It was to be a small wedding, but as those plans changed and the wedding size grew, so did my apprehension to the point of becoming unbearable when I was told that I should prepare a groom wedding speech for the wedding reception. I was having a hard time just thinking of the wedding vows and those were going to be simply repeating what I was told to say. When I was told that I should prepare a speech, I was overcome with fear and stress and worse yet, I didn’t even know where to start to prepare.
Speeches are not something I do, not even a yearly thing for holidays. I had not been expected to do a speech since I was back in school and that in itself was not the easiest to prepare for or to deliver and it was not expected to be memorable. The Groom’s wedding speech is the most important of all speeches. Yes, the Best Man’s speech is one that everyone always expects, but they expect anything. The Best Man’s speech can be short and sweet, or long and endearing. It can be funny, off color, or even sincere and surprisingly impressive, but no one expects much of the Best Man’s speech. His speech just fits, no matter what is said. However, the Groom wedding speech has with it a world’s weight on it, for the Groom must translate a lot in the words delivered in front of everyone at the wedding reception.
I pictured myself standing in front of everyone with a mic in my hand and realised it would be hard to just come up with a few lines that I would be proud of, even if all I did was thank everyone for coming. “Thank you for coming, we appreciate you traveling and taking your time to spend this great day with us”, would never be enough. I would be facing recent and childhood friends of both mine and my Bride’s. There would also be family, mine and HERS! Friends and co-workers of her parents and my parents, and they would be looking at me and judging whether my parents had done a good job raising me. I didn’t even want to think of what the friends of her parents would be thinking of me. Then I remember the defining moment of when I realised that it was hopeless. As I pictured the scene in my head, I went through friends, extended family, co-workers, associates of my parents and of my future in-laws, and then it became serious. You would think thoughts would then turn to my in-laws and render me helpless at the thought of delivering a speech under their watchful eye. It did, even though I had a great relationship with them and knew they would never judge me harshly, I wanted to impress them. It wasn’t the in-laws that topped off the stress of delivering the speech; it was the thought of my Bride.
I pictured how beautiful my soon to be wife would look in her wedding dress, sitting there at the Wedding Reception, eyes on me, her husband. We would have completed the courtship and we would be beginning our lives together, forever. I was to sum up every bit of what all of that meant to me in a speech. My wedding speech was to convey my overwhelming sense of pride at having been lucky enough to win her heart and love, the dreams I had for both of us, and what a spectacular blessing I had been bestowed by having her accept me as her husband. I needed to assure her parents that I was worthy of taking over the care and concern of their beloved daughter. In my speech I had to tell everyone there how much it meant to not only me, but to us, that they had attended our Wedding. It was my first major duty at representing both me and my wife as a married couple, responsible, gracious, and impressive. My Groom’s wedding speech would have to be the speech of my life and it would be recorded for prosperity and my Bride would sit there and hear me proclaim to the world what she and that day meant to me, in words, written by me.
I knew I had writing skills, at least in that I was lucky enough. I had written a few impressive love letters over my time, and even a few great cover letters for resumes. They weren’t easy but I had completed the task. A speech would be a whole other undertaking and I knew my groom’s wedding speech would have to be heaven inspired. I was never going to meet the task and end up with the speech in hand that I knew I really wanted. I would never write a speech I felt confident in sharing. How I felt about my groom’s speech would determine how well I delivered it and how well it was received. It was then that I looked for help, knowing I needed it, and found John Wilson – Wedding Speech Expert and his instruction on how to deliver a memorable speech. I knew I was on the right track.
John’s professional instruction easily walked me through the process of writing my wedding speech. Each step clearly led me through the process and I couldn’t believe how easily my speech developed and took on the exact emotional overtone I wanted it to have. It was poignant, just a hint of humor, and the best part is that it said what I wanted it to and it did so impressively. An impressive groom’s wedding speech that still sounded like me, like I had written it, and I had.
My Groom’s Wedding Speech no longer was a source of stress but I was actually looking forward to delivering it. I came close many times to sharing it with a friend or two, and even with my soon to be wife. I held out though, and kept it to myself. On our Wedding Day, I proudly reached for the microphone and began the speech of my lifetime. On our Wedding day, I delivered the speech that my wife will always remember with fondness, and I remember proudly, my groom wedding speech. What once started out as pure terror ended as a wonderful experience and a proud moment for me. I have John Wilson to thank for that.
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