I’m not sure I like the idea but I can certainly see where the benefits are. For one, it will save you lots of time and the speeches have been polished by professionals.

I have written speeches where I agonized over every single line and they took FOREVER to write. If you did some work to personalise it, it could be a good idea.

• describe how the couple first met, or when you were first introduced to the groom – this one is pretty much a requirement for all good father of the bride speeches!
• key events in your daughters childhood – especially if there was something that you used to tease your daughter about. For example, my parents have a few photos of me after I was playing in the mud and they teased me that they would show them at my wedding!
• key events in your daughters adult life – mention the sort of things that she has done that has put her on the path to this wedding. For example, university or working at a particular place, moving to a new town.
• key events in the relationship – have they done anything spectacular together, overcome obstacles, travelled overseas, had a child together?
• advice – often the speech will include some advice from the father of the bride. If there is something you want to give here, let them know.
• welcome the groom to the family – a great way to either open or close (or both!) your speech is to welcome the groom into the family.

Hopefully this has given you a few ideas! Remember, the speech does not have to be any longer than about five minutes. It’s not a huge lecture!

I was looking for a Youtube video that had some nice ideas for Father of the Bride speeches and I came across the above video. Its not exactly for the speech, but it has some good ideas in it.

The idea of Father of the Bride speeches is to basically give your blessing to the couple and reminisce about the bride and the relationship she found with the groom. The video above is about speaking on the positive qualities of the bride and groom separately and then about them together. That seems like a pretty good rule to follow.

This quote sums up how I feel about what your speech should mean:

“One of the saddest things to overhear when a person gets up to give a speech at a wedding reception is “I´ll just get this over and done with” – and of course they´re the sort of feelings that radiate. Where as what they should be saying is “I´m looking forward to this speech as a priceless gift to people I care about”. These individuals inspire, entertain, and move people.” Laurie Smale

Be real!

Here are a few quick tips on the fly to get you started:

First things first, you know the date of the wedding, so you know how long you have to prepare. Ideally, you want to have your speech finished in time for you to get in a good bit of practice before you have to stand up at the wedding.

Spend time on your speech, look at other speeches, listen to other speeches, but make sure you personalise yours and make it uniquely your own.

Practice in front of someone if you can. It will give you confidence and hopefully settle your nerves a bit.

Remember, the guests are there to honour the bridal couple, and so are you! Do the best you can and make sure you let your feelings shine through.