You are officially now a bridegroom-to-be and the wedding day is fast upon you, and you know that you are expected to give a bridegroom speech at the reception, but what to say, and how to say it; that is your big dilemma right now. As most cultures dictate, after the official ceremony and at the beginning of the reception, you are expected to speak immediately after the father of the bride says his bit.
One of the basic building blocks of a good speech is starting out on the right foot, and one way to insure that that will happen is to have a good opening line. Many people when pressed to give a speech don’t have a clue what constitutes a good opening line, and if you are among that group, then you need to investigate the sites that are available on the Internet for giving an impressive bridegroom speech and how to start it off. There are several different camps as to how to open a speech and they are all equally effective; for example, one may start off with a little joke or humor just to break the tension, or another could be a very conservative way of beginning and just extend a welcome to everyone there.
Now is the time, after the opening line; to show your appreciation to the folks gathered there and to give thanks all around to those who have contributed to making the day possible. In a more traditional bridegroom speech, the bridegroom would start off by thanking the parents of the bride for all their contributions and support; then thank his own parents for his upbringing and all they have done for him and their contributions; and then thank the guests for all the beautiful gifts and the fact that they came to the wedding; and so on. Sometimes the bridegroom will thank the minister and the bridesmaids, and the best man—the situation is different in every wedding; but the main factor here is to be sincere and mean what you are saying. Giving this speech is the best time to show everyone gathered just how mature and positive a person you are, and for making a very good impression on them.
Move now into the main body of the speech and let everyone in on some little bits of funny or relevant things that happened to make the wedding day come about; and make sure you convey the happiness you feel and what a good feeling it is to become part of another family and how much it means to you. The gathered folks are not interested in listening to a long drawn out bridegroom speech, they want to hear from you in your own words how you feel about the wedding, your bride and her family, and it matters to them how sincere you sound, so tell it like it is.
A bridegroom speech is a good time to tell a little bit about how you met because not everyone in the gathered group of people may know the whole story. There is always some little piece of information that is not known to everyone, and you could mention something like that. Talk about how beautiful your bride is to you, how lucky you are to be in this situation, and how much you love her. Then you could tell some funny thing that happened to the two of you that led to this relationship and to the wedding day. Everyone likes a good chuckle and wants to hear what they think is inside info, just remember not to embarrass anyone during your talk, most of all your wife and yourself, or the in-laws.
To close your bridegroom speech, you could elaborate on the things in your life that mean so much to you and include your new family and members of the audience; or even quote a poem or read something you had written yourself just for the occasion. The more of yourself you can inject into the talk, the more the group will love what you are saying and will hang on your every word. This is the time also to offer a toast to your new wife, or her parents, or your parents, your best man—whatever feels right at the moment. None of this is set in stone; just be yourself and be candid. You will find your nervousness will disappear as the group warms up to you, and all of you will remember the day for a long long time.
Just remember, a bridegroom speech can be the most powerful thing you have ever done in front of a crowd; and if you are prepared, with a few cryptic notes if you need them just so you don’t forget anything; you will find that not only will this be the most satisfying experience you have ever had, but you have left an indelible impression on the crowd and the gathered families that will last a lifetime. Just be yourself, be sincere, and mean every word you say; and the crowd there will join together in wishing you and your wife every happiness for the rest of your lives.
Amy Bartlett writes articles and publishes information regarding wedding speech. For more information on Bridegroom Speech visit our site.