Father of the groom speech examples that don't sound copied
Every part marked up, so you can see how the speech is built.
Examples
Father of the groom speech examples
Written to be said out loud, not read. Each one a different voice, so you can hear which sounds like you.
Funny2 min
In the spring of 2003, my son walked eleven batters in a single inning. I know the number because I was the coach, and I had to write every one of them down. I'm Walt, Kyle's dad. Pam and I want to thank Lauren's parents, Gary and Donna, for sharing this weekend with us, and for raising a daughter we've loved since the first dinner. Back to the inning. Around the eighth walk, I went out to the mound to take him out. He was nine. He looked up at me and said, "Dad, I've almost got it." So I left him in. He walked three more. Then he struck out the next kid on three pitches and ran off the field
Tomorrow belongs to the bride's family. Tonight is the one night of this whole wedding that I'm in charge of, so I'd like to make the most of it. I'm Dennis, Brandon's dad, and on behalf of Linda and me, welcome. Phil and Karen, thank you for trusting us with the ribs. Everyone who flew in, thank you. We know it wasn't cheap, and we know it wasn't short. Brandon was the kid who read the instructions. At seven, he put together his own bunk bed, and when I came in to help, he'd already finished and made a list of the three screws the company forgot to include. He called them. They sent the
In twenty-nine years, Ethan has called me exactly once without needing something. Usually it's money. Sometimes it's how to get a stain out of a shirt, or whether a noise his car is making is a bad noise. It's always a bad noise. I'm Howard, Ethan's dad, and the one time was a Sunday night four years ago. He said, "Dad, I don't need anything." I said, "Who is this?" He'd called to tell me about Ana. He talked for forty minutes. He told me they'd met at a friend's birthday party at a mini golf course, that she'd beaten him by eleven strokes, and that afterward she'd helped him with his
When Jack was nine, he came home from school in January without his winter coat. He told us he'd lost it. He lost three coats that winter. His mother was furious. I was furious. After the third one, I drove to the school to check the lost and found myself. The coat wasn't there. It was on a boy named Terrence, at the bus stop, who didn't have one. Jack had given away all three. He never told us. He let us think he was careless for a whole winter rather than make a big deal of it. Terrence is here tonight. He's standing up there next to Jack as a groomsman. He tells me he still has the coat.
Oliver didn't say a word until he was nearly three. When he finally did, it was "biscuit." He said it to the health visitor, very firmly, and she wrote it down. I'm Martin, Oliver's dad. Sue and I would like to welcome Ellie's family, and thank Ellie's mum and dad, Clive and Joanne, for the warmest welcome anyone's ever had in Leeds. Oliver has never been a talker. He's a listener, and a very good one, but if you want his opinion, you have to put the kettle on and wait. We've waited through a lot of kettles. Then he met Ellie. The first time he brought her home, the two of them sat in our
Good evening, everyone. I'm Joe, Nick's dad, and I'll keep this short, because Nick asked me to. Twice. In writing. Nick, you were the kid who checked on everyone else before you checked on yourself. You still are. Tara, when Nick broke his leg last spring, you moved his whole desk into the living room so he wouldn't have to do the stairs, and you did it before he woke up. Please raise your glasses to Tara and Nick. Nick, I kept it short. You can put that in writing too.
Why it works: He opens with a joke that's also true: he's the best man and the dad. Then the host's part, kept short: one thank-you to the guests and a few words for the family members they've lost. He ends it with “So let's do that,” which gives the room permission to celebrate.
Why it works: He goes from Ty's hard birth to the boy with the funny faces, then to the thing everyone knows about him: footy. The line about the movies turns the footy story toward Shaye.
Why it works: The funny story is how the two families met: an invitation on a cruise at 15, a nervous dinner, and his admission that he found her parents “a little bit sketchy.” He turns it around with “they are wonderful people. Much like us.”
The result: the longest laugh of the speech, long enough for “Hey, hey, hey, you've had your turn.” At applause for “the greatest investment in his life.”
The two hardest sentences to write are the first and the last. Take one of these, or let it show you the shape.
Openers
None of them “for those who don’t know me”.
“The first time Emma came to our house, she beat me at cornhole. Twice.”
“Last June, Daniel called on a Tuesday night. Daniel never calls on a Tuesday.”
“Forty-two people, six states, and one guy who drove straight through from Denver.”
“When Daniel was six, he ran away to the end of our driveway with a backpack full of Pop-Tarts.”
“I taught Daniel to throw a spiral, change a tire, and load a dishwasher. One out of three.”
“Daniel taught me how to text. Mostly by sighing.”
“Our first dinner with Ruth and Alan went until midnight. The waiter had to ask us to leave.”
“I wrote four pages. My wife cut it to one.”
“Two Thanksgivings ago, Daniel put his phone away at dinner. Then we met the reason.”
“I found Daniel's Little League glove in the garage last week. His name's on it. Spelled wrong.”
Closers
How to land the toast.
“Emma, beat me at anything you want. You're family now. Everybody, glasses up. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Daniel, call any night you want. Tuesdays included. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
“You came a long way for tomorrow, so let's make tonight worth the drive. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Back then he made it to the end of the driveway. This time he found somewhere worth going. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Emma, he still can't load a dishwasher, but he shows up every time. That part I did teach him. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Daniel, you've taught me more than I ever taught you. Keep going. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Ruth, Alan, here's to closing down a lot more restaurants together. To our kids, Emma and Daniel.”
“The other three pages all said the same thing: we love you both. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
“Emma, there's always a seat for you at our table, phone or no phone. To Emma and Daniel.”
“We spelled his name wrong on that glove. We got the important things right, and so did he. To Emma and Daniel.”
Questions
Good questions, quick answers
Does the father of the groom have to give a speech?
No. By tradition his toast is at the rehearsal dinner, because the groom's family usually hosts it, and he speaks at the reception only if the couple asks him to. More couples do ask now, so check with your son early rather than assuming either way.
Does he speak at the rehearsal dinner or the reception?
If your family is hosting the rehearsal dinner, you speak first there, once everyone is seated and before the main course. If you also speak at the reception, it usually comes close to the father of the bride's welcome or after the best man and maid of honor, and whoever runs the room decides. Speaking at both? Tell a different story at each.
What should the father of the groom say at the rehearsal dinner?
Welcome everyone, thank the people who traveled and helped plan, tell one story about your son, then turn to the bride and welcome her into the family by name. The rehearsal dinner is looser than the reception, so a gentle joke works, but keep it about the two of them and leave out exes.
How should I welcome the bride and her family?
Talk to the bride by name and say one specific thing you've seen her do, not a list of adjectives. Thank her parents by name too, early in the speech, so the room hears it as two families meeting. At the rehearsal dinner, many of her relatives are meeting yours for the first time.
What if the groom's parents are divorced, or there's a stepparent?
Ask the couple what they'd like said first. Then name both parents, and any stepparent, briefly and evenly, one sentence each. You don't need to mention the divorce at all. Use names rather than "and all the parents," which can sound like you're avoiding someone.
Can I give the speech with the groom's mother?
Yes. If you speak together, trade whole sections rather than alternating sentences, which sounds choppy, and agree ahead of time on who gives the toast at the end. If only you speak, say it's from both of you and mention her by name.
