Congratulations, your daughter is getting married! While you’re likely beaming with pride, you may also be a little worried about the dreaded father of the bride speech you have to give.
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. By the time you’ve finished reading this post you’ll have an awesome speech and all the skills needed to deliver it with confidence.
As wedding officiants, our job is all about the words spoken at weddings. We’ve helped thousands of couples write their vows, and countless friends and family members write their speeches, toasts and readings.
Whether you’re going for something sentimental or silly (or somewhere in between!) for your father of the bride speech, our template below will help you put all of your feelings into words. We’ll then inspire you with some ideas and share our best tips for nailing your speech.
Template for a father’s speech to his daughter on her wedding day
Think of our five-step template below as your father of the bride speech requirements. Follow this format and you’ll have the perfect speech for your daughter’s big day!
1. Introduction and welcome
Start off nice and easy by introducing yourself to anyone who might not know you and sharing how happy and proud you are to be there. You can also thank guests for attending and celebrating with you.
This is a great time to welcome your new child-in-law into the family and extend that welcome to their parents and siblings as well.
2. Memories with your daughter
The most sentimental part of your father of the bride speech happens here when you share some happy memories with your daughter. Choose 1-2 stories that represent the bond you two share and show off some of your daughter’s best traits.
3. Story of the couple
Don’t forget that your speech isn’t just about your daughter – it’s about their partner too. Make sure to talk about the two of them as a couple.
You can share a story about them, talk about how they’ve helped each other grow or explain when you knew their partner was the one.
4. Wisdom and well wishes
As you start to wrap up your speech, end with some marital wisdom and/or well wishes for the happy couple.
Marriage advice often sounds best coming from someone with many happily married years under their belt. If that’s not you, feel free to skip the advice and stick to well wishes for the couple’s future instead.
5. Toast
The last thing you’ll want to do is ask everyone to join you in raising their glasses as you toast to the newlyweds. Cheers!
Ideas for different types of wedding speeches by the father of the bride
Below we’ve got some tips and ideas for different father of the bride speech scenarios. If you find yourself a little stuck with your speech writing, check out our ideas below.
Not the father of the bride but father of the groom? We’ve got a post for fathers of the grooms right here!
Father of the bride speech for a 2nd marriage
If this isn’t your first rodeo giving a speech at your daughter’s wedding (aka if this is her second marriage), you may be a little stumped. Since many of the guests were at her first wedding, you can’t exactly bring out the old speech and reread it!
We recommend writing a new speech and focusing on your daughter’s new relationship. Keep it personal to this couple and try to think of different stories you can tell from your daughter’s childhood.
And trust us, there’s no need to bring up the ex or the fact that this is a second wedding.
Wedding welcome speech by the father of the bride
If you daughter and their partner have tasked you with giving the welcome speech, that likely means you’re the first speaker of the night. Luckily, you can still follow our father of the bride speech template above.
All you need to do is elaborate on the welcome portion. Spend a few more sentences welcoming guests and thanking them for attending.
Check in with your daughter to see if there are any special welcomes she’d like you to make, such as to out-of-town guests.
Christian wedding father of the bride speech
If you want to include your Christian religion in your speech, there are lots of ways to do so. You can include a favourite or meaningful Bible verse that inspires a story about your daughter or your well wishes for the newlyweds.
You could also open or close your speech with a prayer. For some inspiration, check out our list of wedding prayers and blessings, as well as alternatives to the (often overused) 1 Corinthians 13.
Funny father of the bride wedding speech
Many fathers want to include a little dad humour in their speeches. If you’re known as the funny guy in your family, go for it! But proceed with caution.
A little joke here or there is fine, but remember this isn’t a comedy roast. You don’t need a zinger at the end of every sentence and none of your jokes should be embarrassing to the bride or their partner.
To tickle your funny bone, check out our best wedding jokes and puns.
Father of the bride speech for a gay wedding
If your daughter is marrying their LGBTQ+ partner, there’s not too much you’ll need to change about your speech. After all, you’re still a proud dad supporting your daughter as they marry the love of their life!
Above all, you want to make sure your daughter knows how much you love, respect and support them and their marriage.
If you don’t already know, check in with your daughter to make sure you’re using everyone’s correct pronouns and wedding day titles (e.g. “bride & groom” might not be appropriate). Here’s a refresher on inclusive language for a wedding!
