Of course, you need to be involved in every step of the planning process, the extent of your involvement will probably be directly linked to how long the bride has been planning her wedding day.
The one area that is left to the groom’s mercy is the groom speech. The bad news is that you’re going to have to give a speech, the good news is that your speech doesn’t need to be as long, or as funny, as the best man’s speech.
Your groom speech can be as long as you want, you can upstage the best man, or you can keep it short and sweet. But, whatever you do, there are several key elements that must be included in your groom speech:
Groom Speech Key Elements
Thanks!
The father of the bride will have made their wedding speech just before you. That makes your first job easy, you need to thank him for his speech on behalf of you and your new wife.
Top Tip: Make sure you use the word ‘wife’, your wedding guests will love it and it sounds romantic!
You can stop at thanking the bride’s parents. But, if you know them well you can always comment on how wonderful they are and how terrible your own parents are. It should get a laugh or two if you do it properly.
Just make sure your parents won’t really be offended by your words!
On a serious note, it is important to thank and recognize the financial contribution to the wedding made by the bride’s parents, assuming they did.
More Thanks
You haven’t finished thanking people yet!
Yes, it’s your wedding day and everyone should know it is the most important day in their calendar forever. But, you also need to appreciate that they have made the effort to get to your wedding.
This may have meant taking time off work or traveling a long distance; just to be involved in your wedding ceremony.
A little thanks goes a long way so thank all the guests for coming and acknowledge any that have come a particularly long distance. You can still remind them that it’s your wedding day so it has to be worth it!
Yet More Thanks!
You’re heading towards the end of the thanks now. It’s time to turn your attention to the wedding party. The bridesmaids will need to be thanked for being there, it’s also traditional to give them a small gift at this stage.
Of course, the comments in your speech will need to be age-appropriate! You should also thank the maid of honor for their efforts in looking after the bride and assisting with the wedding plans. Again, a joke is good, providing you know the maid of honor well enough.
Your Bride
Now is the time in a groom speech to get a little romantic, it always goes down well with the wedding guests. This is the section when you thank both the mothers and present them with their wedding bouquet. A few words are enough for this section of your speech.
You can then turn your attention to your wife, share a sweet anecdote and remind the world how wonderful and beautiful she is.
This is your chance to shine and impress your wedding guests with the depth of your emotions!
The Finale
There are two parts to the finale of a groom speech, toasting the bridesmaids and passing onto the best man.
The toast to the bridesmaids is as simple as it sounds. But, the best man is a different story. When you pass over to the best man they are traditionally supposed to roast you while saying delightful things about your new wife.
This is your chance to get a good-natured dig in first, keep it fun not cruel or lewd, you should get a laugh before you pass over with a final toast to either the bridesmaids or your new bride.
Now you can relax, the best man has his turn and you get to enjoy the rest of the wedding!
Getting It Right
The above groom speech outline is the traditional approach and it works, you don’t need to go over the top. However, it is your wedding day, you know the wedding guests and what you can get away with. In effect, you can adapt this to suit your own personality and the theme of your wedding.
But, don’t forget that you want to keep the day fun, don’t make the groom speech too long, it simply doesn’t need to be.
Here’s a great traditional groom speech template you can use if you want to keep it short and sweet:
“Thank you for all coming here today, especially everyone who has traveled from far afield to share this day with us. And thank you for your generous gifts too.
I must also thank Katy’s parents – Carol and Ray – and my parents – Jane and John, for all their help in the organization of our lovely day. When I met Katy, I thought she was sincere, kind and caring and when I met her parents, I knew exactly where she got it from. It’s clearly genetic, and I hope our children will inherit it. Carol and Ray, we’d like to give you these little tokens of our love and thanks.
My love and thanks today really have to go to Katy most of all though, for being here, for being so beautiful, kind and brilliant in so many ways, and now for being my wife.
You’ve all met James, my best man. I checked with him that he could organize a stag night, make a speech; even get me to church on time. But I forgot to ask the most important thing: could he tie the knot? I’m not talking about marriage here – I’m talking about the horrendous mess he’s made of my bow tie!
Finally, thank you also for the beautiful bridesmaids. I know they have been a great support to Katy during the last few months and ladies and gentlemen, I would like to please ask you to raise your glasses, as I give you… the bridesmaids!”
