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Father Of The Bride's Speech At The Wedding Reception

By: Shelby Wright

Tradition has it that the bride's father is the host of his daughter's wedding. In times past that meant paying for the reception too, though this is not often automatically assumed today. In keeping with that custom, the bride's father usually acts as the host for the wedding reception.

In some cases a professional master of ceremonies is engaged, especially for celebrity weddings. For most weddings the bride's father is least expected to give an opening speech and propose the toast to the bride and groom at the start of the wedding reception, and may continue as the wedding MC.

There are five things that must be included in a successful father of the bride speech.

The first thing to say is a few welcoming words that create the right atmosphere and put the guests in a celebratory mood for a happy wedding reception. The objective is to persuade the guests to relax. A good way to achieve this is to mention the wedding ceremony, how fabulous the bride looks, the environment for the reception or even the weather -- whatever everybody will have an opinion about -- and how much you look forward to meeting the guests and enjoying the wedding reception with them.

Secondly, as the host, the bride's father offers a welcome to all of the guests. It is usual to introduce any special guests, especially the groom's family and those who have made a special effort to get to the wedding. Absent guests are often mentioned at this stage also, especially those with close links with the bride or groom who have been unable to get to the wedding. A much loved grandparent or favorite aunt who has recently passed away is often mentioned at this point.

The third stage of the speech is to create some excitement about what to expect during the reception. The highlight of the best man's speech and any entertainment planned for during the reception, and plans for events afterwards, might be mentioned. Your guests will relax more when they know what is about to happen.

As a fourth step in their wedding speech, most proud fathers want to say a few heartfelt words among friends and family about the bride, their daughter. This is often the most difficult part of the speech to prepare for many fathers. There is a variety of ways to show your love for your daughter. Childhood and courtship stories are popular, funny stories about meeting the groom and quotes from poems are popular topics, but every father has his own ideas.

Finally, to direct the attention of the wedding guests firmly on the newlyweds it is customary for the bride's father to call for guests to join him in a toast to the bride and groom. Choosing the right words for the toast is a vital step in planning the speech.

Every father of the bride will add his own style of presentation, humor and feelings into his speech around this or a similar simple five step speech framework.

Few fathers will have much experience speaking at their own daughter's wedding. Most will find a professionally prepared wedding speech guide is very helpful. Speech outlines or templates, and examples of father of the bride speeches, can be downloaded, along with checklists of things and people that should not be overlooked. Time saving resources, such as popular wedding toasts, jokes, quotes and poems are available to select from. Not only do such resources save time preparing the father of the bride speech - they also lift confidence.

Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com

Visit this more comprehensive outline of a father of the bride speech and where to get father of the bride speech guides and resources and assistance with other wedding speeches and the wedding master of ceremonies duties.

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