Someone dear to your heart is getting married soon, and you’ve been asked to give a speech on their wedding day. We know that can be terrifying if you’re not used to public speaking—just finding the right words can be a struggle, let alone actually saying them. So you might be feeling a bit nervous about how to craft the perfect wedding speech.
Those of you with a strong sense of humor may be considering a few jokes for your wedding speech. Wedding speech jokes can help create an unforgettable, enjoyable toast, but you have to be careful not to offend.
That said, here are some tips on how to make your wedding speech funny—in the right way. Read this, and you’ll be delivering your wedding speech like a pro in no time.
Our Top 12 Tips for a Good Wedding Speech Joke
Be Natural
When it comes to a wedding speech, it is vital that you are yourself. You don’t have to imitate Dave Chappelle or Adam Sandler—in fact, that would probably be kind of awkward. Instead, give yourself permission to be you. Doing so will help make you feel relaxed and comfortable during the speech. It might even help you have some fun.
Be Prepared
Sure, you could just get up and wing it, throwing any jokes you can come up with on the fly at the guests. But we’re sure you’ll agree that that could turn disastrous pretty quickly. So we suggest preparing for your speech, and here are a few ways to do it.
Your preparation should include:
- Do research: One great way to prepare yourself for delivering a funny wedding speech is to ask family and friends for funny stories. These can be the best wedding speech jokes because they’re true, making them likely to resonate with the guests.
- Make notes: You can keep notes on cue cards while delivering a wedding speech—in fact, we recommend it. Wedding speeches are usually concise, only about 2 to 3 minutes, but getting off track can be easy. So, you should at least write down the key points you want to address.
- Rehearse: Don’t give your speech for the first time in front of the assembled guests. First, rehearse and practice your wedding speech in front of the mirror or in front of friends and family. Then, ask for suggestions on the content, pace, and ways to make it more unique and funny.
Have a Focus
If your goal is to provide a captivating and funny wedding speech, remember to have an angle. What do we mean by that? Well, for starters, you might want to think about your role in the wedding party. For example:
- The bride’s father might want to focus on cute and funny things that happened when the bride was young. Maybe there was a hilarious event when she tried to take her puppy to school in her backpack!
- The groom might have had an embarrassing first encounter with the bride that he can use to frame his speech. If he’s brave, he might even make fun of his bride by bringing up one of her funny habits, the first time he met her dad, or something silly that happened to them as a couple. Just make sure not to embarrass anyone if you do this!
- The best man will probably want to use the angle of his shared history with the groom. For example, he might decide to talk about a time when the groom was anxious to talk to girls in high school.
Make the Guest Participate
Audience participation is one easy way to make a speech more fun. Unfortunately, most speakers make the mistake of delivering a monologue instead. This kind of speech runs the risk of being tedious and less entertaining, which is the opposite of a funny wedding speech!
Instead, try to make the other guests participate by asking witty questions. For example, if you are the best man, you might ask the bride something like, “what annoys you the most about the love of your life?” If you can make the bride giggle at her own wedding, the guests are more likely to start laughing too.
Ask the “Right” Questions
Getting the audience to participate is one thing. Asking awkward and inappropriate questions is another. So make sure to choose your questions carefully.
Above all, avoid questions that trigger trauma, bring up controversial subjects, or otherwise make people feel uneasy. Questions about ex-lovers, dreadful events, embarrassing stories, and drunken nights probably aren’t good either. These kinds of questions can turn a glamorous wedding into a gloomy one real quick.
Don’t Go Overboard
If you must take alcohol to ease your nerves, keep the drinking minimal until after your funny wedding speech. Alcohol affects your impulses, and that can make you go overboard with your questions or ramble on uncontrollably.
If you decide to tease the couple, keep it light, harmless, and brief. Jokes about their taste in music or food are normally okay. Choose something relatable that can easily cheer up the crowd and get them laughing.
Make References
Being relatable can be tricky if you don’t know a lot of the guests, but it works like magic when you get it right. You might want to reference a scene or character from a popular movie, TV series, or book that others are likely to know. Another strategy is to bring up a funny event in the news that everyone remembers.
Just make sure to find out a bit about the guests ahead of time if you want this to work. Doing a bit of research will help you come up with a reference they can relate to.
Poke Fun at Yourself
We all love self-deprecating jokes, don’t we? Especially when they walk us down memory lane. Besides, making a joke at your own expense can be a way to make the bride or groom look good, and everyone at a wedding loves that.
For example, if you are the best man, you might want to talk about a time when the groom beat you at chess effortlessly. Just make sure to maintain a funny and casual tone so that no one thinks you’re still holding a grudge!
Use a Picture Prop
It is no secret that pictures can play a significant role in telling stories, so having a video presentation can add to your hilarious wedding speech. In addition, having a collection of old photos from childhood, high school, or when the couple started dating can help get your points across.
But if you want to wow the guests and create an absolutely hysterical wedding speech, check out this example of a great speech on YouTube. It’s genuine, unique, and relatable because it focuses on an experience the groom and best man shared. This guy totally killed it!
Don’t Be Afraid to Show a Little Vulnerability
If this is your first time delivering a wedding speech, you might slip up. You might stumble over your words or utter something ridiculous. But that is okay. Chances are, the things you said might end up being funny to the wedding guests.
Also, don’t be afraid to show a side of you that few people have seen before. Maybe you have a hidden talent, or perhaps you’ve been told that you dance funny. Often, the things that feel embarrassing to you will cheer up the crowd and entertain them.
Remember: it might feel scary, but you’re doing this for people you love. Your unique personality might be the best wedding gift you can give.
Consider Doing an Impression
Mimicking the groom and the bride can be a little risky, but it’s also potentially very funny.
You might want to wait until they have a reaction to something else in your speech, then playfully poke fun at their mannerisms.
Remember not to be rude—for example, don’t make fun of tics or their physical appearance. But when done right, this is a surefire way to make a wedding speech funny.
End On a Good Note
Once you’ve made it through most of your speech, the last thing to do is end on a good note. If you’re the father of the bride, you might complete your speech with something cute and sweet, like saying that even though your baby girl is now a married woman, she will always be your baby. If you are the best man, you might make a toast to the couples.
With these tips, we believe you can develop a funny and memorable wedding speech that the couple will be proud of and the guests will love. While there are no ironclad recipes for a funny wedding speech, it’s not that difficult at the end of the day. Just infuse some creativity into your wedding speech, be personable and authentic, and don’t embarrass anyone.