Wedding Speeches: The Way To Candid, Emotional Moments
Including short, thoughtful speeches into your wedding reception can make for more emotional imagery and candid moments. Here are some tips for making the speech experience a better one!
Speeches can be a divisive topic in the wedding industry. While some love speeches, others (including some wedding vendors I’ve spoken to) absolutely detest them. Hear me out though! Speeches can be a wonderful, emotional addition to a wedding day and a great chance for your photographer to capture more emotional candid imagery.
Some people don’t like to be the centre of attention, and believe me, I get that. I’m the same way! But when else are you going to have all of your family together in one spot like this? You get to hear the people you love most tell you they love you, that they’re proud of you, that they’re so happy that you have found your person, your partner for life. Whether or not you like the attention, it’s a very sweet moment that is rarely found in day-to-day life.
As long as you keep speeches short and sweet (and the number of speeches themselves low), they add such a lovely bit of emotion and authenticity to the end of the day. I truly love listening to speeches and hearing all of the love your family has for you. I will ALWAYS cry during speeches haha!
Here are my top tips for successful wedding speeches:
Keep speeches short and sweet
(and don’t have too many people make speeches).
Stick to those closest to you, like your parents and best friends. Your entire bridal party doesn’t need to make individual speeches, especially if there’s several people on each side. Which brings me to another point - group speeches can be a good idea! Have your entire bridal party pitch in to create one thoughtful, single speech. Your guests get antsy sitting for long periods of time, especially if you happen to have speeches before dinner. Don’t make your guests starve!
Make sure that everyone can hear
Have proper audio equipment suitable for your venue. If you’re getting married outdoors, make sure you’re speaking clearly into a microphone that is hooked up to good speakers, and have those speakers placed strategically throughout your guests. Grandma wants to hear what’s happening!
Don’t have speeches over dinner
Please, just don’t. I’ve seen waiters drop plates in the middle of a parents’ speech (more. than. once.). The scrape of cutlery is super intrusive, and prevents people from hearing properly. I’ve even witnessed a bride not being able to hear her father’s speech over the sound of people eating dinner! People also just want to relax and visit with their table neighbours as they eat, and it’s obviously incredibly rude to talk during speeches! Giving your full attention to those making speeches is best, and most courteous.
Waiters walking around can also block our shots for those once-in-a-lifetime emotional moments, and creates unnecessary noise that any videographers you hire will not thank you for.
Are you writing a wedding speech?
Avoid cliches and speak from the heart. Be honest. If you’re not a known jokester, don’t try to make it funny if that’s not how you’d speak normally. And for the love of all that’s good in the world, do not begin your speech with “For those of you who don’t know me…”
If you can, write your speech out on paper or note cards.
Phones are super handy for speeches especially in a dark room, but they really do give off a different vibe in photos. Or, don’t be afraid to wing it! Some of the greatest speeches were given without a single paper in sight!
And lastly…
Don’t forget your favourite beverage! Happy speechmaking!
