Modern Order of Wedding Speeches

Order Of Wedding Speeches - Short Version - Traditional

The Best Man speaks first according to traditional lore concerning the order of wedding speeches. Traditionally he will toast the bride and groom. He may also need to act as a de facto Master of Ceremonies if no Master of ceremonies has been appointed.
After the Best Mans opening speech speech, the Groom should be cued by the Best man to respond by toasting the bride, thanking the parents, welcoming and thanking relatives from afar and anything he wants to add in this vein.
In traditional order of wedding speeches, this is the part, after a suitable interval, that any Friend or Relative who is a noted and interesting public speaker or has a message to impart may be invited to speak. (It may be Aunt Ivy who you are hoping will remember you in her will if you remember her at the wedding.)
The Father of the Bride speaks last - after paying for the wedding bash it is probably the most he will ever pay to have his say in public. He should thank everyone for attending and add any humorous stories he deems appropriate..

Note that if a Master Of Ceremonies has been appointed he should keep things ticking along with occasional anecdotes (funny or factual.) about speakers he introduces - so he needs to do a little research. But by following the general order of wedding speeches given above and keeping things rolling along with announcements and short stories he should discharge his duties with great aplomb and distinction.

Order Of Wedding Speeches - Longer Version - Modern Practice

With the advent of the 21st century, a lot of tradition has flown out of the window; with beach weddings and underwater weddings and skydiving weddings it was inevitable for some sort of change in the way we tie the knot.

Because this is the newlyweds' show, they may request old friends and close relatives to get up and speak, irrespective of any formal or informal protocols.

Nowadays there is a less formalised order of wedding speeches which goes something like:

Best Man Speech tending towards humour
Maid or Matron of Honor Speech tending towards lauding the bride
Father of the Bride Speech welcoming guests and telling a few funny stories
Parents of the Groom Speech welcoming a new daughter
Groom Speech toasting his new wife and thanking guests
Bride Speech responding to groom, thanking her parents and her retinue
Any other Guests of Honor Speeches which are personalised to individual weddings

Following on this all-in family and friends theme, invitations may be extended to:

The brides or grooms siblings, bridesmaids, groomsmen, grandparents, godparent, guardians, the wedding official, close friends or relatives, cousins, best friends, colleagues, bosses, children of the bride or groom or even a particularly intelligent family pet.

It can get thoroughly out of hand - sometimes better described as an 'out of order of wedding speeches' than an 'order of wedding speeches'.

Remember well that anyone asked to speak should be apprised of their task beforehand and the best man or master of ceremonies should announce their slots with a brief preview of what they will speak about. If you do not curtail speeches to a maximum of 10 speeches/toasts in total, guests will get restless and bored, no matter how compelling the speakers style.

Order Of Wedding Speeches - Wow The Guests - Be Professional

Because we understand that you may not have the time or inclination to construct a speech from our tips, we have reviewed dozens of books with speed and functionality in mind.

If you want a quick channel to impress wedding guests with your speech, we strongly recommend that you look at the wedding speech woes page.

Whether you want to simply know the order of wedding speeches or want one or several professionally written speeches to grab, edit and use immediately - this is your best kickstart action plan to obtain the best and most comprehensive resources.

Pete Steel was a member of Toastmasters for several years. He reviews wedding speech books and writes about the order of wedding speeches and public speaking.

Do the Order of Wedding Speeches Really Matter?

Back in the day, you didn't see the flurry of wedding speech activity that you do now. You probably heard from the Father of the Bride and the Best Man. And, that was pretty much it. But nowadays, everybody and their brother want to get up and toast the bride and groom. So, with this plethora of people, what is the proper order of wedding speeches in today's world? Or does it even matter?

The Origin of the Wedding Speech or Toast

Wedding Speeches, or toasts, originated in the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks and Romans would raise their goblets to their Gods hoping to gain favor. The Greeks would also perform toasts to avoid being poisoned. The Greeks were a suspicious bunch. You never knew who your enemies were. So, when the Grecians would gather for celebrations, they would all drink from the same pitcher and spill a little of their wine into the next person's goblet. This would ensure there was no funny business going on.

The Romans began a practice of dropping a piece of burnt toast into the wine to absorb any impurities. Back in those days, wine would go bad easily. The burnt toast would make it taste better. When the Romans invaded Britain around 55 B.C., they brought the practice with them. The word "toast" comes from the Latin word tostus, meaning roasted or parched. The word stuck and over time, also referred to salute with a drink.

What should the Order of Wedding Speeches Be?

