HELP!!! Father of the Bride Speech

jojoenojojoeno Posts: 1,842
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I have the honour of giving my beautiful daughter away in a few weeks time. It will be a wonderful occasion and I will be very proud. But as its my first time I need ideas for the all important speech.

Ive researched on line but they all seem to be much the same , I want fresh ideas on what to add .

Comments

  • Bex_123Bex_123 Posts: 10,783
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    I'd imagine the best speech would be very personal you.

    Just speak from the heart :)
  • Mad_Dog1Mad_Dog1 Posts: 675
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    You could give a rant on why your think her boyfriend will make a crap husband and father.. I've heard they go down a treat.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,341
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    We'll be on The Jeremy Kyle Show?
  • FizixFizix Posts: 16,932
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    Honestly... Take all the suggestions you get, remove the ones that don't actually give you ideas, such as Bex' as they are true but not giving ideas. These are safe.

    Then look at all the actual suggestions and don't say or do those things for this is DS and they will only lead to problems.
  • TakaeTakae Posts: 13,555
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    The best speech I heard was one father described how he felt at each of his daughter's landmarks - 1st birthday, 5th, 13th, 18th and 21st - and memorable moments. The first day she went to infants school, when she broke both legs after carting down a steep hill on a skateboard, when she crashed her first car, and when she cried over losing a family pet.

    Then he recalled the first time she brought her boyfriend home ("I thought he looked a bit iffy"), and how the boyfriend made his daughter an even better person over time. How he felt when they got engaged. He admitted to feeling he was losing his daughter, but he eventually realised he was gaining a son.

    He ended the speech that he and his wife hoped their daughter and her husband will share their new life together with them as they did with their own parents. He then asked guests to cheer with drinks for the newly married couple.

    The speech was about 10-15 minutes long.

    Bex_123's right - best to speak from your heart. Doesn't matter if it's just one minute, five minutes or twenty.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 392
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    I once heard one that started with "Well, Ozzy is a very lucky young man, he gets to marry my daughter! As I and several of my friends can confirm, she's a smashing shag and..."

    Went down like a bit of a lead brick TBH, I think most of the guests were all the grooms family, they didn't really know his sense of humour.
  • yeahbuddyyeahbuddy Posts: 703
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    I am a wedding waitress and always try and have a sneak listen to the speeches. There's always a few jokes that the family know about the bride and groom, they always get a good laugh. Also the best thing is when the father of the bride speaks from the heart about how proud he is of his daughter and the new husband. Speaking about special events like Takae said is a really good idea and I have never heard if it before but I know there might be a few wet eyes.
    Good luck
  • Penny CrayonPenny Crayon Posts: 36,158
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    Takae wrote: »
    The best speech I heard was one father described how he felt at each of his daughter's landmarks - 1st birthday, 5th, 13th, 18th and 21st - and memorable moments. The first day she went to infants school, when she broke both legs after carting down a steep hill on a skateboard, when she crashed her first car, and when she cried over losing a family pet.

    Then he recalled the first time she brought her boyfriend home ("I thought he looked a bit iffy"), and how the boyfriend made his daughter an even better person over time. How he felt when they got engaged. He admitted to feeling he was losing his daughter, but he eventually realised he was gaining a son.

    He ended the speech that he and his wife hoped their daughter and her husband will share their new life together with them as they did with their own parents. He then asked guests to cheer with drinks for the newly married couple.

    The speech was about 10-15 minutes long.

    Bex_123's right - best to speak from your heart. Doesn't matter if it's just one minute, five minutes or twenty.

    That sounds perfect.
  • marianna01marianna01 Posts: 2,598
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    Our daughter is marrying her very long-term boyfriend in July and there is a small wedding party (around 40) but she does not want dad doing any sort of speech and it is not really necessary, (she says). We shall see though ........ roll on July!
  • iCandy77iCandy77 Posts: 1,457
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    marianna01 wrote: »
    Our daughter is marrying her very long-term boyfriend in July and there is a small wedding party (around 40) but she does not want dad doing any sort of speech and it is not really necessary, (she says). We shall see though ........ roll on July!

