Wedding speeches

Your day so do it your way! I have been to a couple of weddings where they just had a best man speech and then the groom and Father just did a toast to thank the guests for coming but it is honestly your choice and I would say scrap them all together if they feel uncomfortable. An alternative is to maybe have alternative speech givers like mum, sibling, grandparent, maid of honour or even the bride!

I’ve told my dad he doesn’t have to do one if he doesn’t want to. He did a speech at my sisters wedding last year and got himself worked up about it. I’d rather him just enjoy the day. x

My dad doesn't speak good English and more than half our guests are English speakers so I will be doing a little speech instead. It's only about 2 mins long. My fiancé is doing a short speech too. We'll be leaving the longer speech to the best man (my fiancé's brother) as he's good at public speaking and doesn't really mind.

As stated above, it's your wedding so you do what's right for you!

I find that a lot of couples have the speeches before the food to help those that otherwise will not be able to relax and enjoy their food.

You could do a joint one with your FH, also I am seeing a lot more maid of honour / chief bridesmaid speeches. Also its called a speech but it could just consist of some thank you's

We decided when we first planned our wedding there would be no speeches, top table or first dance......our wedding, our way! You do what you want ❤️

Your wedding, your choice.

To be honest, I'm struggling to think of a single wedding I've been to where I wouldn't have rather they skipped the speeches. Unless someone is a natural raconteur, most speeches are quite painful to sit through!

We didn't have any at our wedding. My OH just thanked everyone for coming and for supporting us, and briefly mentioned our fathers, both of whom died before the wedding. I think the whole thing took about 60 seconds. (And he was the one to do it because he's used to public speaking and I hate it, rather than because we were being 'traditional'!)

You could always do speeches where you give people the option to do one? On your invite, you could say “if you’re interested in doing a 2-3 minute speech at our wedding, please get in touch”. There might be some friends or family members who would be more than happy to speak! Your dad could then give them some of his words to add on, so he still gets to have input but someone else talks for him maybe?
I would say though, definitely make it clear it isn’t a free for all on the day. Once you’ve committed to making a speech, you are and if you didn’t commit, you can’t just grab the mic. Otherwise it may go a bit pear-shaped!

You could also ask your event manager or MC or DJ at your venue to read out a speech on someone or a few people’s behalf.