A heart-warming tribute to your groom should be the focus of your bride speech but remember every bride thinks her husband is gorgeous, kind and generally amaaaazing. The only way for this to sound genuine is – prove, don’t tell.

Resist too many adjectives and recount the anecdotes that show your bloke’s qualities in action.

Cut the cliches & concentrate on what makes your man unique. Avoid words like ‘soulmate’ or ‘gorgeous’, anything that’s overused.

Is he a library-lover, a technology fiend, a devoted foodie? Nailing his individual and quirky characteristics shows you ‘get him’ and his friends & family will love you for it.

All speeches should be funny. Yes, you want to be sweet about your groom and kind to your guests but make them laugh too.

No one’s expecting a stand-up routine but if you manage to get everyone giggling within the first 30 secs, then you’re on to a winner. Your guests will relax and you will too.

Of course, being funny isn’t about finding good jokes on the internet – it’s about making witty observations about your groom and your relationship.

Remember the adage ‘it’s funny because it’s true’. Ask yourself lots of questions. What have you done together, what do you regularly ‘debate’, what seems to be a regular theme in your relationship?

Avoid ‘Bride Jokes’ and read our How To Be Funny Blog for more inspo instead.

Right, this is the crucial bit. Rather than just a collection of anecdotes and thank yous, a great speech should tell a story.

Yes, it’s made up of lots of different elements, but it needs to hook people in from the beginning, establish a theme and carry that through to an almighty climax.

One basic example might be a teacher who talks about the lessons her husband has taught her – the good, the bad and the ability to now shout a range of football chants. Another theme might be the bride’s interpretation of her marriage vows (e.g. man flu doesn’t count as ‘sickness’).

Creating a theme ensures the speech is easy to follow and entertaining. Find out #whatsyourstory

If you and your groom are both giving speeches, you should both aim for about six or seven minutes. It doesn’t sound long, but it’s plenty of time to be both funny and sincere.

You might feel you have plenty to say but be strict with yourself. Remember a long thank you list turns a good speech bad.

Once you write your first draft, edit it down to half the length. We promise it will make it a hundred times stronger. No one ever watched a wedding speech and thought ‘if only it were longer’.

The edit process might mean cutting some of your favourite bits but you need to wipe out the waffle and kill those cliches!

A confident delivery is half the battle.

Check the acoustics of the venue & get a mic if necessary (so many speeches are ruined simply because the guests can’t hear them).

Try to memorise the speech but don’t be afraid to use notes on the day (your brain will be scrambled). Thick A4 paper is fine (but only print 3/4 of the way down the paper so you can maintain eye contact with your guests) or you can use a tablet (a mobile still looks overly casual).

Talk slower than feel natural (makes you sound more confident) & leave pauses for laughter (sometimes people need a moment to ‘get it’).

More Delivery Advice on our blog.