Father Of The Bride Speeches At The Wedding Reception


by Shelby Wright - Date: 2008-06-19 - Word Count: 570 Share This!

By tradition the father of the bride hosts his daughter's wedding. The tradition was also that he paid for the reception too, though this cost os often shared around today. In keeping with that custom, the bride's father is often expected to host the wedding reception.

For some weddings a professional master of ceremonies is engaged, especially for society weddings. At many weddings the bride's father is will give an opening speech and propose the toast to the newly married couple at the start of the wedding reception, and continue to act as MC for the following proceedings.

There are five essential steps to a father of the bride speech.

The first item is to say some welcoming words to set the atmosphere and create a celebratory mood for a memorable wedding reception. The primary goal is to help the guests to relax. A good way to achieve this is to discuss the wedding ceremony, how beautiful the bride looks, the location chosen for the reception or even the weather -- things that all the guests will have an opinion about -- and how much you are excited about meeting everyone and sharing the reception with them.

Secondly, as the host, the bride's father offers a welcome to all of the guests. It is usual to introduce any special guests, especially the groom's family and those who have made a special effort to get to the wedding. Absent guests are often mentioned at this stage also, especially those with close links with the bride or groom who have been unable to get to the wedding. A much loved grandparent or favorite aunt who has recently passed away is often mentioned at this point.

The third stage of the speech is to create some excitement about what to expect during the reception. The highlight of the best man's speech and any entertainment planned for during the reception, and plans for events afterwards, might be mentioned. Your guests will relax more when they know what is about to happen.

As a fourth step in their wedding speech, most proud fathers want to say a few heartfelt words among friends and family about the bride, their daughter. Finding the right words to say is often the most difficult part of the speech to prepare for fathers. There is not just one way to express your love for your daughter. Telling stories, possibly funny stories, about your daughter meeting the groom and quoting poetry are popular approaches, among many others.

Finally, to place the attention of the wedding reception firmly on the newlywed couple it is usual for the bride's father to call for guests to join him in a toast to the bride and groom. Choosing the right words for the toast is an important step in preparing the speech.

Every father of the bride will add his own style of presentation, humor and feelings into his speech around this or a similar simple five step speech framework.

Few fathers will have much experience speaking at their own daughter's wedding. Most will find a professionally prepared wedding speech guide is very helpful. Speech outlines or templates, and examples of father of the bride speeches, can be downloaded, along with checklists of things and people that should not be overlooked. Time saving resources, such as popular wedding toasts, jokes, quotes and poems are available to select from. Not only do such resources save time preparing the father of the bride speech - they also lift confidence.

Related Tags: weddings, family, wedding speech, speaking, public speaking, wedding reception, toasts, speeches, wedding toasts, father of the bride speech, father of the bride, brides father

See a more detailed guide to preparing a father of the bride speech and obtain father of the bride speech guides and resources and assistance with other wedding speeches and the wedding MC's role.

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