(*Of course, if you’re looking for more than ‘advice’, check out all the different ways the Speechy team can help you write & deliver a great speech. Or check out our new AI-powered team member, SpeechyAI.)
‘(Of course, if you’re looking for more than ‘advice’, check out Speechy’s bespoke speechwriting service. We also have a range of excellent speech templates that might be just what you need.)
(*Of course, if you’re looking for more than ‘advice’, check out our eulogy writing service or our eulogy template.)
(Of course, if you’re looking for more than ‘advice’, check out Speechy’s bespoke speechwriting service. We also have a range of excellent speech templates that might be just what you need.)
We might spend decades building kick-ass careers and fulfilling friendships rather than dwell on finding ‘the one’. Sometimes first or subsequent marriages don’t work out, but hopeless romantics get back on the horse and go in for another round of wedding bells. Of course, it could be that we’re simply too busy bringing up kids, working, and muddling through life to get around to marrying the person who’s been our unofficial spouse for decades.
Whatever the case, delivering a speech as a mature bride deserves some consideration in order to ensure it’s memorable for all the right reasons on the day! Your speech is something to look forward to and, get it right, may become one of the day’s true highlights.
The recipe for every great speech is a sense of humour, simplicity, a little truth serum (applied to entertain rather than shock or offend), and avoiding cliché at all costs.
Until very recently, bride speeches were nowhere near as common as they are now. So it’s entirely likely this is your first go at one. A mature bride speech follows exactly the same principles as a younger bride speech so check out our bride advice and etiquette guide.
Simply apply more wisdom, insight, and knowing humour throughout!
If you have children from your previous relationship, it’s nice to include them in your speech or ask them to get involved in the day by giving a reading or a speech of their own.
However, apart from potentially including a line to acknowledge significant life events that came before, there’s no reason why a second marriage speech should be any different from any other bride speech.
Simply…
Of course, depending on your life leading up to this wedding, there may be a few more considerations….
These days, most people are realistic enough to accept that some marriages just don’t work out. So even if you’re speaking in front of the same people who watched you declare undying love at your previous wedding, don’t worry about explaining ANYTHING. Life happens.
If you do feel that your marriage history is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed, you may be tempted to send yourself up from the outset with a line such as ‘I should be good at this…’ but it really depends on the sensitivities of your guestlist (and, perhaps, your mother-in-law!). By all means, go for it if you know your partner is thick-skinned enough to smile through allusions to your exes but clearly, don’t go into detail regarding any disastrous divorces or remaining resentments, no matter its comedic potential. This just isn’t the right time.
Certainly, if your children are present, consider their reaction when making humorous references to divorce. This applies to other parts of your speech too. Phrases like ‘I’ve never known a love like this before’ can sound a little harsh to young ears. Besides, it’s a cliché. Do better.
Obviously, this may be an emotional moment for you, no matter how much time has passed since you lost your previous partner. You also have the feelings of your family to consider, so may worry about celebrating new love without acknowledging the person you loved and lost.
Making time to pay a personal tribute to your previous spouse, perhaps with your children, in advance of the wedding can allow you to celebrate on the day with more assurance. Our Dearly Departed Guide offers advice for this.
You may want to pay a small, heartfelt tribute to your previous partner in your speech. An acknowledgment that they’d have wanted you to have another chance at love and happiness is fine. It’s also perfectly acceptable – and encouraged – to bring humour into the suggestion that they’d approve of your new partner. Something like ‘especially as they’re both silly enough to support Leeds United’ can diffuse tension and bring together a difficult-to-explain blend of sadness, love, and warmth.
Of course, you don’t have to mention your previous partner in the speech at all, and should not feel guilty for not wishing to. Today is about celebrating a new love story.
The Speechy team are TV-trained scriptwriters/comedians by trade & we’ve helped 1,000s of speakers around the world deliver their dream speech.
Our advice has been quoted everywhere from The New York Times to Grazia and from Forbes to The Observer. Our founder has also featured on the BBC Sounds’ Best Men podcast with Jason Manford and written ‘The Modern Couple’s Guide to Wedding Speeches’, published by Little, Brown.
