I have listened to quite a few groom’s speeches, and there often seems to be a moment of uncertainty and hesitation by the groom. This is a mistake you should not make.

Let us start with a few universal tips for presenting any speech at a wedding ceremony.

Do’s

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– Keep it simple, clear, and straight forward
– Keep it short. 3 to 4 minutes will be enough
– Write down your major points on a piece of paper or a card
– Smile at the members of your audience. This is a happy occasion.
– Be sure not to look grim and funeral-like.
– Speak loudly and clearly. Maintain your voice so everyone can hear. If there’s a microphone, use it.

Do Not Do These

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– Don’t mumble
– When speaking, do not look down or stare at the ceiling
– Don’t write out the entire speech. You only need some thoughts to keep you going from one point to the next.

There are two basic things that many men fear most: commitment, and public speaking. While this article won’t help you with the first one, it can be assumed that since you’re getting married, you’ve already overcome the commitment issue. So, that leaves public speaking, and it’s a lot easier than you probably think.

Here are five things you should include in the groom speech for it to be considered successful -

5 Suggestions

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– Be pleasant. Say nice, complimentary things about your new bride.

– No jokes, unless they are of a positive nature. Remember, you have a honeymoon coming up, your wife’s family, and the rest of your life to consider. Humor can play an significant part in any speech, therefore, we will review this topic in greater detail in other articles.

– Do thank your new wife’s family. You will probably be involved with them the rest of your marriage, so you do want to start off on the right foot.

If you do not like your wife’s family, just thank them for being supportive and move along with your speech.

If you do like your wife’s family, then express your fondness for them. Then thank them for inviting you into their family.

If there was any monetary contribution offered by your bride’s family, now is the proper moment to say thank you for their support.

– Next, you can thank friends and family for coming to share this day with you and to celebrate your wedding.

– Next, you will want to thank the Father of the Bride.

Your grooms speech is presented right after the Father of the Bride speech, which traditionally comes first.

This makes it so you can play off his speech and continue by thanking him for his words of support; then begin your speech right after him.

Here is an Example

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“Thank you, Robert, for words of support. I am proud and honored to be your new son-in-law. I look forward to living up to your expectations. I’d like to also thank my mother-in-law, Janice, who has always made me feel like a member of the family from the first time we met, and for helping make our beautiful wedding and reception a success. I’d like to say thank you to both of you for allowing me to marry your beautiful daughter, Sylvia.”

With this brief excerpt, you have accomplished a great deal: You have thanked the bride’s family, acknowledged their contribution to the wedding, spoken favorably about your new bride, and presented yourself like an all around great guy to the audience. And, that was only an introduction to your groom speech.

A lot of brides and grooms get so caught up in their wedding ceremony and reception issues that they actually forget about wedding photography until the last minute. This is little unfortunate, as the wedding photography is always one of the most important event of any wedding.

Your wedding is the most special day in your life, other than having children, and so of course you are going to want to make sure that everything goes smoothly and also that you are going to have memories afterwards that you can see to treasure the moment and remember it forever.

Having brilliant wedding photography is going to be so worthwhile, because what is the point of going through all the trouble to have your wedding if you are not going to have any pictures or video afterwards to remember it all?

This might turn out to be the best wedding photography tip of your life, to help you choose the right company. Now that you know the great importance of getting pictures taken while at your wedding, make sure that you choose a company that you are going to be able to rely on.

Wedding Photography Tip: Find A Right Professional Photography Company

When you are trying to find a wedding photography company, one of the first things you want to look for is how long they have been in business for, or at least how long the photographers on the team have been in the photography field. You really don’t want to give someone new a chance at your wedding, because they do not have the experience that you can trust in.

See to it that you invest some of your precious time in checking facts about the prospect company before getting into an agreement. You want to ensure that they are going to not only offer you the knowledge and experience that you know is important here, but as well that they are going to suit your style and mesh well with what you as a couple are looking for.

Maybe you are a more formal couple who want very elegant photos at your wedding, or perhaps you are having a very casual beach wedding and want fun, creative wedding photography. Either way, make sure that you know what you want and that you find a wedding photographer that is going to help you capture that and the real spirit and essence of your wedding.

wedding ceremony

Every culture has their own wedding traditions, and these traditions seem completely normal to the people who grew up with them.  Because of this, wedding traditions from other cultures may seem very strange if you have never seen them practiced. The tradition of removing the garter and throwing the boutique probably seems odd to people from other cultures. However, some people incorporate wedding traditions from other cultures into their weddings. There are certain African wedding traditions that would be very strange to see practiced in the west.

Dowry is a very common wedding tradition in many parts of Africa. A dowry is basically a negotiated gift that the groom gives to the bride’s family. Although the amount of dowry can be determined a number of ways, it is very common for the dowry to connected to the bride’s overall desirability, as far as beauty, education, class, etc. In some cases, especially with arranged marriages, this can get out of hand and monetary value can determine who a girl gets married to.  

There are several African ceremonial traditions that would be considered outlandish in many parts of the world. One African tribe has a number of “good luck” practices that would be considered anything but that in most places. As part of the marriage, the bride must gather all of her possessions and set off for the groom’s home on foot, sometimes walking very far. To bless the marriage with good luck, the bride’s father will spit on her before she begins her journey. When she arrives at the groom’s home, the women of his family, once again as a good luck charm, will yell insults at the bride.

Other cultures have other ideas about the wedding night and when the marriage is final. Certain tribes give a lot of help with the actual wedding night experience. For instance, one tribe has an older woman give the bride tips on what to do on her wedding night, and they may even hide in the room in case the bride needs any help. In other parts of Africa, the marriage is not complete until they have two children, and some women enter into an agreement called a “temporary marriage,” in which they receive pay for being a wife, but they cannot inherit money if something happens to their husband.

If you are stressed because of an upcoming wedding, just remember that it could be worse. Unless things go terribly wrong, at your wedding you should not be spit on, insulted, or have your lovemaking skills critiqued on your wedding night. You also will not have to help your husband convince your family to accept whatever kind of dowry he can come up with.