Your daughter is getting married and that means you are tasked with the huge and honorable responsibility of giving the father of the bride speech.
Queue the sweat, stress, and sleepless nights, right?
I have a different idea.
As a professional wedding speech writer, I’m here to share with you my 11 tips for how to write a father of the bride speech that you’ll feel confident to deliver and that will impress all 200 of your guests.
Let’s begin.
Tip #1: Follow a Father of the Bride Speech Outline
To help calm your nerves and to provide structure around the various ideas you have, use an outline.
These are the essential parts to writing a strong and organized father of the bride speech:
Introduce yourself
Thank your guests
Talk about your daughter
Talk about her new spouse
Express how you feel about their marriage
Give advice
Close with a loving note for the couple
Tip #2: Write the Introduction
The hardest part about writing a father of the bride speech is often around how to start your speech. Don’t overthink it. It’s actually very simple: introduce yourself.
Simply state your name and your relationship to the couple.
Examples for how to start your father of the bride speech:
Welcome, everyone. My name is Joseph Smith and I’m the father of the bride.
Good evening! I’m William Jones, the father of the bride.
Hello, I’m Ted Jasper and I’d like to welcome you all to this joyous occasion where we get to celebrate my daughter, the most gorgeous bride, and her new husband, the luckiest man.
If this is a same-sex wedding, it’s important to get really specific since there will likely be two men in the role of the father of the bride.
Additional examples:
My name is Danny Smith and I’m Courtney’s father.
My name is Lucas James and Sarah is my oldest daughter.
Tip #3: Thank Your Guests
When the father of the bride gives his wedding speech, it’s also his responsibility to thank guests for attending. This is because whether you’re paying for part of the wedding or not, you’re seen as one of the “hosts” of the event.
You can keep this section simple or you can get more specific by calling out to key people.
Examples of how to thank your wedding guests:
I’d like to thank you all for joining me as we celebrate the love of Kelsey and John.
Thank you for being here, showing your love, and providing your support during this special time.
I’d like to thank everyone for being here tonight but a special thank you goes out to John and Nicole Jenkins. Thank you for raising such a wonderful young man who I know will be a wonderful husband for my daughter.
Tip #4: Highlight Your Daughter
The most important part of your father of the bride speech is to put your daughter in the spotlight.
Communicate what qualities you admire in her. Describe your unique bond. Share a couple of sweet and funny stories from her childhood.
To really make this section impactful, focus on telling two short stories that are entertaining to listen to but that also shows positive traits about your daughter that you can tie into a larger theme.
Tip #5: Talk About Her New Spouse
While the majority of your speech will focus on your daughter, it’s important to also address her new spouse.
Here are some writing prompts that will inspire ideas and material for this section of your speech:
Describe the first time you met her new spouse. What was your initial impression?
Why do you think this person is a good match for your daughter?
What qualities do they have that you admire?
How does this person compare to the partner you imagined for your daughter?
Describe a time you and her new spouse really connected.
Tip #6: Express How You Feel About Their Marriage
Why are you happy for your daughter? What excites you about their marriage?
Write one to three sentences about why their marriage brings you joy.
Example:
As the father of a little girl, all I’ve ever wanted was for my Jessica to feel loved and to be happy. Looking at her today, I can see that both of my wishes for her have been granted and will be for the rest of her life.
Tip #7: Give the Bride Advice
A nice way to end a father of the bride speech is with a bit of advice.
Whether you are happily married for 35 years or divorced and single—you are still in a position to give advice.
Because no one is perfect in love or with relationships, everyone has a learning lesson they can share.
Here are some writing prompts to help you drum up the right advice for your speech:
What has your own marriage taught you?
What do you value in marriage?
What were some of the most challenging parts of marriage and how did you work through them?
What does love mean to you?
What does partnership mean to you?
Tip #8: End Your Father of the Bride Speech with a Loving Last Line
Finally, you’ll wrap up your entire father of the bride speech with an impactful last line that’s filled with love for the newlyweds.
This last line should come directly after you ask guests to raise their glass for a toast to the couple.
Examples of last lines for your speech:
Cheers to you starting the next chapter in your love story.
May your marriage be full of unconditional love, mutual respect, and laughter that never ends.
I’m so grateful that my little girl, my dream chaser, has made her biggest dream come true today.
Tip #9: Practice Reciting Your Speech
We’ve all seen those wedding speeches that lack preparation and poise. Don’t be that guy.
Practice reciting your father of the bride speech at least three to six times before the wedding day. This will allow you to feel and appear more confident.
Here are the top areas you should focus on when practicing your speech:
Volume: Even with a microphone, you need to project your voice. You might be nervous but you should still be loud.
Tone: Monotone delivery will make for anything but a memorable speech. Practice varying your inflection at key parts and balance a humorous tone with sentimental and serious tones throughout your speech.
Eye Contact: Don’t worry about memorizing your speech. Print your speech on paper and glance down at the paper throughout the toast. But also be sure to look up every few sentences to engage with the guests and to connect with the couple.
Tip #10: Work with a Professional to Write Your Father of the Bride Speech
Are you still overwhelmed and stressed at the idea of writing your own father of the bride speech?
Consider hiring a professional wedding speech writer. I work with fathers to write their father of the bride speeches and afterward, the dads feel so much more confident and relieved.
Get in touch to see how we can work together.
Tip #11: Know How to Use a Microphone
I’ve attended way too many weddings where I’ve witnessed the father of the bride not know how to hold a microphone.
It sounds super obvious, right? How hard can holding a microphone really be?
You’d be surprised.
Here are the key things to keep in mind once that mic is handed to you:
Don’t block your face with it. Make sure the guests can still see you.
Don’t hold the mic too far away from your mouth or your voice won’t get picked up.
Stand still. When you move, the microphone will go in and out from actually picking up on your voice which is distracting and noneffective.
Still speak loudly. Just because you have a mic, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to project your voice.
You only have two hands. Use one for the mic and the other for your speech. When it comes time for the toast, put your speech down and pick up your glass at the very end.