The speech borders on the cheesy but, it’s your wedding day, one of the rare opportunities you have to do this and get away with it. Just don’t overdo it! You may be the groom but everyone knows this is really the bride’s day, make sure they are enjoying your speech and your three-quarters of the way there!
Groom Speech Template
Check out the following groom speech example templates, modify them from the heart, and you won’t go far wrong. These should be just the inspiration you need to create a groom speech that will impress your wedding guests and, more importantly, your new wife.
Each of the segments can be added into the traditional groom speech above, giving you a personalized and unique groom speech that comes from the heart.
Just remember, take a few moments to think about how you really feel, this will make it easy for you to choose the right words for your speech.
The Romantic Groom Speech
If you’re not naturally a romantic then this example speech will help you to enthrall your wedding guests:
“Now as many of you probably know, I am not an in-your-face romantic. I don’t go out to the movies first in line to see the latest romantic comedies and I’m not much of a mushy person. But I became a romantic the moment I met [bride,] who is now my wife.
In my experience, there are two kinds of people. The people who are romantic at heart and the people who don’t really believe in true love until they meet the one. I fit into the latter category. I was a skeptic, I was cynical and never thought love would come calling. Until one day, it did.
And it always happens in the most ordinary, unexpected way. I was not some knight looking for a princess. One day we just bumped into each other and sparks slowly started to fly. And now here we are, husband and wife.
When it comes to [bride,] I believe in romance with all of my heart. Now that I have you, I will kiss you every day and tell you that I love you because I never want you to forget that. I cannot believe how lucky I am to now be able to call you my wife.”
Sticking with the romantic groom speech, try this on your wedding day:
“I was lucky, my parents have always supported me and guided me, even when I resisted. They’ve stood by me through everything and showed me what true love is.
Now, I can honestly say I’m inspired and driven to create that same example with children of my own. That’s what makes this wedding day so special, I’ve found a woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with and build a bond just like my parents have.
But, it’s more than that, my new wife shares that love, thanks to her wonderful parents, it’s that love that will inspire us, drive us forward, and help us create a life together.
For that, I offer my heartfelt thanks to both sets of parents and my gratitude for being able to share our wedding day with them.”
The Beautiful Bride
Your groom speech must mention how stunning your bride is, both on her wedding day and every day, here’s a great template for you to build on.
“Take a look at the woman by my side, she looks more beautiful on her wedding day than normal, and it’s not easy to improve on her daily look.
But she is so much more than just a stunning bride, she is my best friend, my soul mate, and her beauty is not just skin deep.
You all already know what I mean, I’ve never met someone with such a big heart, she puts everyone before herself and loves without limit. It was impossible not to fall in love with her.”
Beautiful Bride 2
Mix these two templates to create a heartfelt groom speech that will not leave a dry eye in the room on your wedding day. You’ll be surprised by how few words are really needed in your speech to achieve this:
“When I was young I envisioned myself conquering the world. Today, I’ve achieved it. My bride is my world and she has been since we first started out as friends.
I have to admit to resisting at first, the thought of true love and commitment scared me, I’m sure I’m not alone in that! But, Ellie has guided me through, loved me unconditionally, and shown me what real love is.
Now, I can honestly say, my love for her knows no limit, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her, she is my world. All I want to do is make her happy as we grow old together, side by side.”
Introducing The Best Man
An important part of your groom speech is introducing your groom. However, this part of your speech must be short, you don’t want to bore the guests with stories of a misspent youth.
“I’m coming to the end of my speech so would like to hand you over to the best man. I’ve known Peter nearly all my life and can honestly say he’s always been there for me, getting me out of hundreds of incidents.
Of course, the majority of these incidents only happened because of him, but that’s what best friends are for. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce…….”
The Future
If you aren’t too keen on gushing in your groom speech because you’ll choke or it just sounds fake, then you can try focusing on the future while complimenting your wife:
“The future is uncertain which used to really worry me. But, since I met Michelle I find it no longer matters. We can make plans and have dreams without being scared. But, most importantly, I know that, whatever happens, my beautiful bride will be by my side.
When it comes down to it that’s all that really matters because love really does conquer all and, as you know, we love each other with all our hearts.
Today really is the beginning of the rest of our lives.”
Addressing The Ball & Chain
“You know the drill, you announce you’re getting married and your mates have a free license to start making ball and chain gags.
