Mother of The Bride speech

Reasons for a Mother of the Bride speech

So, why might you be giving a Mother of the Bride speech?

• You will be speaking in place of the Father of the Bride.
• You will be speaking in addition to him.

Obviously, if it’s the first you might wish to cover the reasons. It could be because he has sadly passed on or is too ill to do so. In which case a few lines expressing how proud he would have been would work well. If it’s for other personal reasons, it is best left out. If you are speaking in addition to the bride’s father, you won’t wish to cover the same ground. So, avoid doubling up on the following: welcomes to those who’ve travelled far and thanks to key people. Also, check the stories you’ve chosen are not too similar.

What to say in a Mother of The Bride speech

The first rule is… there are no rules. Be led by what’s important to you. Nothing is set in stone, including this post. However, assuming you’re speaking in place of the bride’s father, here are some key things people will expect you to cover:

The introduction

• An icebreaker at the top – it does not have to be a line you’d expect from a comedian; a gentle, humorous line can work nicely. The guests will be primed to show their love, so give them a chance to chuckle.
• Welcomes – if you’re speaking first, give everyone a big, heartfelt welcome. If people have crossed oceans or horrendous one-way systems to get here, do consider namechecking these brave adventurers.
• Thanks – make a general thanks to those who’ve helped with the planning; if a lot of it fell on your shoulders, it’s a chance to jokingly add your own name to the list!

The central section

Yes, it’s the section about your beautiful daughter who’s now the beautiful bride. There’s so much you could say, so here are some potential angles:

The younger years

• Bringing her into the world – did you know already the sex of the baby? Had you decided on a name if it was a girl?
• Terrible twos – was she an angel as a young girl or a real handful? Was she inseparable from you and/or a favourite toy?
• Young girl – was there lots of dressing up? Was it as a princess or a female superhero like Wonder Woman?
• Passions – was her first love a film star, a pop star or maybe even Harry Potter? If you walked into the living room, what would likely find her doing? Did she love drawing, dancing or just sitting and daydreaming?

The older years

• Secondary / high school – was she someone who diligently did her homework or was it like pushing water up a hill?
• Did she make you a proud mum with her exam results or at school sports?
• Tempestuous teens – was there a moment when she was without doubt a full-on teenager? Did this involve some bold fashion choices?
• Did she become friends with people at school who are at the wedding? Are there any adventures they got up to that can be repeated or hinted at?
• College – if she went to college, did she choose to go to a place nearby, popping home for food and laundry, or as far away as humanly possible?
• First job – did her early ambitions lead to a particular job or career?

Your son-in-law

How your daughter met the groom will probably be covered in his speech. However, you can relate your first impressions. Did you meet him for the first time by accident or was it planned? Did he look nervous? And did you have an inkling that your daughter saw this boyfriend as, you know, different?

It can also be nice to share a quick story or joke about him. Maybe something that happened at a family occasion or on a family holiday together. After a little gentle laugh at his expense, you could then welcome him into the family. He now knows what he’s letting himself in for! This might also be a good place to say a few kind words about his parents. Alternatively, they could be mentioned in the first section of the speech.

The heartfelt section to end

This part of your mother of the bride speech is all about tugging on the heart strings. You brought her into the world now you’re speaking at her wedding. How did that all pass so quickly? So, choose a few lines that really express how you feel about your daughter. How she makes you proud, her kindness and selflessness, her witty sense of humour. It doesn’t need to be super-long. A few well-chosen words can have real power. And there’s less chance of the emotion of it all getting to you (this also applies to the Father of the Bride!)

You can then finish by wishing your daughter and her husband a happy, healthy, joyful married life together. Raise a toast to the newly weds and that’s it! Your speech is done, you can now sit down and properly relax for the rest of the evening!

A funny mother of the bride speech

Jokes are gold in a speech; they make it more engaging and seem shorter too. You can also sneak in more sentiment. For some inspiration – and some example lines –  take a look at my wedding speech jokes post.

Mother of the bride speech length

A typical wedding speech can be anywhere from 750 – 2,000 words. Allot 175 words per minute speaking-time and that’s roughly from 5 to 12 minutes. I’d advise keeping it nearer 1,200 – 1,300. That can cover all the bullet points I’ve covered above. However, it all depends on how comfortable you are speaking, the number of speakers and what you’d like to cover. If you’ve got a raft of wonderful stories, don’t restrict yourself to one or two. Conversely, don’t end up speaking for 20 minutes. “More is less” is never truer than with a wedding speech!

How to write a mother of a bride speech

I’ve given a rough mother of the bride speech structure above. If you want some tips on the nuts and bolts of writing a wedding speech, do check out my “how to write a speech page” here. On the other hand, if you want a professional writer to do everything for you, I’d be delighted to help. Just get in touch and we can chat further!