Father of the Bride Speech

Did you know "marriage by capture" was legal in England until the thirteenth century? Or that parents arranged the marriage of their sons and daughters? They would accept proposals, in writing, from several suitors to gain in social prominence. It's a good thing the father of the bride doesn't have to deal with that these days!

Ahhhh, the father of the bride...from the beginnings of toasting the father of the bride gave the first speech - the father of the bride speech. Now, that honor goes to the best man. However, the father of the bride still gives a speech, so you don't get out of it that easy.

The custom of toasting is dated back to the ancient gods. No one can say when the first vessel was raised in the first toast but it has been embellished to the point where everyone at a wedding can give a toast. The reason for toasting, to express happiness for the couple, has not changed but nowadays most anyone can give a wedding speech or toast to the happy couple.

The family of the bride have it easy as the father of the bride usually gives a speech that covers the whole family. It depends on the type of wedding you have, of course, but many people really don't like giving speeches. So, it's perfectly acceptable for the father to give a speech for the whole family.

This lets a lot of people off the hook for wedding speeches but the father of the bride speeches are still, well, mandatory. That is, the wedding guests still expect the father of the bride to give a speech. So if you're the father you still have to give a toast at the wedding.

It can be short and sweet or long and touching. You can express your feelings humorously with amusing antidotes or more on a serious, sentimental tone. That, of course, is your choice.

A good father of the bride speech paints a pretty picture of the bride as a child or teenager getting into trouble or just being plain silly. The father usually touches on how fast the years have gone by and how much respect, admiration, and love he has for his daughter.

His speech touches on his feeling about his new son-in-law and his hopes for their married life together. The father of the bride ends the speech with a toast to the happy couple.

You can tell what mood the father is going to touch on if he starts out his speech with any of the following:

Sentimental: It seems like just yesterday that I was driving home from the hospital...Short and Sweet: Let me honor the bride and groom for a moment...Amusing: Now that we've toasted the bride and groom several times...

The father of the bride can integrate any mood in their speech. As every family and every bride is unique, only you can determine the mood of your father of the bride speech.

Everything You Need to Know to Create Your Own Amazing Wedding Speech!