Traditional Wedding Speech Examples

Family and friends, thank you for being here today. Emma, when you were small you used to bring me drawings after dinner. Most were houses with triangular roofs and a sun in the corner. I kept every one in a folder in my desk. That folder is thicker now than any report I have ever filed. You grew into someone who still pays attention to the details. I see that in the way you planned this day, and in the way you look at David. David, you asked my permission like a man who understood what he was requesting. That meant a great deal to me. I am glad to call you my son-in-law. Your mother and I wish you a marriage that is steady and kind, with small good moments along the way. Most of life is made of those. Please raise your glasses to Emma and David.

Good evening. I am Michael, and I have the honor of standing beside David today. We met in the third form when he sat next to me in mathematics and let me copy his notes after I lost mine. I am still not sure whether he was being generous or simply wanted quiet. Either way, the friendship stuck. David has always been the sort of person who arrives early and holds the door. Those small habits matter more than grand speeches. They mean he will show up when it counts. Emma, I watched him rehearse what he would say to you the night he proposed. He rewrote it six times. I have never seen him prepare for anything with that much care. You are marrying a good man. I wish you both every happiness. To David and Emma.

Dear friends, thank you for joining us. Emma, I still remember the morning of your tenth birthday. You woke before the rest of us and set the kitchen table with paper napkins and a vase of daffodils from the garden. You had not yet learned to make pancakes, so you arranged the cereal boxes like place cards. It was the most thoughtful breakfast I have ever had. You have always looked after people. Now David is the one looking after you, and that is exactly as it should be. David, thank you for the way you steady her. I see it when she talks about you, and when she does not need to talk at all. May your home be a place where you both feel known. To Emma and David.

Good evening. I am Sarah, Emma's friend since we were both in pigtails. We spent most of our Saturdays at the dance school on Maple Street. Emma remembered everyone's choreography. She brought extra hairpins. She calmed the younger girls before a recital. I mostly forgot my shoes. When she told me about David, she did not describe him in the usual way. She mentioned that he made her a cup of tea without asking, and that he had read a novel she recommended. She notices small kindnesses because that is how she loves. David, you are receiving one of the best people I know. Treat her everyday kindness as the gift it is. To the bride and groom.

Honored guests and family, we are gathered here to celebrate Emma and David. I have watched the two of you across the seasons of your courtship. In spring you were cautious and polite. By winter you had learned to finish each other's sentences without interrupting. That is no small achievement. Marriage will ask a great deal of you, but mostly in small moments. It is listening when you would rather speak. It is remembering that the person across from you is still the one you chose. You have already shown you can do this. David saved Emma a seat at every family dinner. Emma laughed at his terrible impressions until her sides hurt. Those small kindnesses are the whole thing. Please raise your glasses to Emma and David.