Good Wedding Speeches Can Add To Wedding Festivities
How can there be a wedding without wedding speeches? The bride's
father is the first to do the honors, followed by the groom and
then by the Best Man. At some weddings even the maid of Honor
may be asked to speak a few words. The guests wait for the
speeches to end before heading for the bar, and joining the
celebrations. It is not that wedding speeches are not fun. They
are. Good speeches can add life and zest to wedding
celebrations. But these speeches are few and far between. The
majority of the speeches fall flat, because the speaker has not
made adequate preparations. Most wedding speeches are today
delivered as a ritual. The bride's father is too busy making
arrangements and has not spent sufficient time reciting his
lines; the groom is too overwhelmed by the occasion to stand up
and deliver; and the Best Man is busy enjoying the attention to
worry about the speech. So, what should be done? Should the
guests suffer the speeches in silence at wedding after wedding?
Or should the speakers realize the importance of the occasion
and do justice to the responsibility entrusted to them?
The speakers clearly must rise to the occasion. They must put in
the same effort in their speeches as the families of the bride
and groom have done in making the wedding arrangements. They
must remember that they have not been asked to deliver an
impromptu or an extempore speech. They had enough time and
warning to get their speeches ready. Now that the time has come
they must not let the guests down. The best wedding speeches, of
course, are those that are delivered at the spur of the moment.
But those who are gifted give these speeches. The rest have to
work hard to prepare their speeches. They must spend some time
putting their thought on paper, ideally at least a month before
the big day. When doing so they should not look for smart
one-liners to liven up their speeches but talk about the groom,
the bride, the family and friends. The speech should not forget
the guests who have taken time off their busy schedules to be
present for the wedding. It's a great family occasion, and the
speeches must capture this spirit. A good idea is to rehearse
the wedding speeches. This helps eliminate unnecessary words or
sentences. The speaker does not have to stutter to locate a word
or a sentence. His thoughts flow smoothly. More important, they
are suited to the occasion, and add to overall joy and
festivities.