Tips for Great Wedding Speeches
Wedding planning advice from top wedding planners
We asked some of the best wedding planners in Kitchener-Waterloo and London for tips on giving great wedding speeches. Here’s what they recommended:
“Speeches – Oh Speeches! They can be long and daunting and go on & on & ON! We suggest to our couples to ask their speakers to keep them short and sweet, even limiting their time to a 3-5 minutes. If the venue or caterer will allow, to have a few speeches prior to dinner service, and between courses when plates are cleared, etc. but sometimes there is no way to squeeze those in so after dinner speeches are the only option.”
London Wedding Planners – meet Rebecca from High Gloss Weddings
“Keep them short and evenly spaced out! We tell all of our couples to space their speeches out between courses. This allows the guests to enjoy the speeches without feeling trapped at the table, and it bridges the gap between dinner service. Weddings that take our advice always have the same feedback; that their guests felt the dinner service was seamless and enjoyable.”
London Wedding Planners – meet Lauren from Twelfth Night Events
“In my experience, people have polarized opinions about speeches. Some people LOVE them, some HATE them. Very few are completely ambivalent. I generally advise couples to ask anyone giving a speech to limit it to five minutes. We try to encourage clients to stick to the Maid of Honour, Best Man, both sets of parents, and themselves. Speeches can be spread throughout dinner, but it doesn’t really save any time – just breaks it up for the guests. If more people would like to speak, I’d suggest having some speeches for the rest of the wedding party/siblings at the rehearsal dinner. And never, EVER, open up the mic, particularly if you’ve got a heavy-drinking crowd!”
London Wedding Planners – meet Amy from Unmistakably You
“Don’t drink too much, no one wants to hear you slur through your speech, keep it short and sweet and throw in a joke or two!”
London Wedding Planners – meet Jessica from Bonafide Events Studio
“Keep them short! People get bored and want to party. If you are going to have a longer speech make it fun and relatable to the whole audience.”
London Wedding Planners – meet Marsi from One Moment Bridal Consulting
“Make them personal and speak from the heart. I do like to also put a time cap on speeches if possible so that they don’t get overly long. I do always also say not to have a speech before dinner is served. People are normally hungry at that time and they won’t concentrate on it. Save speeches for later in the meal or after the meal altogether – this helps your caterers with their timing as well.”
Kitchener-Waterloo Wedding Planners – meet Carolina from The Event Firm
“Keep it short and run during the dinner to help with timing.”
Kitchener-Waterloo Wedding Planners – meet Ainsley from Fresh Look Design
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