Father Of The Bride Speech
 

My daughter is getting married this Friday and I've still not sorted my speech. I'm normally a very up front/confident type of person, but not when I'm stood up in front of a lot of people. Anyone on here done it or got any tips? I'm literally sh1ting bricks. I would rather it be a short and witty speech, than a long one.

Cheers in advance.

Maybe some tips on here;
https://www.scoobynet.com/non-scooby...-tomorrow.html

Congratulations!! I won't offer you any advice but I hope you all have a wonderful day.:thumb:

:thumb:

Thank You.

Best one I heard was my mate, sadly now passed away.

He started off by telling us how many times his daughter, Jennifer, had exhorted him NOT to tell stories about her mad exploits, and how he agreed that that probably wouldn't be right, how embarrassing it would be etc.
He then paused and began again, "When Jennifer was three.........."

The whole place shouted with laughter and cheers.

My FILs one was utterly dismal; he really fell to bits; it seemed at odds with his "successful" image.

The best ones are confident but not cocky, amusing but not offensive, praising but not vomit inducing.

Have a rough structure, use cue cards (unless you're a real pro), get a couple of drinks down you.

It's your daughters biggest day; think of her and not your own nerves.
You know everyone, they're all a very "easy" crowd; no need to worry.

Easy crowd? EVERYONE there will be willing you to get it right, trust me.
I've done best man speeches, and it's the same.

Thanks for that, any tips are very helpful

ive been best man twice, the 2nd time was at Lumly Castle to TV stars I was that bad I was thinking of putting myself in hospital somehow LOL..

Anyway my advice, shes your daughter shed a tear speak of her when she was small and stupid things she did.. then finish with a welcome to family and DAD stuff.

I cant help with the ****ten yaself, cos its just part of it.... Id end up crying, ive told mine she aint leaving home till shes 45... LOL

I got married last year and had to do my speech, I was so nervous I didn't enjoy the meal. Nerves are such *******s! However, as soon as I was up there and started on my speech it was fine.

Just make sure whatever you say is honest, rehearsed and simple. Highlight words where you might struggle and my biggest words of advice is take your time. Don't speed through it and if you get stuck or confused, don't panic. What may seem like a lot break in talking to you will actually only be seconds.

Good luck and enjoy the day, you'll look back and think how silly you were to get nervous, I know I did

"Father of the Bride" speech. Rowan Atkinson. Brilliant. Find it on You Tube.
"So why the hell did she marry Gerald?" :lol1:

I did mine last December, have a quick Google and you will find a few good websites that have letters on them from other Fathers which you can read and crib some pointers.

The FotB speech covers various things, one of them mainly being a personal message to your daughter, make a few references back to her as a child, saying how proud you are of her and what a wonderful woman she has become (and things like that)

Try and get a couple of joking things in the over all speech.

keep it short if you don't want to go on for too long and before you deliver it practice it a few times at home and maybe get a second opinion on it from someone who will critique it a little too.

and most importantly of all enjoy the moment, don't worry about how it comes out, if you stutter or stammer, just do your best, everyone will be so elated by the day it won't matter if it's not word perfect and your daughter will still love you :-)

Great reply and hopefully I'll do all that you have said. Cheers.

Please let us know how you get on :)

I did it 3 weeks ago, I took the decision to deliberately not even think about it beforehand because I don't do public speaking and I knew I'd end up getting all worked up about it.

If anything popped into my head in the months prior, that I thought would work in the speech, I just made a note and kept all the notes together. I didn't finally sit down and write it until the morning of the wedding!

I basically kept it short, and hopefully witty, mentioned the wife, daughter & bridesmaids, raised a few laughs at daughter's expense (but not in a mean or cruel way), and welcomed the groom to the family.

It was nowhere near as nerve-wracking as I expected it to be, and because I hadn't worked myself up beforehand, I was able to enjoy the whole day.
Remember it's not every day you get to offload one of your offspring onto some gullible fool :D

Finally, just remember, everyone has had a drink or two already, and they are pretty much on your side before you start :thumb:

I'm sh1tting it at the moment, standing up in front of people and speaking isn't my forte. I'm really hoping I can just enjoy the day.

The problem is, you've "branded" yourself as a non speaker which is self fulfilling. You'll be worried because you think you're rubbish.

Just practise; it'll make all the difference. Nerves mean you care but don't let them take over; you are talking to friends and family, not compering a gig to 1000s; just do your best and enjoy it. It's a cracking day.

I did an introduction best man speech paragraph in Italian. Do I speak it? Nope. I just practised with some other fluent speakers and it went down very well (the bride is fluent, her parents have a place in Italy).

Practise, practise, practise.

Are they doing the speeches before the meal as it will mean they are all out of the way before you eat so you can then relax and eat the food!

Just remind yourself you are not pitching your lifes work infront of dragons den!

You've got the best audience possible, they all want to laugh at your jokes, they all want to applaud the wonderful things you'll say about the bride.

You should have nothing to fear, just prep your speech and away you go, enjoy it!

Good luck :)

Back at our room to freshen up, I would like to thank everyone for the tips and advice. My speech went really well and I wasn't nervous at any point and actually enjoyed doing it.
Thanks Again

Well done and congrats to the happy couple. Enjoy the rest of the evening and the new found freedom ;-)