Crafting A Hilarious Wedding Speech: A Guide To Getting Laughs

Wedding speeches are a great opportunity to get guests laughing and create a relaxed atmosphere. Whether you're the best man, maid of honour, or the happy couple, there are plenty of ways to make your wedding speech funny. From one-liners to self-deprecating stories, here are some tips to help you write a funny wedding speech that will leave your audience in stitches.

First, it's important to keep your humour unique, honest, and insightful. Avoid generic jokes or wedding-related puns that people have heard before. Instead, focus on the characteristics of the newlyweds and the people sitting at the top table. Exaggerate their quirks and turn them into comedic characters that your audience will love.

Another tip is to mix the heartfelt with the comedic. Even if you want your speech to be funny, do include sincere and sentimental moments. This will make your comedic moments stand out and create a well-rounded speech. It's also a good idea to keep your speech original and avoid old jokes from the internet.

Lastly, don't be afraid to make fun of yourself. Self-deprecating humour is a great way to connect with your audience and will give you a pass to gently roast the happy couple. So, whether you're toasting to the couple or telling a story about the groom, use these tips to add some humour to your wedding speech!

Make it personal

Making your wedding speech personal is a great way to make it funny and memorable. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

Know Your Audience

Consider who will be in attendance at the wedding and cater your speech to them. For example, if the couple met at college and many of their college friends are present, try getting the crowd to shout the school's chant or repeat their football mantra. This will make your speech more unique and memorable.

Tell Funny Stories

Instead of focusing on quick-witted one-liners, opt for light-hearted storytelling. Share a story about a vacation with the bride where everything went wrong, or a double date with the couple. This will not only be funny but also show something positive about the couple.

Share Something New

Tell the guests something they don't know about the couple. For example, did the groom win a ballet competition as a teenager? Or did the bride do street rap in college? Exaggerate these happenings a little to make them even funnier.

Make it Interactive

Get the guests involved with a comical question or mention something funny about the bride or groom. For example, ask for a show of hands or get them to repeat a funny phrase.

Link the Past to the Present

Talk about something the bride or groom did as a child or teenager that might explain their current career or lifestyle. Did the accident-prone kid become a doctor? Did the wannabe pop star end up as an accountant?

Keep it Original

Avoid old jokes from the internet. If you must use one, use it as an icebreaker, but don't rely solely on them. Your speech will be more memorable if it sounds like you.

Keep it original

The best way to make your wedding speech funny is to keep it original. Avoid the temptation to use old jokes from the internet. They tend to stick out like sore thumbs. If you’re not confident in writing your own, it’s fine to use one as an icebreaker, but any more than that and you’re in danger of becoming a cliché-delivery system.

Venue

Topical

Has there just been a national celebration or sporting triumph that this wedding totally eclipses? Even if it’s a small gathering, don’t be afraid to praise the occasion to the skies. Everyone loves to feel part of something special.

How You Met

Was it at work, at college, in a bar? Bring this to life. What were your first impressions and have they been confirmed? If you’re the father of the bride, you could talk about the day of your daughter’s birth and how you bravely dealt with all the pain and stress!

How Long You've Known Each Other

If it’s a long time, why not draw a parallel with something historical? Has your friendship or relationship outlasted the terms of several presidents?

Link the Past to the Present

Did the bride or groom do something as a child or teenager that might explain their current career or lifestyle? Did the accident-prone kid become a nurse or doctor? Did the wannabe pop star end up as an accountant?

Everyday Things

Does the groom or bride have any weird hobbies, funny turns of phrase or quirks? Do they insist on checking the front door is locked three times before leaving their home? You don’t need outlandish stories. Their everyday life and everyday behaviour can be a great source of humour.

Be self-deprecating

Making fun of yourself is a great way to get the audience on your side. It makes you seem relatable and brave, and it gives you a pass to gently roast the happy couple. It's a good idea to make sure your self-deprecating jokes are affectionate and not mean-spirited. You want to leave any heartwarming tributes until the end of your speech, but it's fine to compliment the couple as you poke fun at yourself.

