I would like to dedicate this article to my dear friend, Rachael, who wants to do a bride speech at her wedding later this year <3.
Traditionally, the bride isn’t expected to deliver a speech. However, as wedding customs evolve and modernise more brides are embracing the opportunity to share their sentiments and contribute to this part of the ceremony.
Whether you are a natural public speaker or a nervous one, preparing and performing a heartfelt and memorable speech at your wedding is within your grasp.
If it’s something you’d like to do on your special day, then don’t let anything hold you back!
Follow the guide below to create and deliver your own amazing bride speech:
Table of Contents
Part 1: Preparation
Earlier the Better
Begin crafting your speech well in advance of your wedding day.
This allows you to organise your thoughts, revise, and refine your words.
Starting early also ensures you have sufficient time to practise and perfect your delivery.
Avoid any last-minute stress if you can help it!
Consider Your Audience
Before you start planning your bride speech, consider the diverse audience attending your wedding – family, friends, colleagues, all spanning different generations on both your side and your partner’s.
Think of how your speech could resonate with this varied audience.
(Also be mindful not to include stories in your speeches that could offend or upset anyone present – you don’t want the added hassle of dealing with hurt feelings!)
Are there certain anecdotes and sentiments you could include that will be touching for everyone present?
If you can, try and reference all the different groups of people in the room in your speech, this will help to keep people engaged and it’s a nice touch to make everyone feel included!
Theme and Structure Are Important
Ask yourself:
What do I want the audience to take-away from my speech?
What do I want them to remember about it?
Structure-wise, a safe bet is to consider and/or adapt the following outline:
Introduction: Express gratitude for everyone’s presence and establish an upbeat, positive tone.
Personal Anecdotes: Share meaningful stories and memories that highlight your journey as a couple.
Acknowledgements: Thank key individuals such as your parents, in-laws, bridal party, and best men.
Express Love and Commitments: Profess your love for your partner and excitement for what the future has in store.
Raise a Toast: Conclude with a toast to love, unity, and a happy life together.
Inject Authenticity
Weave in your sense of humour to keep the atmosphere light and enjoyable.
Share funny anecdotes or silly moments from your relationships.
Make sure your personality is infused into the speech – whether you’re witty or sentimental, let your true self shine through.
Keep it Short
While you may have a wealth of stories and emotions to share, it’s important to keep your speech concise.
Try not to go off tangents.
Aim for a max. duration of 5 minutes to maintain the audience’s attention and maximise your speech’s impact.
Practise makes Perfect
Rehearse your speech multiple times. Practise in front of a mirror, record yourself.
Practise in front of family or friends for feedback.
Pay attention to your tone, pace, pauses, and filler words, and keep within your timeframe.
This is a very useful app if you want instant feedback on pace, tone, and filler words. It will help you improve your speech quickly.
Familiarity with your speech will boost your confidence on the day and will help you to enjoy it more.
Part 2: Delivery
Go easy on the alcohol!
The last thing you want is to be slurring through your speech or completely forgetting elements that you’ve spent so long working on!
I’d advise not to drink at all beforehand, but if you really need to then limit yourself to one or two.
Relax
If you’re feeling nervous then calm yourself down with deep breaths.
Try not to take it too seriously.
If you want some additional support with calming nerves, then check out Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking and How to Present as a Confident Public Speaker.
Notes or Nothing?
Being so well practised that you don’t need prompts or notes to refer to during your speech is the exemplary approach (that’s not to say that you can’t bring your notes to read through beforehand).
But unless you have successfully rehearsed without your script or prompts and are, most importantly, CONFIDENT that you can deliver this speech without anything then I would not advise you to be empty handed on the day.
So, if you do require written notes to help you remember your speech then the best things you can use are prompt cards with bullet points / phrases / images on them (not the entire speech word-for-word).
I don’t advise using sheets of A4 paper because these can rustle and cause interference with your microphone.
Also, reading notes from your mobile phone looks a bit lazy (in my opinion!).
Open Body language
Keep your posture open and straight this will help you to relax and feel confident.
Make eye contact with the audience where possible and use succinct hand gestures!
Speak from the Heart
Let your genuine emotions shine through. Your sincerity will resonate with the audience to create a heartfelt and memorable moment.
Address your Partner
Directly address your partner during your speech.
Express your love, appreciation, and excitement for the life you’ll share together.
Embrace the Moment
As you stand before your loved ones on this special and important day in your life, try and enjoy yourself!
Smile, make eye contact, and speak with love. Savour it!
Your bride speech is a celebration of your journey and a testament to the wonderful union you are about to embark upon, so don’t let nerves or self-consciousness get in the way of that!
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I hope you have found this a helpful article brides-to-be.
Cheers to love, laughter, and a beautiful wedding speech!
Check out my Best Man Speech Guide here.
Tilly x
BONUS TOP TIP for the nervous public speaker bride
Aside from deep breaths, the best thing you can do if you know that you’re going to stand up in front of people and immediately feel nervous and uncomfortable is to initiate an icebreaker.
Do this right at the start of your speech to put yourself at ease.
Most nervous public speakers hate it when all eyes are on them, and the expectation is to deliver a monologue to a silent room.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Turn a monologue into a dialogue exchange by getting immediate feedback from the audience.
Ask a question or tell a joke, anything to prompt a verbal response or laughter from your audience. It doesn’t take much.
As that shift from monologue to dialogue takes place, you will immediately feel the pressure subside and can relax into the rest of your speech.
