Whether you’ve been asked to be the best man or maid of honor, coming up with speeches for weddings isn’t always easy. People will be looking at you while you think of something meaningful to say – but it isn’t as difficult as you might think, as long as you follow the dos and don’ts of wedding speeches.

Don’t Offend Anyone

It’s pretty obvious, but speeches for weddings should never offend any members of the audience. This means you should avoid brining up religion or politics. Even if what you said was meant well, there’s still the risk that someone will take it the wrong way.

In the same way, you should always be careful if you’re telling any personal jokes. Jokes are always a good element of a speech, but don’t aim them at any one person in particular. And don’t laugh at your own jokes! Let it be up to the audience to decide whether the joke was funny or not.

Try to Relax

While you’re waiting to deliver your speech this can be one of the most tense moments of the day. To help relax yourself, try to repeat the first line of your speech to yourself while you’re waiting for someone else to finish their speech. When you do finally get started, don’t start the speech off negatively by saying it’s the first time you’ve done a speech. Instead, start with a joke or a funny story.

Lastly, you want to make sure you won’t overlap your stories and anecdotes with the other speakers. If you hear they’ve used something you were going to say, you’d better scratch it off your list.

All in all, speeches for weddings can be a fantastic way to show how you feel about the bride and groom. The audience are always going to support you, so as long as you plan your speech carefully it should go well.