Groom speech
script template

The groom speech is mostly logistics wearing a nice suit. It carries the thank-yous, so it is the easiest speech to overrun and the easiest to make dull. The trick is to move through the thanks briskly and spend your remaining time on the one part the room is actually waiting for.

196 words as written 23 places to fill in Free, no sign-up

Opens the free teleprompter with the script already loaded. Nothing is uploaded, and your camera never leaves your device.

Good evening, everyone. I have waited a long time to be able to start a sentence like this, so bear with me.On behalf of my wife and myself...[PAUSE FOR CHEER]...thank you all for being here.Thank you to [BRIDE]'s parents, [NAMES], for [SOMETHING SPECIFIC], and for [WELCOMING YOU / THE DAY ITSELF]. Thank you to my own parents, [NAMES], for [SOMETHING SPECIFIC AND SHORT].Thank you to [BEST MAN], who has been [ONE LINE], and who is about to stand up and undo all of this.[PAUSE FOR LAUGH]Thank you to everyone who travelled to be here, especially [NAME]. And to anyone who could not be with us today, particularly [NAME], who [ONE WARM LINE].[IF GIVING FLOWERS: We have something small for [NAMES] as a thank you.][PAUSE]Now. I am not a natural at this. [BRIDE] will tell you that I [SELF-DEPRECATING TRUE THING]. So I wrote this down, and I am going to read it, and I am going to look at her while I do it.[TURN TO THE BRIDE][BRIDE]. [THE MOMENT YOU KNEW]. [WHAT SHE CHANGED ABOUT YOUR LIFE, SPECIFIC, NOT GENERAL].You looked [HOW SHE LOOKED] walking in this morning, and I will remember it for the rest of my life.Thank you for marrying me.[PAUSE]Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding and join me in a toast to the bridesmaids, who have looked after my wife all day and all week.To the bridesmaids.

Why it is built this way

Say "my wife" as early as you can

It is the single biggest cheer available to you and it costs one sentence. Take it in the first thirty seconds.

Thanks, grouped and fast

Both sets of parents, the wedding party, anyone who travelled. Group them, keep each to one line, and do not editorialise. This is the part that overruns.

A gift or a gesture, if there is one

Flowers to the mothers, a word to the bridesmaids. Do it here, in the middle, where the room expects it.

A joke at your own expense

You are about to say something very sincere. One self-deprecating line stops it curdling.

Turn to her

Stop addressing the room. Address her. Everything before this was admin and everyone knows it.

Toast the bridesmaids, not yourselves

Convention hands the groom the bridesmaids toast. It is a graceful place to end and it hands the floor cleanly to the best man.

Delivering it

·Say "my wife" early. The cheer it gets will settle your nerves better than any amount of practice.
·Group the thank-yous and give each one line. This speech overruns more often than any other, and it is always the thanks that do it.
·When you turn to speak to her, actually turn. Move your feet, not just your head.
·Three to five minutes including all the thanks.
·Write the thank-you list last. Get the part about her right first, then fit the admin around it.

Frequently asked questions

What should a groom say in his speech?

Thank the guests and both families, acknowledge the wedding party, say something genuine and specific to your partner, and toast the bridesmaids. In that order, and briskly through the first half.

How long should a groom speech be?

Three to five minutes, around 400 to 650 spoken words. The thank-yous should take no more than a third of it.

Who does the groom toast?

Traditionally the bridesmaids. It closes your speech neatly and hands over to the best man.

More scripts

Best man speech

Wedding · 215 words

→

Maid of honour speech

Wedding · 151 words

→

Father of the bride speech