If you are one of the ones expected or asked to do a wedding speech, then preparing is a must. Winging it just won't cut it especially when your wedding speech will be on video from now until eternity.
Wedding speeches should not last more than three or four minutes. It reminds me of that famous quote by John F. Kennedy,
?Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.?
It's actually much harder to do a short wedding speech than a long one which reminds me of another quote,
?It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.? --Mark Twain
You have to have an opening and closing. You probably want to throw in a story and at least one piece of humor. And it all has to make sense. Please, please, please don't apologize for how bad you are as soon as you stand up, which reminds me of yet another quote by Kin Hubbard,
?Why doesn't the fellow who says, 'I'm no speechmaker,' let it go at that instead of giving a demonstration?? hahaha I love that one.
Here's a quick outline for a wedding speech:
Note: each one of the bullet points below could have many variations
? Opening ? Could be comments about the lovely affair
? Comments about the bride and groom
? Story about your interactions with the bride, groom or both.
? Humor- Pick something that applies to them and is appropriate
? Closing ? Something touching
? Toast ? Brief and touching or funny
You'll rarely be the hit of a wedding because of your wedding speech and rightfully so. The bride and groom are the stars. But poor preparation of your wedding speech certainly could make you the laughing stock.
Remember, you are going to perform your wedding speech live, but you'll be on video forever. Take the time to prepare.

Wedding speeches come in a variety of forms such as wedding speeches for the bridegroom, the best man, the bride's father and others. Wedding speech is an important way to thank the guests, wish the couples, or they can add a touch of humor to the special occasion and make it much more memorable for everyone who is a part of the wedding.
There are no real hard and fast rules for delivering wedding speeches. One can write one's own wedding speech or get them written from professionals for adding a classy touch to the wedding. Generally the wedding speech of the bride is one filled with words of wisdom, while the wedding speech of the best man can be light and humorous.
Tips for a Good Wedding Speech
Unlike formal speeches a wedding speech has to be a relaxed one without any pomposity to it. The speech should have light touches of humor so that the atmosphere becomes lighter. It is always a better idea to prepare the wedding speech two to three weeks before the wedding because an improvised speech cannot be as polished as the one prepared in advance.
If one is not very sure of one's writing ability one can take the help of professional writers who can do the job best. All that one has to do is to provide the writer some of the personal information about the families so that they can add that much needed personal touch to the wedding speech.
If it is the wedding speech of the father of the bride or the groom they can include the memories of their children as well as the likes of their children. Parents can also add some lighthearted events that occurred while bringing up their children. The speech by the elderly always comes from experience and hence is full of words of wisdom and their hopes for the bright future of the couple.
The best man's speech can be made humorous by adding some really humorous event that the best man and the groom shared during their friendship. It is also a good thing to mention your hopes for the future of the happy marital life of the couple.
The most important wedding speech is by the bride and the groom in which they can mention their first meeting and share their experiences with the guests. It is important in their speech to thank their parents and the guests who attend the wedding ceremony. The couple then can declare their love for one another. Generally the first wedding speech is delivered by the bride's father.