Tradition has it that the father of the bride is the host of his daughter’s wedding reception. In times past that meant paying for everything too, though this is not often the case today. Still, the bride’s father is usually expected to act as the host for the wedding reception.
In some cases a professional wedding MC is engaged, especially for society weddings. For most weddings the bride’s father is the member of the wedding party who will give the opening speech and propose the toast to the bride and groom at the beginning of the wedding reception.
There are five key steps to a good father of the bride speech.
The first step is to say a few welcoming words to set the scene and create a happy atmosphere for an enjoyable wedding reception. The main objective is to get the guests to relax. A good way to achieve this is to talk about the wedding ceremony, the beautiful bride, the location for the reception or even the weather — anything that everybody has an opinion about — and how much you are looking forward to sharing in the fun that is yet to come during the reception.
Secondly, as the host, the bride’s father offers a welcome to all of the guests. It is usual to introduce any important guests, especially the groom’s family and those who have gone out of their way to get to the wedding. Missing guests are often mentioned at this stage also, especially family members or friends with close connections 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 remembered at this point.
A third key step of the speech is to build some excitement about the schedule for the reception, such as the highlight of the best man’s speech and any entertainment planned for during the reception, and for afterwards. Your guests will appreciate knowing what is in store for them.
As a fourth step in their wedding speech, most proud fathers take the opportunity to say a few kind words in public about the bride, their daughter. This is often the most difficult part of the speech to present for many fathers. There is not just one way to express your love for your daughter. Telling humorous stories about your daughter meeting the groom and quoting poetry are popular approaches, among your choice of other ways to express yourself.
Finally, to draw the attention of the wedding guests 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 important.
Every father of the bride will inject his own way of speaking, humor and feelings into their father of the bride speeches around this or a similar basic five step speech framework.
Because few fathers will have much prior experience speaking at their own daughter’s wedding, most will find a few speech tips and resources can be very helpful. Speech templates and example wedding speeches are available, along with checklists of things and people it might be embarrassing to overlook, and valuable suggestions, such as popular jokes, quotes and poems to select from.
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