Rhyming Mother Of The Bride Speech

Whilst Father of the Bride speeches tend to be more common, more and more mothers are taking the mantle on their daughter’s special day. Also less common but growing in popularity is a mother of the bride rhyming speech, or a poem. We at Speechy say – why not combine both??

A rhyming speech is sure to impress any crowd, with its humour and its craft. PLUS you can even frame it for your daughter to give as a keepsake, meaning the speech doesn’t just last for five minutes, it lasts for life.

Rhyming Mother of the Bride Speech

It’s always good to get some inspiration and here are a couple of mums who have done a fab job.

This mother almost has her big moment ruined by her daughter interrupting to turn the sound down. But once it gets going it’s a perfect tribute based around the recurring phrase ‘my lovely daughter’. She fits in plenty of touching anecdotes, both funny and sentimental. There’s also a great line about her daughter not just taking her heart when she moved out, but also her best wine glasses.

This Mother of the Bride is quite happy to admit her poem isn’t always the best… but this adds to the fun of it! Plus some of the rhymes are nowhere near as bad as she makes out (OK, some are).

But all credit to this mother, she introduces everyone in (near) perfect rhyme, even kicking off the pre-amble to the speech in verse. Sure, it’s not much of a dedication to her daughter – which we’d encourage – but it’s an inventive way of welcoming everyone to the wedding.

Rhyming Mother Of The Bride Rules

Two Mother of the Brides there showing you how it’s done. But how do you write a rhyming speech of your own?

Treat it like a normal Mother of the Bride speech! – It’s worth checking out our guide on how to write the perfect Mother of the Bride speech because, despite it being a poem, you can still encompass everything in there. The Mother of the Bride – depending on the circumstances – typically welcomes people to the wedding (which doesn’t have to be in poem form) and then spends the rest of the speech paying tribute to their daughter, as well as her new husband. That’s all! So find as many funny anecdotes about your daughter as you can – they’ll be perfect fodder for verse, just as they would be for prose.
Keep it simple! – If it was us, we’d stick to the typical, funny poem structures. AABB (four-line verses within which each couplet rhymes), ABAB (four-line verses where alternate lines rhyme) or AABBA (which is typical of limericks. Just make sure it’s a clean limerick…).
Don’t write too many verses! – A typical Mother of the Bride speech is five or six minutes long. But you don’t have to write a poem that goes on as long as that. Two or three minutes of poem is perfect, as you’ll probably spend a couple of minutes setting it up anyway. As with all good speeches, don’t fill the poem out for the sake of it, just choose the créme de la créme of your endless stories about your daughter.
Don’t panic if you get stuck! – Everyone does it. No writer can just knock out gold in one go – even the best ones. Go on a walk, do some exercise, have a bath! Push it to the back of your mind an inspiration will strike when you least expect it.
Read the poem out loud! – And do it a lot! Once you’ve written it, you’ll need to practice it and the best way to do it is actually reading it. Not just to practice your delivery, but to make sure everything really does rhyme and fit into the rhythm. Once confident enough, try it again but in front of a friend or family member. You’ll nail it in no time.

Speechy's Mother Of The Bride Example

Now you’re familiar with the rules, you’re probably wondering what a speech looks like written down. Here’s an example, taken from a speech where the mother’s daughter went to study to become an engineer. This helped influence the theme of the speech, allowing us to work plenty of anecdotes into it, as well as some marriage advice. After all, you’re the expert!

From the day you were born, you loved to cuddle,

Although most of the time it was to get out of trouble.

Weekends on the beach, running up and down the pier.

Until you left me for uni to become an engineer.

A good engineer gets things up & running,

But a marriage? Well, that requires cunning.

With marriage there are no plans to follow along,

There’s just a need to say ‘sorry’. That lasts lifelong.

The basics of marriage, it’s obvious to see,

Isn’t grand designs, but agreeing what temperature a room should be.

It’s about getting up early, just to make your loved one tea,

And stacking the dishes; an engineering feat beyond me

Men aren’t easy to mould, but you’ve chosen yours well,

He is kind and strong-willed, can survive Ikea hell.

But as you build your new home, he might break out in a sweat,

When he debates once again which lampshade you should get.

Whilst some mothers may prefer a slightly different balance of humour, advice and anecdotes, this poem shows just how handy a poem can be for making something which perhaps might otherwise sound a little familiar, totally unique.

So this is how we do it. Now it’s your turn! Best of luck!