Mar
13
     
How To Prepare A Perfect Wedding Speech
Posted (samo) in WEDDING SPEECH on March-13-2010

In this article I will explain the basic steps to preparing a wedding speech to remember.

There may come a time in your life when you are called upon to make a speech. Whether it is at work, a social function or a wedding it can be a daunting task especially if you have little experience or are the nervous type.

Making a wedding speech is usually where many of us are required to address a big audience and quite often for the first time.
The true art of delivering a sincere, heartfelt and interesting wedding speech is to prepare well in advance but on the day appear off the cuff and spontaneous.

Preparation
Preparation is the key aspect of planning your wedding speech. Make sure you allow several weeks before the big day. If you are the best man try and find out as much information as possible about the bride and groom and also their families as this may help you include a funny story or two.

However make sure that whatever information you gather is correct. The last thing you want to do is blurt out a story about the bride or groom that is untrue and leave them feeling uneasy and embarrassed in their seats.

An important point to remember when including any jokes is to ensure they are tasteful and will not upset or insult anyone in the audience.

Play it safe and keep to mildly humorous subjects or better still make yourself the butt of the jokes. Remember the audience is there to watch the bride and groom get hitched not to watch a comedian so you do not have to have the latest side splitting gags.
Also, keep in mind the wedding guests are on your side and are there to have a good time so generally will laugh at the slightest attempt at a funny line.
Preparing a good wedding speech is all about the details.

If you are an experienced speaker you may wish to deliver the speech from memory, however this is not advisable particularly if you are a novice which most of us are you will be better prepared if you have written notes to hand.

Your notes will be a lifeline should you clam up or lose your train of thought. Make sure your notes are short, clear and easy to read. Use postcard size card and clip them together or number them just in case you accidentally drop them and lose your place.

The best mans wedding speech should be around five minutes in length. Any more then this and you are in danger of boring your listeners especially if they have already sat through a number of other speeches. That said, if you are on a roll and have them laughing in the aisles you can stretch it to around ten minutes but not much longer.

Above all practice makes perfect! Again, make sure you have plenty of time before the big day to thoroughly rehearse. Take every opportunity to practice your lines and if possible recite them in front of a friend or two.

Stand in front of a mirror to check your stance and posture. You can even record yourself on tape to check your modulation and tone.
Memorize your opening and closing lines in particular so regardless of any sections you may forget in between, you will always have a start and finish point embedded in your mind.

It can take weeks to prepare a good wedding speech, which will last only a few minutes but a considered and well thought-out wedding speech will be greatly appreciated by the audience even if you do fluff the odd line or two.

About the Author
Vicki Churchill is the owner of Wedding Table Ideas a site that specialises in Perfect wedding table ideas and other occasions. Another great site to visit should you wish to have your wedding speech written for you is A Gift Of Poetry

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How To Prepare A Perfect Wedding Speech

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Mar
13
     
Understanding The Role Of Wedding Speeches
Posted (samo) in WEDDING SPEECH on March-13-2010

All wedding receptions have three main speeches. First of all, there is the speech given by the father of the bride. After the father of the bride, it is the turn of the bridegroom to give a speech. Lastly, it is the turn of the best man.

Father Of The Bride’s Speech

The father of the bride is usually called upon by the best man in order to propose a toast to the bride and the groom. However, it is normal for the relatives and close friends of the recently married couple to say a few words on behalf of the bride. After this, the father of the bride will show his appreciation of the bride and bridegroom in his own words. All this is followed by a toast offered to the couple.

Bridegroom’s Speech

The typical bridegroom’s speech can be used as an opportunity to thank their parents for all the years of love and care while they were growing up and their continued support later on in life. You should also thank them for all their blessings that you have received concluding with their blessing your wedding.

Sometimes there can be members of the family or close friends who are not able to attend due to various reasons. Remember these people and wish them a fast recovery. Also remember those who are unable to attend due to less severe reasons. It is not necessary to exclude the common attendees. Thank everyone for their help on this very important day on which the love and support of all those around you is vital.

Also, don’t forget to thank your parents-in-law as they are the ones who gave birth and raised your wonderful wife to be. Otherwise, there won’t be her.

And lastly…

Best Man’s speech

There is a good probability that by the time the father of the bride and the bridegroom are done with their speeches, the atmosphere will be heavy with all kinds of sentiments. If you are called upon to give a wedding speech as the best man, then judge the situation and accordingly try to make your own speech lighthearted and fun.

It has almost become an expected outcome that the best man’s speech will be full of humor and stories from the past. It doesn’t matter if a lot of people already know of the things you are speaking. Sharing them through words on this occasion makes a big difference to the overall tone.

After all, with all the customary thanks already been said by the father of the bride, and the groom, yours should be an end to be remembered by having doses of humor and reflection of your time with the groom.

However, what is funny to you might be embarassing to the groom and his family. Try not to use intimate doses in your toast. It might just land the groom in hot soup on his wedding day.

About the Author
For more info on wedding speeches, wedding speech and best man’s speech, please visit our website. Wedding Speeches

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Understanding The Role Of Wedding Speeches
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Mar
13
     
Making A Wedding Speech Overcome Your Fear In Seven Simple Steps
Posted (samo) in WEDDING SPEECH on March-13-2010

A wedding is a joyous occasion for the bride and groom, their family and friends. But there are some people for whom the wedding reception holds a challenge unlike almost any other. The cause of their fear is simple: they’re going to have to make a speech!

