Father Of The Bride Speech

A traditional father of the bride speech includes a few key elements

A lovely warm welcome to the family for your child’s partner is always a good start.

Perhaps use some humour saying how great it is to have them in the family, and they didn’t just get your daughter; they got the whole family.

What were your first impressions when you met them?

Did anything funny happen at the first meeting that you could use for your speech?

Someone to turn it on and off and play the right track

Share The Memories

Depending on your relationship with your daughter, these speeches can be pretty funny sometimes, but they are nearly always emotional.

And it’s okay to show your emotions in your speech; it’s probably expected.

But consider how much you share and how much she would want you to share.

How was she as a child? What things stick in your mind about her growing up?

The guests will expect some humour in these bits.

Try to use memories that won’t embarrass her. Remember all her new family will be at the wedding.

One point to remember is not to mention any exes; her wedding day is about her, her partner and her family.

The Proud Moments

Are there any memorable moments in her life that you’re super proud of her for achieving and that she wouldn’t mind you sharing?

What qualities does she have that you can share? Is she kind, helpful, considerate etc.?

This point in your speech is an excellent place to mention how much she’s loved by you, her mother, and any siblings.

Perhaps mention what kind of relationship you and she have had as she’s been growing up,  and that you’d like that to continue even when she married.

The Ceremony

Once a celebrant delivers a wedding ceremony, they usually disappear, so we don’t get to hear the speeches.

But if you enjoyed the ceremony, perhaps you could mention it during your father of the bride speech.

How did they look together? What about the vows, was there anything special that you could mention here?

How did you feel as you saw her committing to her partner?

Fatherly Advice

This is where you get to wish them the best for their future together, and if you wanted to add a bit of humour to this part, you could add something like..

“Sticking with tradition,
I think, at this point, that I am also supposed to pass on some fatherly marital advice to Graham, to help him survive….… sorry enjoy……… his new marital status.

The first is to enjoy your honeymoon period, and if you’re unsure what this is, let me explain.   

This is the time in your marriage between “I do” and “you’d better.”

I also think the words “Yes Mary, of course, you can buy it” may prove beneficial for you, Graham in the coming years.”

Keep It Short

More speeches will come on the day, so don’t make your father of the bride speech too long.

The average time-wise for the father of the bride speech is about 6 mins.

And another bit of advice that probably applies to anyone writing a father of the bride speech, keep the dad jokes till later!

You’ll get the laughs in your speech if you phrase your speech right and include some childhood memories.

Happy Tears

Every wedding day is emotional, for some more than others.

And it’s okay to get emotional during your father of the bride speech.

No one will give you a hard time if you shed a wee tear; in fact, it’s very touching if you see a tear or two during the speeches.

Delivering Your Speech

I do my celebrant job day in and day out, creating and delivering wedding ceremonies for couples. But there is no way that I could do it without a copy of the script in my hands.

So if you have a good memory, practice until you know It off by heart, and if not, write it down on cue cards or A5 size paper.

Either way, you decide to present it, always practice before the day.

That way, you can make eye contact with your couple as you read out your father of the bride speech.

And Finally

Your last duty as a father of the bride is to ask the guests to raise their glasses in a toast to the happy couple.

And there you have it,  job done.

You can sit down now and enjoy the rest of the wedding day.

Once you see some pointers, it doesn’t look so hard to create your speech does it?