If you, the groom, are just like most of us regular folk, public speaking is not something you look forward to. In fact, you probably make an effort to avoid public gatherings. Unfortunately, this is one of those occasions from which you can’t hide.

The good news is, putting together your groom speech need not be as challenging as it might seem at first. That is, as long as you are not tempted to bolster your nerves with too much punch. Be certain you do not drink too much alcohol until you are back safely in your seat, having delivered your speech.

Keep the following main point in mind:

Your groom speech focuses on thanking those who have helped you and your new bride get to this point in your lives. You will generally speak after the bride’s father.

Here are six points to help you get started:

1. Express Thanks to the bride’s mother and father for raising such a beautiful daughter and entrusting her to your care. Also, thank them for any help they have provided for the wedding and for your new life together.

2. Thank your own mother and father for taking care of you and being there for you throughout your life and for any contribution they have made to the wedding and helping you to get started in married life.

It is not a good idea to make fun of either your bride’s parents or your parents during a wedding speech unless you clear it with them before hand. Even the most easy going people may not take kindly to being the brunt of a joke on this occasion.

3. Of course, you cannot proceed any further in your speech without thanking your bride. Thank her for being the beautiful person she is, and point out some of her best qualities. Tell her how much you appreciate her trust in you and her love for you; that you consider yourself a very lucky man. Once again, be sweet and don’t make fun of your bride to get a laugh. You haven’t got to the honeymoon yet.

4. Next it’s time to say something about your best man. Generally, it should be safe to make some jokes about him. So, save your need for laughs until you get to him. Quite often the groom’s speech includes some humorous anecdotes about the best man and or groomsmen, and this can go down very well.

5. The maid of honor, bride’s maids, and flower girls are next on the list to be thanked. Mention how lovely they look and how much easier they made the day for your new wife.

6. After you have thanked all these people for contributing to your wedding and to your life, you can mention anyone else who is important to you or your bride: Siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and friends can be mentioned at this time. You may also include any personal messages you would like to give.

When you have finished your speech, you can hand the proceedings back over to the master of ceremonies, if you have one. The best man’s speech follows the groom speech. Now you can go and have that drink.

the wedding reception

Walking your daughter down the aisle and giving her away as she takes her place alongside her groom at the altar is by all accounts, a day that will long be remembered. Nonetheless, father of the bride speeches are another part of the special day that will be kept in memory long after the wedding reception is over.

Father of the bride speeches can be a very difficult task to try and approach. Often, emotions are very strong and it is hard to even consider giving a wedding speech in front of a large group of people, especially if you are not accustomed to speaking in public.

Some simple advice about starting to write father of the bride speeches is to start keeping a notepad handy. This will help to facilitate getting your various emotions onto paper so that you can begin to sort through them. Take moments to observe your daughter whenever possible and make a note of what you see and how you feel.

The notes can be something as simple and ordinary as washing the dishes or playing with her siblings. In fact, it is often the everyday actions and the feelings surrounding them that can be the most poignant part of father of the bride speeches. Simply recounting the pride and happiness you felt in watching your daughter perform everyday routines can be very touching.

The reason it is important to jot down these notes is that when it is time to sit down and write the speech, sometimes your mind will draw a blank. Having even a few pages of notes will be helpful at this point and if it is a theme wedding, this can also help to direct your thoughts as you prepare your wedding speech as the father of the bride.

When it is time to sit down and compose father of the bride speeches, there are some fundamental things that are almost always good to include. First off, adding a little something about your daughter as she was when she was young always adds a bit of charm and depth to the speech. This also gives people a glimpse of the bride as a youngster. This could be a short story about her if it’s fitting. Just remember that your purpose is to uplift and not to embarrass her on this special day.

Another idea, if there is not a story that you want to share in the wedding speech, is to include what she excelled in at school, her favorite teacher, class, sport and why, or even things from her first time in the work force. These little insights from her youth can be a nice way to point out some of her unique characteristics and also to help her new in-laws learn more about her.

Another component of many father of the bride speeches, is to talk a little bit about how their daughter was before meeting her groom. For example, was she more shy, not as confident, not as well-grounded, or given to a lot of ups and downs? You can then contrast that with how she has been since their relationship progressed more seriously. When this has been perfected and written with kindness, it can be the part of the wedding speech that gives people the most insight about the couple.

These simple suggestions should be enough to help spark some ideas and give direction for preparing father of the bride speeches. Most of the time the heartfelt wedding speech from the father of the bride will take just five to ten minutes to deliver and will be about one thousands words, give or take. To help with nerves, it is best to practice the speech aloud as much as you can before the wedding reception.