Father of the bride speech. Advice needed.

[Tashyboy]

Bottom line is that in September this year (flipping Ryder cup weekend) me daughter is getting married. Obviously as father of the bride I am expected to make a speech.

dont get me wrong, I am of the ilk " why say it in a sentence when a paragraph will do". In essence I waffle.

any advice re dos and do nots greatly appreciated.

from both men and women please.

 

[Leftie]

K I S S

Keep it short and simple.

If you are the emotional type and feel it welling up, finish and just propose the toast. If you naturally waffle, don't. If you do, the signs then to watch out for are - people replenishing their glasses (at the bar), going to the toilet, talking to each other, looking at their watches, etc.

 

[chrisd]

I shall never get to do one as my only child is male, but, surely the art of doing a good speech is to write it down and time it. If it takes more than a a few minutes to read at the correct speed, then, unless you can really deliver a speech, you need to make it shorter.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Take a small point about the relationship between your daughter and her husband and expand a wee bit on it. Keep it short and to the point. eg ending ' and at that point I just knew they were made for each other'.

I just happened to be there when my daughter met her husband for the first time. It was at an auction and I was bidding for a table for her...against him. I won and I used that.

DO NOT read a script.
Practice in front of a mirror and close family members and don't be afraid to briefly ad-lib.
2 to 3 minutes max. [quite a long time in reality]

PS.Stay reasonably sober!!
good luck

 

[pbrown7582]

have a look for some 2nd books on ebay to give you an idea?

 

[dufferman]

K I S S

Keep it short and simple.

If you are the emotional type and feel it welling up, finish and just propose the toast. If you naturally waffle, don't. If you do, the signs then to watch out for are - people replenishing their glasses (at the bar), going to the toilet, talking to each other, looking at their watches, etc.

OR... Keep it short, sweet and super simple.

K I S S A S S

 

[Old Skier]

Record it, give it to the best man and go and watch the Ryder Cup. Wedding do's only warm up in the evening.

 

[cleanstrike]

Thank the bridegroom profusely for taking the problem off your hands ...and don't forget to tell him you owe him one.

 

[londonlewis]

Enjoy it. Unless you have more than 1 daughter it will be the only one you will get to do.

Typical structure is;
Introduce yourself to those who don't know you
Talk about your daughter from birth to present day; and include the people in her life along the way, especially those that are at the wedding
Tell some embarrasing stories about your daughter
Talk about how proud you have been of her achievements
Talk about when her husband first came into the picture and give your son-in-law a bit of stick (but all a bit of fun)
Then wrap it up with how you know this is the first day of her new future, which you know will be filled with joy, laughter and love etc...

You could start by telling people emotionally that you have made a big sacrifice for this wedding. Saying it is so difficult to feel like you are giving up and walking away from something that you love so dearly. Remember the good times when you were there watching intently and how happy you feel when you think back on all the past moments. For all of you here today that don't know, the Ryder cup is on at the moment and I'm not watching it....
Hopefully that will get you a couple of laughs and a nice entrance before you get to be mushy about your daughter.

good luck, enjoy it and set your Sky+ to record it!

 

[Deleted member 18645]

Use the one my mate did for his daughter. "For those of you who were at her first wedding, you'll remember it wasn't that good. This one has been a lot better so by the law of averages, the next one should be really worth coming to".

 

[lex!]

Say it from the heart, and keep it short, and enjoy it. I was at a wedding not so long ago where the bloke actually did it via a Powerpoint presentation. Such pain, and it went on for an age whilst we waited for the grub.