    Selfish cow! >:(
  • Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    At the last wedding I went to, the father of the bride opened with quite a funny gag. Dunno if it's a really old one, but I've been to quite a lot of weddings and hadn't heard it before. It was well received by the audience anyway.

    It went something along these lines:

    Today, all sorts of feeling and emotions have been running through me. Pride, happiness and a tinge of sadness as well. And I suppose I was expecting all that. But I really didn't think I'd feel the way I feel at the moment. I actually feel like an important politician. A politician who is in the final stages of negotiating the transfer of the national debt.

    It looks a bit lame written down! But as I say, it went down pretty well. I find that with wedding speeches, the people listening are an "easy audience". They really want you to do well and are interested in what you're saying. Especially when it comes to the father of the bride's speech. The best man's speech is the toughest gig!

    Good luck with it anyway. :)
  • FairyFeet1964FairyFeet1964 Posts: 510
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    Definitely speak from the heart, you can plan ahead and write stuff down but no one will be expecting you to be stood there with a 12 page script!

    My Dad went for one along the lines of book titles probably because I read so many growing up! it was very sweet and named various books including "Little Women" I'm four foot 10) and ended with him saying about us starting a new chapter in our own "Love Story". He mentioned things about me growing up and meeting my husband who had become part of our family and was like a son to him already etc, all very lovely and very personal to us.

    My husband was really nervous about his own speech bless him, again it was really nice, the bit that tickled me was "it's been an emotional day, even the cakes in tiers" ;-)
  • Vast_GirthVast_Girth Posts: 9,793
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    I've been a groom once, a best man twice and hopefully will be a father of the bride one day (shes not even 1 yet). Wedding speeches are the most pleasant speeches you can ever give. You are speaking to no one but friends and family, who are all totally on your side. They always work much better when actually read than they do written down on paper.

    For the fathers of the bride speech, it doesn't need to be as joke packed as the best mans, but should still have a few funny bits, preferably stories about when your daughter was growing up, as well as some nice bits about how proud you are and welcoming your new son to the family.

    Enjoy it!
  • stackmanstackman Posts: 710
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    Google Rowan Atkinson's father of the bride speech. It's what I plan to use when my daughter gets married.

    it starts along the lines of..."My daughter couldn't have chosen a nicer, more considerate, ambitious and wealthy man to marry than Brian. So why she chose instead to marry the idiot sat beside her is beyond me !"
  • ClarkF1ClarkF1 Posts: 6,587
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    Relax. Don't get too worked up about it.

    I had to give a Best Man's speech and had no idea what to write. Websites were useless, just worthless generic junk.

    Then one night I dreamt I was giving the speech. Woke up and wrote it all down. It was pretty much the speech I gave with a few minor tweaks and additions.

    :D
  • Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    Someone I know just linked to this on Facebook:

    http://www.tickld.com/x/12-things-men-do-differently-to-women-7-is-priceless

    There's a couple of amusing lines you may be able to use in your speech OP.
  • MarzBar85MarzBar85 Posts: 15,004
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    Father of the Bride doesn't have to be funny.

    My Uncle used the theme of kind and helpful about his daughter (that was a really nice speech - not many people in the room knew that she was his adopted daughter.)

    My best friend's Dad was saying about how proud he was of his daughter and that she and her husband would make a successful team as he had just gained further promotion in his job. He also said that his daughter would make the perfect housewife - judging from all her cooking and the new husband's ever expanding waistline... (cheap shot, but worked well insulting both bride and groom!)
  • CRTHDCRTHD Posts: 7,602
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    stackman wrote: »
    Google Rowan Atkinson's father of the bride speech. It's what I plan to use when my daughter gets married.

    it starts along the lines of..."My daughter couldn't have chosen a nicer, more considerate, ambitious and wealthy man to marry than Brian. So why she chose instead to marry the idiot sat beside her is beyond me !"

    Yes was going to say but you beat me to it (from Not the nine o'clock news).

    From memory it actually starts something like:

    "There comes a time at any wedding reception, when the man who paid for the damn thing, gets to say a few words of his own".....Brilliant
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