A wedding is a celebration of two individuals joining their lives and pledging to love and support one another.
Sharing their special day with loved ones is a way to publicly show their love and commitment for one another.
If the couple ask you to give a speech on their behalf it should be seen as an honour and a privilege.
It doesn't matter your relation, you could be the father of the bride speech, the best man speech, or it could be a wedding speech for sister - nowadays the old traditions don't apply the couple can ask anyone to honor them with a special message at their wedding.
You should treat the speech as a special gift you can give to them and share with their loved ones.
It is an opportunity for you to show your love for the couple and acknowledge your role in their lives and how grateful you are to be a part of their special day.
The speech should depict the significance of the purpose it serves.
This is your opportunity to reach the other guests with an emotional connection as you reminisce about the past and recognize a new beginning.
Your words will be a beautiful gift they will treasure as they begin on their new life journey together.
As the wedding speeches and toasts are one of the highly anticipated events of a wedding it is important that you prepare in advance.
Start by making a list of things you would like to say, you can get some great ideas by reading sample wedding speeches that you can relate too.
Treat this sample speech as an outline - now go back and personalize it to the couple with the list you made.
It should be genuine and interesting, but most importantly the words should come from the heart.
Once you have the words you want to say it is important to practice the speech out loud.
You can ask family or friends to listen to the speech and offer advice.
However, personally I recommend recording yourself (most computers have the ability for either an audio or video recording).
This will also help you with voice inflection and give you a chance to hear how it flows and if any alterations should be made.
With preparation and rehearsing there is no reason you wouldn't be able to give a memorable and emotional wedding speech.