8 Ways to Add Humor to Your Wedding Speech

• Share Personal Stories: Pick 1-2 short, funny stories that highlight the couple’s bond. Avoid embarrassing or overly personal details.
• Use Humble Humor: Light self-deprecating jokes can make you relatable, but don’t overdo it.
• Engage in Light Teasing: Playfully tease the couple about quirks or sweet habits, but skip sensitive topics.
• Mention Pop Culture: Include references to movies, TV shows, or music that connect to the couple’s story.
• Add Surprising Elements: Use props, sound effects, or unexpected twists to keep the audience entertained.
• Use Props or Visuals: Incorporate photos, keepsakes, or creative visuals to add humor and nostalgia.
• Involve the Audience: Quick polls, games, or group activities can make your speech interactive and fun.
• Conclude with a Funny Toast: End with a toast that’s both humorous and heartfelt, leaving a lasting impression.

Quick Tips:

• Keep your speech 3-5 minutes long.
• Use a 70% sincerity to 30% humor balance.
• Test jokes with friends to ensure they land well.

A great wedding speech isn’t about being a comedian - it’s about celebrating the couple with warmth and wit. Follow these tips to make your speech unforgettable!

1. Share Personal Stories

Personal stories are the backbone of any unforgettable wedding speech, often bringing natural humor to the spotlight. Wedding speech coach Victoria Wellman highlights that the best stories reveal character through humor.

Choose 1-2 short stories that are both funny and showcase the couple’s personality. For example, a best man once shared how the groom nervously proposed while wearing mismatched shoes - a lighthearted moment that also showed his devotion.

Here’s a simple guide to help your stories resonate:

When speaking to a diverse audience, stick to themes about relationships that everyone can relate to, rather than relying on inside jokes.

Add vivid details to bring your stories to life. Instead of saying, “Their first date was funny,” paint a picture: the groom's hilariously failed attempt at cooking dinner, complete with smoke alarms and takeout.

Finally, tie your stories to something heartfelt. Aim for a balance of 70% sincerity and 30% humor, so your speech not only entertains but also celebrates what makes the couple truly special.

2. Use Humble Humor

Personal stories are a great starting point, but adding a touch of humble humor can make your speech even more engaging. As communication expert Nancy Duarte puts it, "Self-deprecating humor, when used correctly, can be a powerful tool to connect with your audience and show humility. It's like saying, 'I'm just like you, and we're in this together.'"

Research backs this up - self-deprecating humor, when done right, helps build a stronger connection with your audience. The secret? Balance and delivery. It’s all about keeping the humor light and relatable.

Here’s a quick guide to navigating humble humor effectively:

This method aligns with the 70-30 sincerity-to-humor ratio we talked about earlier, ensuring the focus stays on celebrating the couple. For instance, you could say: "When [Bride] asked me to be her maid of honor, I was so excited. Then I remembered my two left feet and thought, 'Well, this could get interesting.'"

The way you deliver your humor matters just as much as the content. Use natural pauses and expressions to let the humor land. And always make sure to steer the focus back to the couple after a self-deprecating moment. This keeps the attention where it belongs - on the happy couple.

Once you’ve built a connection with humble humor, you can ease into some light teasing - our next topic.

3. Engage in Light Teasing

Once you've built a connection using self-deprecating humor, you can sprinkle in some gentle teasing about the couple. The trick is to keep it kind and affectionate while steering clear of anything that could make anyone uncomfortable.

Speech coach Christine Clapp offers this advice:

"Reading the room is essential. If you sense discomfort, pivot quickly to safer territory. Remember, the goal is to celebrate the couple, not to prove your comedic skills."

Here’s a simple way to approach teasing effectively:

A great formula is the "sandwich" method: compliment the couple, add a playful tease, and end with another positive note. For example, a best man might say, "Mike's so punctual, he once showed up an hour early to his own surprise party. But today, he managed to surprise us all by actually being on time for the ceremony!"

Your role matters when deciding how playful to be. A best man can get away with being a bit cheekier than, say, the father of the bride. A father might say something like, "Emily once told me she’d never kiss a boy. I’m glad she changed her mind - though I didn’t think she’d go as far as marrying one!"

Keep your teasing to one or two lighthearted remarks. How you deliver them is just as important as what you say. Make warm eye contact, use a playful tone, and pay attention to how the audience reacts. If a joke doesn’t land, smoothly shift to a heartfelt message about the couple.

To keep things universal, tie your teasing into the themes of love and friendship we talked about earlier. This keeps the mood upbeat and sets the stage perfectly for the next strategy - bringing in pop culture references.

4. Mention Pop Culture

Pop culture references can add a fun and personal touch, especially when they connect to the couple's story. Wedding planner David Tutera puts it best:

"When using pop culture in your wedding speech, make sure it's relevant to the couple and not just a random reference. The best pop culture mentions are those that genuinely relate to the bride and groom's story."

Here’s a simple way to incorporate pop culture into your speech:

Stick to references that are widely recognized and tie back to the couple's personality or shared experiences. This isn’t the time to show off your trivia knowledge - it’s all about celebrating them.

