These days, bride speeches are becoming more and more popular at weddings, even though traditionally it was only the groom who said a few words.  A bride wants to create a good impression to her groom and the other guests so if you choose to speak at your wedding its important that you get it right.

Naturally, you are going to have a lot of plans to consider during the time leading up to your special day and putting your speech together is probably the last thing you are thinking of. However, it is essential that you put the effort into preparing your speech and, with a little forward planning you may be pleasantly surprised that it isn’t so difficult a task to do. 

First of all, you need to be aware of what bride speeches are all about and the kind of things you would be expected to say. Then you should discuss what both you are the groom are going to include in your speeches to make sure the dialogue is not too similar in content.  Nonetheless, it’s important that your speech has an element of surprise as far as the groom is concerned, so it’s best not to practice what you are going to say with him around.

Bear in mind, you are not there to provide the entertainment for your guests for the whole of the evening.  Your speech should, therefore, be short and sweet – no more than five minutes is just about right.

Detailed below are five points you should cover in your bridal speech.

1. Say thank you to everyone who has played their part in making your wedding day a special occasion.  This includes not only your friends and family but also the services of the minister and the catering people and hired help who have worked so hard.

2. Special thanks are due to those who made a difficult journey to attend the wedding and mention those who, for whatever reason, did not make it to the happy event.

3. Say a few words about your close family, in particular your parents who helped you to be the person you are today and how it was a pleasure to grow up with them. Tell a few stories about your teenage years, if you wish to.

4. The next thing you should do is say thank you to the family of your groom for welcoming you into their lives.  Of course, the degree to which you know the family will be relevant here and if you have not known them for long, simply say what a great job they did raising their son.  On the other hand, if you have known them for years you could illustrate this by saying a few of the reasons why you admire them as you do.

5. Finally, everyone likes to hear stories about how you met your husband in the first place and this is the point where a little humor can be added to what you have to say.  Tell everyone how much you love him and why you think he is a special person.  End your speech with a raised glass toasting how you hope you and him will grow old together.

Go over your speech as often as you can prior to the wedding as this will ensure your emotions are kept at bay.  Why not list the points you want to cover on a small piece of card and keep it close by on the day? It will help you to get everything in the right order and jog your memory about what you want to say.