Wedding speeches
Posted by oncewerewesties on Feb 08, 2011 · Member since Mar 2009 · 5849 posts
so, my brother is getting married next week and they have asked me to MC their reception, introduce speakers etc.
I've done a bit of thinking and a lot of googling but thought it was time to get some real perspective from the vegweb peeps!
Anyone got any tips on what kind of jokes/lines you've liked at weddings, what's bombed/things to avoid, anything like that?
Or just share stories from speeches at weddings you've been to or from your own! : )
I wouldn't tell jokes because they invariably are only half-heard by people or response is wonky. I'd go for slightly quirky/amusing but sincere and semi-short comments about your brother, but short straight-forward intros for the other speakers.
Be complimentary in the mini-bio introduction part, but don't cover the material they are going to cover - like, mention something that they do that you like that is a shared attribute in the bride/groom (or something like that).
If it's the bride/groom speech, the speech maker usually tells a slightly embarrassing story about how the bride/groom (who they're there for) had a bunch of interests and passion for life, but didn't have anyone to share it with until they found their now-spouse and how the now-spouse completes or compliments the person. Standard wedding stuff.
You could start it off by reading a story. Like an excerpt from a children's story or a philosopher or something with love parables.
Or compare sappy love quotes to doleful love quotes. Love is a work in progress and people can chose doleful love or the sappy love, and link how the groom/bride work for the sappy kind.
You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without. ~ Author Unknown ~
Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion... That is just being "in love," which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. ~ Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss ~
Thanks hh!! I love that Dr Seuss quote!! : )
gah, I just figured out you meant that quote or the Dr Seuss story Oh the places you'll go!
I thought that quote sounded familiar and just remembered it's from Louis de Bernières in Captain Corelli's Mandolin!!
oh man i would not want that job!
i really liked the MC at my brothers wedding (his wife's sis).. she was funny and kinda cracked jokes about the two of them.
Guh. I read the quote a while back and it was attributed to Dr. Seuss. You're much better read than I am, because I didn't know better.
Wow! Talk about pressure! I'd sit down and write out a ton of things that I like about each of them together. No embarrassing stories.... I think people that do that are dicks. You could get away with something funny about your brother, but stay away from anything that can be taken as mean to the bride. Maybe make a list of some key points you'd like to make, but just having their history fresh in your memory will help you ad lib things. If you do any poems make them short and sweet.
Lastly, ask them for some guidance. See if there is anything they would want (or not want) you to include. Good luck!! :)
??? funny to everyone else is often slightly embarrassing to the object of discussion
??? funny to everyone else is often slightly embarrassing to the object of discussion
True, but there is a difference in saying something slightly embarrassing versus saying something way out of line. And it truly depends on the person you are talking about. If her brother has a good sense of humor then it wouldn't really pose a problem. :)
thanks Lauren, hh! I definitely will be steering away from embarrassing the bride as I think you have heard me mentioning before how how maintenance/difficult to deal with she can be, no way I want to go incurring bridezilla wrath or you might never hear from me again!!
The problem is they still haven't told me what exactly they want me to do, and I've been trying to prepare for months now but can't really do much when I don't know what their expectations are!! They haven't even decided on what's going on in their ceremony, so I shouldn't be surprised... but they're in town now so hopefully this weekend I might hear a bit more from them...
Mostly, doesn't the MC make sure the glasses are filled shortly before the toast and that people have had a reasonable amount of time to eat before asking for their attention for speeches? I think scheduling is probably the biggest part of the gig.