If you have waited all your life to take verbal revenge on someone you hate, your high school rival for instance, or that cousin of yours who had broken your prized Ferrari toy— a wedding speech would probably be a bad idea to achieve that objective! A wedding speech is a perfect opportunity to thank friends, family and all those loved ones who you didn’t get any opportunity to thanks during the normal course of life. You can tell funny anecdotes or maybe recount stories that will bring a smile to everyone’s faces. Wedding speeches should not remind a haughty cousin of his haughtiness, an ‘ugly-betty’ of her ugliness or even your bride of the times she forgot to wish you on your birthday. Avoid rousing memories that can hurt or create negative feelings. It is one day when all hurts and anger are forgotten. A day that marks the beginning of a wonderful life for you and the end of all misery in everyone else’s lives, ideally.
Since most speeches are made at the dinner table, there is plenty of alcohol to be drunk. And when there is plenty of alcohol, there are bound to be some nasty references to past issues, ex-girlfriends, bitter jibes at friends, and even embarrassing revelations about family members. If you are high, the best thing would be to keep shut and let the bride take the centre-stage for you. If you don’t feel upto it, politely let everyone know and step down. You may perhaps ask a friend to recount a funny incident. But try and avoid making a speech yourself when you are tipsy.
A wedding speech should be humorous. It doesn’t need to make the listeners roll on the floor with laughter, but it should bring a pleasant smile on their faces. Conversely, don’t make the speech overtly emotional that you have to mention in your wedding invitation that guests should bring with them tissues! The speech should be a mix of humor and delicate emotion. The right amount of both should be able to make guests dispel the rising lump in their throats with healthy infectious laughter. And don’t miss out on the romance bit. You may want to recount some wonderful moments you had spent with your bride while you were dating her in college, but steer clear of the intimate details of course. Just so that a casual sideways glance at her is enough to make her blush and smile and not fume with anger at having left nothing to the guests’ imaginations about a passionate night you spent in the car when it stopped suddenly on the highway!
Avoid teasing your bride too much too. A little casual leg-pulling can be fine. But don’t cross the limit of course. Or she’ll get back at you with her carefully prepared speeches… Be funny but still nice, as you really are. And always try to find the golden path with the wording of your speech, so that the bride and everyone else would be happy and cheer you. Just say it with the best of words on your special day.