It’s no easy task to talk about exactly what a person means to you, in such an emotionally charged atmosphere, and the father of the bride speech isn’t simply an opportunity to say your daughter looks beautiful. Then summarise what your daughter means to you, and then it’s on to the final toast, and you’re done. If you’re divorced, then still do this, but choose your words carefully. Following this you can bring in your wife and acknowledge everything she has done in raising your daughter to be the woman she is. That pathways should then bring you neatly to her meeting her husband, and then you can talk about him, including when you first met, what’s he’s like as a person, and how happy you are he’s now part of the family. This doesn’t have to mean exam results and a glittering career, a lot of people make their mark in many other ways, and that needs to be included. Weave in memories and stories as succinctly as possible, and acknowledge her achievements as subtly as you can.
Here you want to take us through a logical, but fun pathway through her life to date. The main bulk of the structure is then about your daughter. After this you can add in a toast to those no longer with us, if that’s appropriate to your situation. That welcome should then be followed by a specific welcome to the groom’s parents, and an introduction to the groom. If you can think of something funny to say after this either about your daughter, the venue, etc, then so much the better. Obviously, the first section is the welcome, and the welcome, and that needs to be as punchy as possible. That’s why the structure needs some careful thought. Whilst the star of the show is undoubtedly your daughter, the father of the bride speech is actually a mega mix of all sorts of people who are, and have been, important in her life. on behalf of my wife Sandra and I, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all here today. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Chris, I’m Lucy’s stepfather, and. If you’re divorced then keep it simple and just address on behalf of her family instead. Instead just use the word ‘everyone’.įamily circumstance needs to be considered at this point too, because you should be making this on behalf of your wife as well. Some people find this too formal, and I never use it when writing US or Australian speeches, as they tend to have a more relaxed wedding culture. Also you need to consider the use of the words ‘ladies and gentlemen’. Very often, due to family circumstance, it’s an uncle, brother or sister making this speech, so set that out at the beginning, and simple is great. The first thing you need to do is introduce yourself – use your name and what relationship you are to the bride. In fact, you should really be the only one that welcomes, otherwise it’s all going to get a little repetitive. It may seem obvious but as you’re the first one up you need to do the welcoming. If you can make people laugh they’ll love you for it and listen to everything you’ve got to say, so sprinkle that humour right the way throughout the speech. It’s also an emotional speech in parts, and so it should be, but the more profound bits need to be balanced with some genuine funny thoughts and observations to give it proper balance. Sure, she may have left home some years ago, but the father of the bride speech realises that transition and makes the passing of years and distant memories something that you need to grapple withĪs you’re in pole position of all the speakers it’s also a speech that demands acknowledgements, thanks, tributes and welcomes, and you need to do all of this with a huge dollop of creativity, fun, celebration and entertainment, otherwise it’s just going to be one long list of names and thanks. It’s not just that you’re up first, but this marks a very definite and emotional line in the sand, where your daughter is moving on to begin a new life and start her own family.