Not only are wedding speeches capable of inducing the beautiful, bubbling waterworks of friends, family and the loved-up newlyweds themselves, but they are such an important part of piecing together your wedding film. Capturing the adoration and outpouring of love as you both celebrate this new chapter allows the essence and emotion of your story to be played over the top of the film snippets throughout your whole wedding day.
And this is why it’s so important to get them right: there’s no such thing as a take-two. We know just how much time and energy you’ve poured into this celebration of love and we want it captured so every memory is as picture perfect and emotive as the day it happened.
So without further ado, here’s our 1, 2, 3 of pitch perfect wedding speeches.
1. Give your speakers a time limit.
The best way to keep your guests wide awake and the night running like clockwork? Give each of your speakers a time limit. When it comes to scheduling, you have two main options depending on how many speakers you’ve got.
Option 1 (recommended if you have less than 20-30 minutes of total speeches in total)
Simply put all of your speeches in one section. Ideally, you’ll have the first speech kick off after the entree has been served, so that people are satiated and keen to listen.
Option 2 (recommended if you have more than 20-30 minutes of total speeches in total)
Split your speeches into two sections, with the second set starting after the mains have been served.
Having a specific time carved out for when speeches will begin and end helps us to be ready and waiting to capture all of the wonderful words and hilarious quips, plus it allows for a much more engaged audience.
Your wedding speech guide
From us, to you.
Here’s an example of what your speeches timeline may look like.
6:30pm Entree
(allowing 30 minutes for both service and clearing)
7:00pm 3x Speeches
Father of Bride (8 minute time limit)
Father of Groom (8 minute time limit)
Bride & Groom
7:30pm Mains served
(allowing 30 minutes for both service and clearing)
8:00pm 3x Speeches (if required!)
8:30pm dessert
9:00pm First Dance
An
2. Plan, pre-write and practice, practice, practice!
Ask your speech-givers to plan, pre-write and practise their speech. Winging it can really blow out your speech timeline and result in unusable video or audio content. Encourage them to focus on both the bride and groom throughout their speech, with these helpful prompts:
Talk about when the bride and groom first met
When did you know they’d end up together?
Why do they make each other better people?
It’s okay to give them creative licence to make the speech their own, but making a conscious effort to talk about both the bride and groom at some point will result in a speech that resonates with everyone in the audience.
Example
And the moment everyone’s been waiting for: it’s speech time. We will bring along a microphone stand and most venues will provide you with a lectern/ podium to hold the speaker's notes. On the day, we’ll help you to choose a spot which has good lighting, a nice background and minimal distractions. We’ll also keep in mind where both the bride and groom will be seated, to ensure you’re able to see the speech giver and immerse yourself fully in the moment.
Remember to encourage your speakers to stay in the one spot and not move around too much, as this helps with sound quality and recording a clear visual. Not to worry though– on the day we’ll help with gentle reminders and positioning!
We hope you’ve found this short guide helpful and we cannot wait to capture all the moments, big and small, on your wedding day. Until then, happy wedding planning!
Joel & Courtney
3. The speeches spot.
