Order of Wedding Speeches – Short Version – Traditional

1. The best man speaks first according to tradition about the order of wedding speeches. He will traditionally toast the bride and groom. He may also need to act as a de facto Master of Ceremonies if no Master of Ceremonies has been designated.
2. After the best man’s opening speech, the best man should instruct the groom to respond by toasting the bride, thanking the parents, welcoming and thanking relatives from afar, and anything else he wants to add along these lines.
3. In the traditional order of wedding speeches, this is the part, after an appropriate interval, where any friend or family member who is an outstanding and interesting public speaker or has a message to impart may be invited to speak. (It could be Aunt Ivy, who you hope will remember you in her will if you remember her at the wedding.)
4. The father of the bride is the last to speak: after paying for the wedding party, it’s probably the most he’ll pay to express his opinion in public. He should thank everyone for coming and add whatever humorous stories he deems appropriate.

Keep in mind that if a master of ceremonies has been appointed, you need to keep things going along with occasional anecdotes (funny or factual) about the speakers you feature, so do some research. But following the general order of wedding speeches given above and keeping things going along with announcements and short stories, he must perform his duties with great poise and distinction.

Order of Wedding Speeches – Longer Version – Modern Practice

With the arrival of the 21st century, a lot of tradition has flown out the window; With beach weddings, underwater weddings, and skydiving weddings, some kind of change in the way we get married was inevitable.

Because this is the show for newlyweds, they can ask old friends and close relatives to get up and talk, regardless of formal or informal protocols.

Today there is a less formalized order of wedding speeches that goes something like:

• Godfather speech with a tendency to humor
• Maid or matron of honor speech tending to praise the bride
• Speech by the father of the bride welcoming the guests and telling some funny stories
• Speech of the groom’s parents welcoming a new daughter
• Groom’s speech toasting his new wife and thanking the guests
• Speech of the bride responding to the groom, thanking her parents and her entourage
• Any other custom guest of honor speech for individual weddings

Following this all-inclusive family and friends theme, invitations can extend to:

• Siblings of the bride or groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, grandparents, groomsmen, guardians, wedding official, close friends or relatives, cousins, best friends, colleagues, bosses, the children of the bride or groom or even a particularly intelligent family pet.

It can get completely out of hand, sometimes better described as an ‘out-of-order wedding speech’ than a ‘wedding order of speeches’.

Remember well that whoever asks to speak must know their task in advance and the best man or master of ceremonies must announce his turn with a brief advance of what he will speak. If you don’t reduce speeches to a maximum of 10 speeches/toasts in total, guests will become restless and bored, no matter how engaging the speakers’ style.

Wedding Speech Order – Wow Guests – Be Professional

Because we understand that you may not have the time or inclination to build a pitch from our advice, we’ve reviewed dozens of books with speed and functionality in mind.

If you want a quick channel to impress wedding guests with your speech, we highly recommend checking out the wedding speech problems page.

Whether you just want to know the order of your wedding speeches or want one or more professionally written speeches to grab, edit, and use right away, here’s your best initial plan of action for the best and most comprehensive resources.