Well, that all depends. Are you a traditionalist, or a non-traditionalist?

If you are a traditionalist, the Best Man gives the first wedding speech. He generally toasts the bride and groom, and also acts as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

Following the Best Man's speech, the groom will rise to respond, toast his bride, thanks the parents and so on.

Others may speak at this point. Finally the Father of the Bride will give his speech and thank everyone for attending.

If you are a non-traditionalist, all the rules fly out the window. The rules are: there are no rules. Spontaneity is the way to go and lots of people get up to toast the bride and groom. But, generally, the order of wedding speeches will go as follows if you are a non-traditionalist:

o Best Man Speech

o Maid (or Matron) of Honor Speech

o Father of the Bride Speech

o Parents of the Groom Speech

o Groom Speech

o Bride Speech

o Any other Guests of Honor Speeches

Who Else Can Give a Wedding Speech

The other Guests of Honor are a long and illustrious list. It basically means anyone the bride and groom deem close enough to them to give a speech. But here are some ideas on who can give Guest of Honor Speeches at a wedding reception:

o The bride's or groom's siblings

o The bridesmaids (collectively or individually)

o The groomsmen (collectively or individually)

o Grandparents

o Godparent

o Guardians

o Close Relatives

o Cousins

o Best Friends

o Coworkers

o Bosses

o Children of the Bride or Groom

o The Wedding Officiant

Any of these people can give a speech if prearranged and okay with the bride and groom. After all, there is such a thing as too many wedding speeches. You don't want the party-goers to be bored to tears.

So does the Order of Wedding Speeches even matter anymore? Not really. The days when wedding etiquette was etched in stone are long gone. More important are the thoughts conveyed during the speeches. As long as the bride and groom feel incredibly special and loved on their big day, the order of the wedding speeches does not matter.

Cherie Stirewalt has been in more weddings than she can count. Learn how to write and deliver and wedding speech that will leave them all speechless. Download your guide to writing wedding speeches today!

Wedding Speeches Order

Wedding ceremonies follow so many traditions and customs, and the wedding reception speeches are no different. The traditional wedding speeches order was made so that the wedding speeches can be in the most eloquent, memorable order.

Understanding and having proper knowledge of the order of the wedding speeches is important for all who intend to deliver their respective wedding speeches during the wedding reception.

The Father of the Bride Wedding Speech
Father of the Bride Wedding Speeches traditionally starts off the long list of wedding speeches for the ceremony. The Father of the Bride has a very important role in the wedding speeches, not only does he start them off, but he is to brag about how wonderful his daughter is and give her inspiring words and marriage advice.

The Groom Wedding Speech
Groom speeches are very important and very formal. The groom is to thank everyone for coming, and thank specific people, on the behalf of his wife, that made a significant difference in the day. This list includes the parents and members of the wedding party.  At the end of his speech he introduces his best man.

The Best Man Wedding Speech
Best Man Wedding Speeches are traditionally hilarious. The best man is allowed to be informal, and he is supposed to make everyone laugh, which is why he is traditionally put in the middle of the speeches. His speech gets everyone’s attention back and wakes them up.

The Maid of Honor Wedding Speech
Maid of Honor speeches often turn out drastic because the Maid of Honor panics after hearing how funny the best man speech was. The Maid of Honor often tries to joke around in her speech, and it never turns out right for her. Traditionally, the Maid of Honor speech should be touching and from the heart—please, don’t humiliate yourself.

Others who wish to speak

Traditionally or otherwise the Mother of the Bride, the Father of the Groom and the Bride herself are among the others who would want to speak. Technically the Father of the Groom speech is more like a best man speech from the grom's father. There is no hard and fast rule as to when the Mother of the Bride speak - ideally she might follow the Maid of Honor. And when it comes to the Bride, you din't see a bride giving a wedding speech too often but if she does she is often the last speaker in the order of wedding speeches and thanks everybody for their kind words and blessings.

Any other guests that wish to speak at the reception should talk to the bride and groom prior to the wedding day. The bride and groom also may ask someone additional to speak if they wish.

The traditional ordering of the wedding speeches is not required, even at traditional weddings. The bride and groom have the ultimate decision of the ordering of the wedding speeches. The two will be able to decide the order of the speeches by determining who has experience in public speaking, the speaker’s personalities, and by the tone of the speech.

The wedding speeches order should be laid out by the bride and groom before the wedding reception, so be sure if you are giving a wedding speech, you know who you’re following. Communicate with the bride and groom, and everything should go smoothly!

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