The Order of Speeches at a Wedding Reception

One of my favorite parts of wedding receptions is the speeches: it's essentially an outpouring of love & support from the friends and family of the newly married couple, and it's always a beautiful thing. While wedding reception speeches can range from cute to cringe, they're always memorable. For our latest post in our series on wedding traditions, we wanted to break down the order of speeches at the wedding reception, traditionally speaking.

Keep in mind; your wedding is precisely that, your wedding! You can choose whatever order works for you. This guide is simply the traditional way of doing things.

The Best Man

Traditionally, the best man is the first up to give a speech at the wedding reception. When giving a speech, it's important to remind all speakers, especially the grooms' right-hand man/woman, to keep things in line with the reception tone. Remember, there will be friends and family, possibly even co-workers or bosses in attendance, so it's a good idea to avoid anything too raunchy or wild in a best man speech.

Maid Of Honour

After the grooms B.F.F has given a speech, it's up to the maid of honor to take their turn at saying a few words. We previously covered everything you'll need to know for a maid of honor speech here.

Parents of the Married Couple

After the B.F.F's of the married couple have given their speeches, the bride's and groom's parents are up next. There is no natural order that the parents have to go in; it's totally up to them. The main goal for the couple's parents giving a speech is to thank everyone involved in the wedding itself, from the bridal party to the guests and everyone in between. While the parents' speech is optional, it's pretty standard nonetheless, so I wanted to add it to this list.

The Newly Married Couple

The couple will often raise a glass and toast everyone that helped them bring their dream wedding to life and acknowledge everyone who has taken the time to come along and attend the wedding ceremony and reception. The bride or groom will also usually say a few words about the future they'll share and getting to the point of being married.

If you have a fear of speaking and prefer not to give a speech at your wedding, there are a few excellent options to replace it, such as having a close friend say something on your behalf and then taking the time to talk directly one on one with your guests throughout the reception.

Ultimately, you can add in speeches from anyone you wish to include in your special day/night; this is just the traditional order of things. We'd love to hear who gave speeches at your wedding, we've listened to some pretty cute + funny stories about speeches lately from past brides, and it's always great to hear about the wedding reception!