2007-Aug-29 - Preparation For A Father Of The Bride Speech
What is the most important part of the father of the bride speech?
If you read the wedding planning and wedding speech guides, the focus is almost always on the bride's father proposing a toast to the newly married couple. There are many choices to guide the appropriate wording for the father of the bride to say a few wise and witty words as he draws attention to the happy couple as the focus of the wedding breakfast.
In fact the proposal of the toast is really rather a ritual, and almost any of the traditional and often used toasts will do. At that point most of the guests have already turned their attention to raising their glasses to the newly weds, and expect just a few brief but inspiring words from the speaker.
Some fathers may think the most important thing they have to say is the fatherly advice they offer in public to their daughter and her new husband. Often their daughter might think they would better spend their time telling a wedding joke to amuse the guests, for all the polite attention she is giving their "wise words".
No, I think the important part of the speech given by the father of the bride comes at his opening remarks. As the first speaker at the reception, the father of the bride, traditionally the host of the reception, has a vital opportunity to set the mood of the event. With two sets of families and friends coming together usually for the first time, there is a need to break the ice, and build some rapport and encourage the start of new friendships. Putting the guests at their ease, creating a sense of anticipation for the later speeches and stages of the reception, and building a happy mood of celebration can be the key to making the reception a successful and memorable event. It is really a leadership role, with the father of the bride playing the part of a good host who takes responsibility for how much his guests enjoy their visit.
If the father of the bride instead indulges in some side shots at his ex-wife, the groom, or the groom's family, the scene will be set for a tense and possibly unpleasant hour or two, and divert attention from the newly weds. The father of the bride has to remember the reception is not about him or his views - even if he has paid for it and expects a captive audience in return - it is about celebrating the marriage of the new couple among their families and friends.
No matter how well the father of the bride delivers the toast to the wedding couple, the reception will be off to a slow start if he has not successfully played the role of a good host in setting a celebratory mood and building some rapport between the guests.
Go to this link for a useful outline of the main steps to be covered in the father of the bride speech where there is also a link to more detailed sample speeches, wedding jokes and quotes and the wording of popular toasts. However, much of the success of the speech will be determined by how well the bride's father reads and creates the mood of the guests, without relying just on the written speech prepared in advance.
Here is another good outline for the wedding speeches father of the bride.
Often the role of host leads on to the father of the bride becoming the wedding master of ceremonies, and this link leads to an interesting discussion on whether the wedding MC for the reception.
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2007-Aug-17 - How To Be A Wedding Emcee
Being a wedding master of ceremonies (also known as a wedding MC or wedding emcee) is a critical role for the success of a wedding reception. The wedding emcee acts as the "chairman" for the reception, overseeing the sequence of events and making sure everything takes place smoothly as planned, and in the appropriate atmosphere of happy celebration.
While the wedding MC is in control of proceedings, it is very important that this control does not turn into dominance. The wedding MC is not usually expected to provide the entertainment for the reception, but to link one event to the next. A thanks to one contributor behalf of the guests is followed by an introduction to the following stage in the reception. A few light hearted words is all that is required to keep the reception on track.
Click on this link to read more about the role of being a wedding mc.
A wedding MC with a wealth of experience, Tom Haibeck, has written a popular book called Wedding Toasts Made Easy. It is now one of the top guides to the role of being a wedding MC, both as a book in bookshops, and available as a downloadable ebook.
Pete Miller is another very experienced wedding MC who has written a downloadable guide for emcees. It also covers the role comprehensively, and has even more help with the wedding emcee's speech obligations, with speech templates and a large choice of popular wedding toasts and jokes. You Can Be A Wedding MC is a very helpful guide for wedding MCs, especially those who need extra help with their speech, and want a good stock of wedding jokes.
Both guides are also of great value to wedding couples, who need to understand, at an early stage of their wedding planning, the role of the wedding MC - well before they choose who they would like to perform this role.
Learn more about wedding speeches and being a wedding MC.
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