Anxiety about public speaking can afflict people from all walks of life. Some people fear that the audience will be hostile; others, that they will dry up or be humiliated in some way. For many of us, it’s just an unspoken terror to be avoided at all costs.

It’s sad that a social phobia like this should have the power to spoil one’s enjoyment of the wedding celebrations. If you’re the father of the bride, the groom or the best man — or indeed anyone who’s planning to stand up and speak to the assembled guests — you’re certainly not alone in feeling apprehensive. But help is at hand!

Any actor accustomed to first night nerves knows that the physical signs of fear are natural symptoms that can be managed with the right preparation and mind-set. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a ‘natural performer’, there are simple techniques that you can learn to get you through the apprehension that sometimes goes with public speaking.

If you’ve got a wedding speech coming up and frankly dread the thought, here are seven ideas to help you beat the jitters:

1. Nervousness is natural and to be expected. Even the most seasoned performers experience it from time to time. Don’t be thrown by the feeling or attempt to blot it out — instead, why not try to use the energy that comes from the feeling to give your delivery a boost?

2. Learn to recognize the symptoms and manage them. For example, you may find yourself taking faster, shallower breaths, so allow yourself a moment to breathe slowly and deeply before you start to speak to help you relax.

3. Plan your speech to suit your audience. Your confidence will be bolstered by a warm and appreciative response from the party — so choose a theme that will appeal to a cross-section of your listeners. Don’t be tempted to tell risque stories or jokes that may offend a particular group of guests. Get to know the family on both sides in order to choose appropriate material.

4. Know that the audience is on your side and wants you to succeed. You may regard making a speech as a test of courage — but the majority of the wedding reception guests will be feeling relaxed and looking forward to hearing you. Think of the audience as a group of friends, even if you don’t know everyone: address the whole room by looking individuals in the eye as you speak.

5. Begin with a simple joke that everyone can enjoy. Relax yourself by relaxing your audience. A funny but inoffensive story about the wedding couple (or about yourself!) adds a personal touch and will get your speech off to a good start — and there’s nothing like a warm audience response to help settle your nerves.

6. Keep it short and sweet. The best speeches always leave the audience hoping for more. Once you hit your stride, you’ll be surprised how quickly the time passes. It’s quite easy to fall into the trap of going on too long, so decide in advance on a safe time limit and practice your speech with a stopwatch to judge how long it will really last.

7. Memorize as much of your speech as possible. Even if you can’t deliver it entirely from memory, try to confine yourself to a few notes. These prompts will help you to recall the main points, and will give you the opportunity to connect with your audience by looking at their faces rather than at a script.

About the Author
Nigel Patterson is a business writer and publisher of http://Inexpensive-Weddings.comVisit his website for all sorts of money-saving wedding ideas to help you plan your big day without breaking the bank.

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Making A Wedding Speech Overcome Your Fear In Seven Simple Steps

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Mar
13
     
Ideas On Creating Your Own Wedding Invitation Cards
Posted (samo) in WEDDING SPEECH on March-13-2010

You’ve had a great idea already, in having a calligrapher hand-write the invitations. Not only is this a beautiful and elegant way to have a small quantity of invitations produced, it’s relatively cost-effective. You might want to check your local area for calligraphers (the phone book, or wedding informational websites). Call them up, ask for pricing for 25 hand-written invitations, and ask to see samples. Most calligraphers are happy to send you samples of their work, so that you can feel confident when hiring them. You might also ask about papers; the calligraphers may have resources for beautiful papers, or suggest papers that they’ve worked with previously. Be sure to ask about the cost of a response card, if you want the calligrapher to create one of those, as well as the cost of a return address for both the response envelope and the mailing envelope, as well as the guests’ address.

As far as creating something “special” on a computer, there are a couple of things I would suggest. First, head to your local craft store, book store and/or art supply store, and look for scrap booking, stamp, or invitation books. There are many of these types of books out there, and they’re full of wonderful ideas and instructions for creating something unique and truly special for your wedding, even with your computer. Craft and art supply shops often have many items that may be used to embellish a simple printed invitation, such as rubber stamps and embossing powder, shaped punches, and colored paper which may be layered to create a beautiful effect.

If you’re not particularly crafty and wouldn’t be comfortable creating something yourself, consider approaching a designer. Many designers will create an invitation design in PDF format (an electronic file format that takes only a free program — Acrobat Reader — to open and print) that you may print out on your own, or at a local Kinko’s-type shop. This would be less costly (in most cases — you’ll need to ask for a quote from the designer) than having the invitations professionally printed, but will still have a professional look.

Creating your own invitations can be a great way to cut down expenses. Since you are not quite sure what style of invitation you want, I would suggest doing two things: first, take an afternoon with your fiance, and spend some time at a local stationer’s, just looking through the books of invitations. You will find, as you go through the books, that both of you will be able to pick out things you like about the invitations, as well as things you don’t. (For example, you may find that you both like very ornate scripts, or vellum overlay, but dislike green ink for the text.)

You also may want to jump online, and join an online community where there are bulletin boards devoted to invitations exclusively. These communities foster a creative spirit, with many members providing photos of their creations, as well as instructions/templates so that others may create the same or similar pieces.

About the Author
Victor Epand is an expert commentator at http://www.CustomDesignPostcards.com. Visit us when you need to make custom designed holiday, gift, and invitation cards, as well as business cards and brochures. We are the only design utility that lets you download the print-ready images!

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Ideas On Creating Your Own Wedding Invitation Cards

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