Wedding speech template: a fill-in outline for any speaker

Most wedding speeches fit one skeleton: say who you are, tell one story, say what it shows about the person, welcome their partner, thank people briefly and raise a toast. Fill in the brackets below, then adjust for your role.

The six-part template

Paperlust's guide to writing a wedding speech is a general guide with American framing. Its classic structure has five steps: open with who you are and your relationship to the couple, "Tell one defining story", reflect on what the story reveals, welcome the new partner, and raise the toast. Its template splits that into six sections. The wording below is our own.

1. Opening. "For those I have not met, I am [your name], the [your role]. I have known [name] for [number] years."
2. The setup. "When [name] and I [one plain fact about when and where], I expected [what you expected]. What happened was [what actually happened]."
3. The reveal. "That story shows [one quality of the person]. It matters because [one sentence]."
4. Welcome the partner. "[Partner], thank you for [what they bring]. [Name] is [how they are different with them]."
5. Gratitude. "Thank you to [hosts], and to everyone who travelled."
6. The toast. "I wish you [one specific wish for the marriage]. Please raise your glasses to [names]."

How long it should be

Paperlust gives 2 to 4 minutes, roughly 300 to 600 spoken words, and says to keep the toast to three to five sentences. Its section word counts are 30 to 50, 50 to 80, 30 to 50, 30 to 40, 20 to 30 and 30 to 50, which add up to about 190 to 300 words. That is less than its own 300 to 600, and the article does not reconcile them.

UK sources give longer ranges for some roles and disagree with each other. Our guide to how long a wedding speech should be shows each. Time yourself reading aloud, because a word count cannot tell you your pace.

What changes for each role

The skeleton stays the same. Paperlust's table of variations lists, for each role, where the story should focus and a common mistake:

Speaker	Story focus (Paperlust)	Common mistake (Paperlust)
Best man	"A moment that shows his character, not just his antics"	"Too many jokes, no emotional landing"
Maid of honour	"The moment you knew she had found the right person"	"Centering the friendship over the couple"
Father of the bride	"A memory from childhood that connects to who she is today"	"Talking too long about his own feelings"
Mother of the bride or groom	"A moment that shows what kind of person they raised"	"Crying before the toast line (breathe first)"
Bride	"One moment that captures why this person, why now"	"Treating it as a vow repeat"
Groom	"The moment he knew, or a story that shows what she brings out in him"	"Generic gratitude without specific names or moments"

Paperlust is a US-based source and gives no UK lengths or order. For where each speaker stands in the line-up, see our order of wedding speeches guide. Every role above has its own guide in our wedding speech guides.

What the template leaves to you

A template gives the order, not the content. The story in step 2 matters most, and no source can supply it. Our blog post on a simple 3-part wedding speech structure covers the shorter introduction, body and conclusion version if six parts feels like too many.

Common mistakes with templates

These are our suggestions, not quotes from a source.

• Leaving the brackets in. Read your final draft aloud once to catch them.
• Copying a sample story. A story that is not yours will not sound like you, and the couple will notice.
• Skipping the introduction. Not everyone on the guest list knows who you are.
• Doing all six parts at full length. For a short speech, merge steps 1 and 2, or steps 4 and 5.

Start your draft

Answer five questions on theweddingspeech.ai and see your free speech preview.