It's only been relatively recently that mothers of brides have begun making a mother of the bride wedding speech at their daughters' weddings.
In years past, the father of the bride made the speech for both parents. Nowadays, a Mother of the Bride wedding speech is expected at many weddings. Since the Mother of the Bride wedding speech is fairly new, as far as wedding speeches go, there are no set rules for what it should contain.
It is, of course, expected that the mother of the bride will offer a toast to the couple at the end of her speech, but the speech itself could be tailored to fit each individual mother's design. For many mothers of brides however, the very fact that there aren't any hard and fast rules is daunting in itself, and causes plenty of anxiety when it comes time to write the speech.
One mother mentioned that she'd helped her husband write three Father of the Bride speeches when their three older daughters married. She joked that she could write a Father of the Bride speech in her sleep, as familiar as she was with what that particular wedding speech should contain.
But when her fourth and final daughter got married, she was asked to deliver a Mother of the Bride speech and she hadn't a clue what she was supposed to say.
If you are a mother of the bride and need help with your Mother of the Bride speech, here are a few important tips to help you get started.
If you can come up with an interesting story about how you met your daughter's husband for the first time, that always makes for good material during a Mother of the Bride speech.
One mother told the audience at her daughter's wedding that she met her son-in-law for the very first time 5 years earlier as he climbed into her then teenaged daughter's second story bedroom window after climbing up the trellis. As the young man heaved himself over the window sill, the first person he saw was not his girlfriend but his girlfriend's mother, who'd been standing there waiting for him.
When the young man sheepishly asked if his girlfriend was anywhere around, the mother icily informed him that his girlfriend was being punished and was therefore not allowed to receive visitors. At that moment, she continued, the girlfriend was being detained in her father's study downstairs and would not be available for quite some time.
The young man turned to climb back down the trellis, only to be told by his girlfriend's mother that she would allow him to use the stairs to exit the house. The next day, the trellis was removed and repositioned at another corner of the house.
The mother went on to talk about how her son-in-law had faced his girlfriend's parents in less than ideal circumstances on a number of occasions over the years but over time, it became clear to the parents that the young man was truly in love with their daughter. As the mother put it, "He would HAVE to be madly in love with her to put up with everything we dished out over the years".
Eventually we came to realize that he would do absolutely anything to be with our daughter, and it became clear to us that he was the man she was meant to be with, and now we couldn't be happier that he is in her life, as well as in ours."
Relating memories of the couple's dating period, especially if you as the mother of the bride were involved in any way during the courtship, always makes for interesting speech material. You might also acknowledge the groom's parents during your speech, as well as thanking all those who traveled a great distance to attend the wedding.
Remember, unlike everyone else who makes a wedding speech, the Mother of the Bride speech is much less restrictive, which gives you leeway to mold it into whatever shape you'd like it to be. The important thing is to make sure you keep it relatively short (under 5 minutes), and make sure it's heartfelt and sincere.
Finish it off with a toast to the bride and groom.
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