For example, if you're the best man, you could talk about a time the groom beat you at chess. Or, if you're the groom, you could make a joke about how the bride is far more stylish than you: "I didn't know it was possible to have a bad kneeling technique, but somehow I managed it when I proposed."

If you're not sure what to say, ask friends and family for funny stories about you. You could also exaggerate your quirks and push your weaknesses to the extreme, turning yourself into a comedy character. For instance, if you're known for being untidy, you could joke that the bride is obsessively tidy and can't account for one leg of her shoes, or that she'd do a double-take at the prices in a flea market.

Remember, people will warm to you if you can laugh at yourself, so don't be afraid to embrace your flaws!

Exaggerate

Exaggeration is a great way to add humour to your wedding speech. This technique is called hyperbole, and it's a common way to be intentionally funny in everyday life. For example, you might say "this thing weighs a ton" when, of course, it doesn't.

Turn Your Target Into a Comedy Character

Think of classic sitcom characters and their exaggerated qualities, like Basil Fawlty, the hotel owner who didn't like tourists, or Del Boy, the hapless businessman. Take the qualities of your target and push their weaknesses to the extreme. For example, if the groom is pretty rubbish at golf, you could say, "his left leg has more coordination than New York's traffic."

Tell Us Something We Don't Know

Share a secret about the bride or groom. If the groom won a Butlins Talent Contest as a teenager, now is the time to mention it and exaggerate his twerking skills!

You don't need outlandish stories to be funny. The couple's everyday life and behaviour can be a great source of humour. For example, if the bride insists on checking the front door is locked three times before leaving home, you could exaggerate this by saying, "she's so paranoid that she's changed the locks three times this week!"

Make It Topical

Has there been a national celebration or sporting triumph that this wedding totally eclipses? Exaggerate the occasion by praising it to the skies. Everyone loves to feel part of something special.

Link the Past to the Present

Did the accident-prone child become a doctor? Did the wannabe popstar end up as an accountant? Exaggerate the contrast between their childhood dreams and their current reality.

Remember, when using exaggeration in your wedding speech, it's important to keep the humour affectionate and leave heartwarming tributes towards the end.

Make it relevant

Making your speech relevant is key to making it funny. It's important to keep the humour unique, honest, and insightful, drawing on the personalities of the newlyweds and the wedding itself. Here are some tips to make your wedding speech relevant:

Focus on the Characters

The people sitting at the top table are ready-made characters for your speech. Identify something about them that people may have noticed subconsciously but never articulated. Perhaps the groom has disproportionately short arms, or the bride has an extensive UGG boot collection. These unique, slightly odd qualities are key to making your speech a proper tribute to the couple.

Ask Questions

Asking questions about the couple will help you gather material for your speech. For example, you could ask the groom, "What annoys you most about your bride-to-be?". It may not seem like appropriate material for a wedding speech, but these sorts of questions can often lead to great nuggets of content. Write down everything that comes to mind when you think about the couple—their favourite foods, tunes, claims to fame, and questionable dress sense.

Exaggerate

If the bride or groom has a reputation for something, have a laugh with it and exaggerate it. For example, if the groom is pretty rubbish at golf, you could say, "The only hole-in-one he'll get is in his Primark boxers.".

Keep it Original

Avoid the temptation to use old jokes from the internet. Instead, draw on the couple's unique qualities and your shared experiences with them. If you do use an internet joke, use it as an icebreaker at the beginning, but don't rely on them throughout your speech.

Link the Past to the Present

Did the bride or groom do something as a child or teenager that might explain their current career or lifestyle? For example, did the accident-prone kid become a doctor? Did the wannabe pop star end up as an accountant?

Spoof Marriage Advice

If you're the best man or father of the bride, offer some silly advice personalised to the couple. Fun areas could include spending too much time on the golf course or shopping without considering the credit card bill.

Reference Something Specific About the Wedding

Make a reference to a specific character trait of the groom or bride, the venue, the family, or the context surrounding the wedding. For example: "I'm surprised you guys only invited your immediate family. Only 80?".

Frequently asked questions