Keep it family-friendly and easy for everyone to understand. If you’re unsure about a reference, run it by mutual friends to see if it lands well.

Once you’ve nailed the cultural connection, you can take it a step further with a surprise twist - more on that in the next section.

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5. Add Surprising Elements

A touch of surprise in a wedding speech can light up the room and leave a lasting impression. Wedding etiquette expert Lisa Gaché puts it perfectly:

"A well-executed surprise in a wedding speech can be the highlight of the reception. It breaks the ice, energizes the room, and creates a memorable moment for everyone."

If you're already considering pop culture references, why not take it a step further? Here are some ways to add surprises effectively:

• Timing matters: Add your surprise after you've built some rapport but before wrapping up with an emotional note.
• Keep it short: A quick 30-second surprise can pack more punch than a drawn-out moment.
• Plan for the unexpected: If you're using tech or props, always have a backup plan.

For example, at Sarah and Mike's wedding, the best man brought out a childhood photo of the groom in soccer cleats - at prom! It was funny, heartfelt, and perfectly highlighted their journey from awkward teens to a confident couple.

The idea is to add a little humor without losing the heartfelt tone of your speech. Ready to take it up a notch? Visual aids might be your next move, and we'll dive into that in the following section.

6. Use Props or Visuals

Props can add a fun, visual twist to your wedding speech. They deliver humor without needing a single word and help strike that perfect balance between heartfelt and funny moments.

"Props can be a fantastic way to add humor to your wedding speech, but remember: they should enhance your words, not replace them."

The key is choosing props that fit your role:

To keep things smooth and engaging, follow these tips when using props:

• Keep it portable and visible: For larger venues, consider a tablet or something easy to show off.
• Stick to short interactions: Use each prop for no more than 30 seconds to keep the audience's attention.
• Make it relevant: Choose items that reflect your relationship with the couple, like childhood keepsakes for parents or shared memories for friends.

For example, at a Boston wedding, the best man used oversized cue cards to showcase the groom's relationship timeline. The exaggerated size of the cards added an extra layer of humor and had the audience laughing throughout.

Props are great for visual humor, but there's another way to up the engagement - getting the audience involved. Let’s dive into that next.

7. Involve the Audience

Using props can grab attention, but taking it a step further with audience involvement can turn your speech into a shared experience. As speech coach Emily Post puts it:

"Strategic involvement creates unity while amplifying humor."

Here are some fun ways to engage the audience while keeping the laughter going:

A great example of this comes from Tom Clark's best man speech at the Johnson wedding. He added a "Newlywed Game" segment where the couple sat back-to-back and answered questions by raising either the groom's or bride's shoe. This not only entertained the crowd but also tied back to the storytelling approach mentioned earlier.

To keep the energy up after these interactive moments:

• Start with something simple, like a quick hand-raising poll, before diving into group activities.
• Keep the participation segments short and snappy.
• Have a few backup jokes ready in case the crowd isn’t as responsive as you’d hoped.
• Avoid uncomfortable moments by staying tuned into the audience’s mood (building on the importance of reading the room, as discussed earlier).

These strategies ensure your audience feels included without losing the flow of your speech.

8. Conclude with a Funny Toast

Wrap up your speech with a lighthearted toast that keeps the mood joyful. A funny toast is a great way to leave the audience smiling, but as Victoria Wellman of The Oratory Laboratory advises:

"The key to a successful funny toast is to make sure you're laughing with the couple, not at them."

A good toast strikes a balance between humor and sentiment. Aim for a mix that’s about 70% heartfelt and 30% funny. Here’s a quick breakdown of how to structure it:

For instance:

"To Sarah and Tom, may your love be timeless enough to endure and modern enough to keep things exciting. And Tom, just remember: happy wife, happy life!"

For multicultural weddings, you can add a creative twist by blending cultural symbols:
"May your marriage be like [Bride's culture's symbol] and [Groom's culture's symbol] - a perfect match, stronger together!"

Don’t forget to use pauses to let the humor land naturally. Judith Martin summed it up perfectly:

"A great wedding toast should be like a mini-skirt: long enough to cover the subject, but short enough to be interesting."

Conclusion

Delivering a great wedding speech means finding the right mix of humor and heartfelt moments. As professional speech coach Carole Spiers shared in The Guardian:

"A great wedding speech should make people laugh and cry in equal measure."

The goal isn't to turn into a stand-up comedian, but to create a speech that entertains while remaining sincere. Here's a simple framework to guide you:

These suggestions align with the earlier advice of blending sincerity and humor effectively.

When writing your speech, aim to have a polished draft ready at least two weeks in advance. This gives you time to rehearse and tweak as needed. Tailor your humor to suit a wide range of guests, and test any edgy jokes with close friends to ensure they land well.

Above all, stay true to your relationship with the couple. The best wedding speeches come from a place of sincerity, using humor to add to – not overshadow – the celebration of their love.