7 tips to write the best wedding speech ever as the father of the bride
Now that you’ve got your speech template and ideas for different speech scenarios, it’s time to share our seven best speech writing and delivery tips so you can rock it on the big day!
1. Write your speech down on paper
One of our biggest pet peeves as wedding officiants is when people read off their phones at weddings. We know it’s the 21st Century and everyone does everything on their phones, but can we all agree it just doesn’t look great?
Not only does reading off your phone look a little tacky in photos, but it’s also a disaster waiting to happen. What if your phones dies or you lose signal? What if you accidentally scroll too far or exit out of your Notes app?
Instead, go the old fashioned route with paper. You can handwrite or type out your speech – just make sure the text is large and legible.
Not only does reading off of paper look so much better in photos, but it also shows you put time and effort into your speech. Plus, it makes a great keepsake for you or your daughter after the wedding.
2. Practice, practice, practice
While we don’t recommend trying to memorize your speech (we’ve seen many minds go blank in the heat of the moment!), we do recommend taking some time to practice beforehand.
Practice your speech out loud, not just in your head. Get comfortable with the words you wrote, where you’ll take breaths, and moments that might be met with laughter, tears or applause.
You can stand up and practice in front of the mirror or, if you want some feedback, practice in front of a few friends or family members. Your daughter will definitely be impressed on the big day when you show up with a well-rehearsed speech!
3. Speak loudly and slowly
Sometimes the best speeches are lost when a speaker is talking a mile a minute or is whispering so quietly no one can hear them. Don’t let that speaker be you!
Another reason why we practice ahead of time is so we can get used to speaking at the right pace and volume. This is where having a few loved ones around to give you feedback can be helpful.
On the big day, you may be using a microphone and the nerves may make you want to speak faster. To combat this, you can ask someone in the crowd to give you a little hand signal if they think you should speak up or slow down.
Take a deep breath, dad. You worked hard on your speech and every word deserves to be heard.
4. Prepare for emotions
Even the most stoic of fathers have been known to shed a tear or two on their daughters’ wedding days. Rather than avoid any emotional moments, we encourage you to embrace them. There’s nothing sweeter than a dad tearing up!
Don’t be afraid to get emotional during your speech. Bring along a glass of water or tissue if you think you’ll need a moment to compose yourself. Everyone will understand.
5. Keep it short and sweet
Before you start writing your father of the bride speech, check in with your daughter about how long your speech should be. If they don’t know, aim for 2-4 minutes.
Long speeches are just that – looooong! Guests get bored and restless if they have to sit through anything over five minutes. And assuming there are other speeches and events throughout the night, your lengthy speech could delay everything.
So keep it short and sweet – long enough to be sincere but not so long that people start to look at their watches. You’ll also want to ask when in the evening you’ll be speaking so you’re ready to go at the right time.
6. Skip the controversial or embarrassing jokes
Even if you’re the most hilarious guy in the family, your daughter’s wedding is not the time to try out all of your best stand up material. Yes, you can make some jokes, but keep them G-rated.
That means nothing embarrassing or cringe-worthy and nothing that would be pushing boundaries. If you’re not sure whether a joke is funny or offensive, go ahead and skip it.
Remember that you’re here to celebrate your daughter and her new marriage. Any jokes you tell should be respectful to your daughter and appropriate for a wedding.
7. Don’t forget their partner
Many parents of the bride or groom get so swept up in telling emotional stories about their own child that they completely forget this day is actually about two people. Even though you’re the father of the bride, you can’t completely ignore their partner.
That’s why our wedding speech template above has a specific section for you to talk about your daughter’s partner and the two of them as a couple.
While sharing stories from your daughter’s childhood is sweet, nothing is more special to her (and all of the guests) than knowing how much you support her marriage and love your new child-in-law.
CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR WEDDING SPEECH RESOURCES:
- 4 Mother of the Groom Wedding Speech Samples
- Father of the Groom Rehearsal Dinner Speech Samples
- How to Write Your Wedding Speech as the Mother of the Bride
- How to Write Your Wedding Speech as the Father of the Bride
- How to Write an Incredible Best Man Speech
- 5 Maid of Honor Speech Examples
- 12 Tips for Wedding Readers
- The Ultimate Wedding Toast Guide
- How to Write A Killer Bride or Groom Wedding Speech
