5 Tips to Avoid Being a Viral Speech Fail

We’ve all seen those viral videos where a groom recites crude vows or a wedding speech makes you cringe with embarrassment.

As a professional wedding vow and speech writer, I’ve been helping couples and their wedding party avoid these awkward moments since 2017. 

You want to go viral for having the best wedding speech…not the most embarrassing one.

Here are my five tips for how not to become a viral wedding fail. 

Tip #1: Be Thoughtful

This sounds obvious. But most pitfalls could be avoided with a little forethought. 

Ways to be thoughtful when writing a wedding speech:

  1. Don’t procrastinate. Start writing your speech several weeks before the wedding date. Waiting until the last minute doesn't provide you with enough time to edit and vet ideas.

  2. Have a trusted friend review the speech in advance. Make sure you recite your speech to someone who knows what guests and the couple will enjoy hearing. Don’t choose your friend with the questionable humor.

  3. Research best practices and examples. Not sure what to include in your wedding speech? Search social media and YouTube to see which speeches are getting the most praise and which ones are getting the most criticism. Then borrow ideas from the positive trends and avoid the negative ones.

Tip #2: Read Your Speech to A Grandparent

Can your speech pass the Grandparent Test? Meaning, if you’d be embarrassed to read your wedding toast in front of your grandparents, then it’s time to edit your speech. 

Remove any content that wouldn’t be appropriate to share with older or more conservative relatives.

Tip #3: Avoid Common Pitfalls

Most viral fails are because of extreme profanity, gender stereotypes, or overt sexual innuendos or references.

No matter how funny or “on brand” you feel these references may be… trust me, they rarely go over well.

Delete any content from your wedding speech that includes these themes. Replace these ideas with something that has more vast appeal.

Tip #4: When in doubt, keep it short and classy 

I’ve never heard a wedding guest complain that a speech was too short. But I have heard many people share stories about how they had to sit through 10 - 30 minute speeches. 

If you are unsure about what to say, keep it short.

You’ll survive your time at the mic and guests will be happy too.

Short Wedding Speech Template:

  • Introduce yourself

  • Compliment the couple

  • End with a wish for their future

Example of a short wedding speech:

Hi everyone, I’m Carl, and I’m honored to be Jeff’s best man.

Jeff has always been the friend I can count on for a good time, a good laugh, and the best negronis. 

I’m excited to know that he’s marrying a woman who will make him just as happy as he’s always made everyone around him.

I wish you both a beautiful life together and may the good times, laughter, and cocktails continue!

Cheers!

While this speech is short, there’s also nothing offensive, offputting, or awkward about it. 

You can also apply this tip to wedding vows. The below example shows how you can still have playful and humorous vows without them sounding embarrassing or awkward.

Short Wedding Vow Template:

  • Anecdote about how you met/fell in love

  • Note what you admire about them

  • List 2 - 4 specific promises

  • Close with a loving last line

Example of Short Wedding Vows:

Cassandra,

When we first met, I was instantly attracted to your beautiful smile and the way you owned the dance floor.

Over the past four years, I’ve fallen more in love with the most thoughtful, sweet, and outgoing woman.

As we begin this new chapter, I promise to always remind you where you put your keys and how to properly pronounce the word, acai.

I promise to adopt every dog you fall in love with and to never stop falling in love with you.

Most of all, I promise to support you, trust you, and respect you.

I love you and I always will.

Tip #5: Get Help Crafting your Speech or Vows 

There’s a line in the movie, When Harry Met Sally, where Carrie Fisher’s character says, “Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor but they couldn’t possibly all have good taste.”

This sums up how I feel about individuals being able to properly judge what’s appropriate for a wedding speech. 

Not everyone can identify the beats of what’s funny versus what will make guests want to crawl out of their skin from second-hand embarrassment. 

Luckily, there are wedding speech writers who can help. 

At Katelyn’s Wedding Words, I have worked with hundreds of couples and members of their wedding party to write wedding speeches that guests rave about for the entire evening.

And I can help you.

Get in touch to see how we can write you a speech that goes viral for all the right reasons.  

 


Testimonials

Love my vows Katelyn!!!! It’s such a relief to have this out of the way so I can focus on all the rest of the stuff I need to do! 

You were my very favorite part of the process!! Your experience and confidence in the process took all the stress out of writing my vows!

— Natalie, Florida

I thought the process was outstanding. You did a great job communicating, and I thought the turnaround time for editing was perfect. I also thought the video interview was great in that it was personal and meaningful!

— Jordan

I am a storyteller, not a speechwriter. I was incredibly intimidated about writing one.

So thankful to find Katelyn to get my thoughts all in order. Very proud of how the speech came out. Looking forward to giving it!

— Jennifer Whitley, Texas

I had such a wonderful experience working with Katelyn. She truly helped mold perfect vows that I can’t wait to tell my fiancé on our wedding day! 

Katelyn was friendly, sweet, and super easy to work with. I will definitely be calling her up if I have to give another speech in the near future.

— Jordanne, California

Katelyn was professional, easy to talk to, and made the interviewing process fun. She came well prepared with unexpected and thought-provoking questions to get a better understanding of our love story and who we are as a couple.

She was a pleasure to work with and made the vow writing process enjoyable.

— Kimi Kinsey, South Carolina

Working with Katelyn on my maid of honor toast was an incredible experience. She really took the time to understand my relationship with my best friend and used my responses to craft a toast that put my thoughts and feelings into words in a way that I never would have been able to do on my own.

Before working with Katelyn, I was nervous and stressed about giving (and writing) such a big, important speech. But now I’m so relieved that it’s done, and I honestly can’t wait to stand up and tell everyone exactly what my best friend means to me.

— Allyssa, New Jersey

I didn’t actually know this service existed until I discovered Katelyn! It was such a fun experience to video chat with her about my best friend who is getting married this summer.

I don’t have to stress about writing this a few weeks before my best friend’s wedding. Thank you so much and I can’t wait to read it at my best friend’s wedding!

— Gabby