve recently written a speech for an American wedding and the father of the bride had mentioned there were tears involved when the groom asked for his blessing in a sushi restaurant in New York!

Sentiment

Naturally, sentiment tends to be the overwhelming theme in a father of the bride speech, and why shouldn’t it? This is one fantastic opportunity to show your love for your daughter, respect for the groom and gratitude to your guests.

A great way of doing this is telling your guests a warming story of your daughter growing up. This is something not many people will know and really helps to highlight the special relationship you have. This way you will be sure to tickle the emotional and sentimental side of your guest.