I know it can seem that way, tying yourself to one woman, committing to a lifetime together. But, what they forget, and will one day experience themselves, is that it’s my stunning wife that has the ball and chain.
She’s now stuck with me, while I have the most beautiful woman in the world to accompany me in life, through challenges big and small. I have never felt so free.
I’ve found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with and a dozen ball and chains wouldn’t change the joy in my heart, I’m the luckiest man alive”.
A Touch Of Humor
The groom speech doesn’t have to be boring, even though the speech focuses on thanking people. You just need to keep the balance in your groom speech between humor and respect:
“My wife and I are so glad you could all be here, otherwise we’d have a lot of food and drink to get through!
But seriously, you’ve all been invited because you mean something special to us and we’re grateful that you made the effort to be here.
I really want to thank the bride’s parents for doing such a good job, Ellie is a beautiful, intelligent, and amazing woman that I am proud to call my wife. Tradition also states that I should thank my parents, I’m just working out where they went wrong.”
General Thanks
Part of your responsibilities as the groom is to thank everyone for being there. You can keep this part surprisingly short if you prepare your groom speech properly, check out this example:
“I need to say thanks on behalf of me and my new wife to everyone for making the effort to be here, I know some of you have traveled great distances and even had to take time off work. But, let’s face it, would you really want to miss this wedding day?
If that doesn’t convince you there is plenty of free food and drink…… But seriously, a heartfelt thanks from me and my wife, your presence is appreciated.”
Top Tips When Preparing & Delivering Your Groom Speech
Unless you’re a professional speaker you’re probably going to feel anxious about your groom speech and getting it right. Fortunately, the groom speech is traditionally short, with a little planning you’ll find the time flies by; you may even get a few laughs on your wedding day!
Here are a few tips to ensure your groom speech goes perfectly:
Keep it short
The groom speech is not supposed to belong, you’re just thanking the different elements of your wedding party for doing their parts perfectly.
You can keep the groom speech to just 2-3 minutes, that’s long enough to thank people and get a little laugh, which is all you need.
Speak slowly
Nerves generally make people speak much faster than they should. Take a deep breath before you start speaking and pause periodically. This will help you to slow down when delivering the groom speech and ensure that your wedding guests can hear and understand you.
Use a template
The templates in this guide can be used and adapted to suit your needs. It’s not cheating to use a groom speech template, it merely gives you the outline you need to create a high-quality speech.
Of course, a template or example speech only really works if you make small tweaks to ensure it reflects you, your personality, and your wedding day.
Take a template and use it to build your own groom speech that will be a hit with your wedding guests and your bride.
Create prompt cards
It is better not to read a groom speech or any speech directly from your piece of paper. Of course, if you’re really worried about giving the groom speech then you may feel this is the only option. If this is the case then read slowly to ensure the wedding guests can keep up.
A better option on your wedding day is to prepare prompt cards, these will remind you of the key elements of your groom speech and ensure you thank everyone who needs to be thanked.
You’ll be able to use the prompt cards to guide you through the speech but still be able to make eye contact with your wedding guests.
Practice
To help ensure the prompt cards are enough you should prepare your groom speech and then practice it in front of a camera. If you’re using a groom speech template and adapting it as you go then you may find the groom speech is slightly different every time you record it.
That’s okay! You’ll be familiarizing yourself with your material, ensuring it flows smoothly on the day.
Recording yourself giving a groom speech and playing it back will help you to identify areas that need improving. It will also make it easier to visualize the groom speech on your wedding day, which will ensure you give the best speech of your life!
Have a little drink
If you’re feeling really nervous before giving the speech then you can have a little drink before or with your meal; assuming the groom speech is after the main meal.
However, it may be your wedding day but nobody wants to see you drunk while giving your groom speech; especially because you’ll think you’re hilarious and go on for much longer than you should.
In other words, keep it to just one drink!
Remember they’re friends
Don’t forget that you know all, or almost all, the wedding guests. Many of them will be friends who already know you. Your wedding is supposed to be a fun occasion and they’ll know what to expect from your speech.
So relax, grab a groom speech template, build on it, do your best with the groom speech and have a good laugh about it afterward. As long as you’ve thanked the right people and mentioned your gorgeous wife, you can’t really go wrong!
Also, check out these 16 best non religious wedding readings.
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Marketing Manager at Poptop – UK Leading Events Planning Concierge Service