The father of the bride speech is an integral part of any wedding day. You get to share memories and talk about your daughter in a way she has never heard you express. You get to be the star of the show for a split second, so you better make it perfect.
You can use this speech as an opportunity to congratulate the happy couple, thank guests for coming, share advice with your daughter and give people a few laughs — all while making sure they know how much it means to have them there in person on one of the most important days of her life.
How Long Should a Father of the Bride Speech Last?
Most people want to know the appropriate length for such an important moment in their lives. You can’t just wing it! There has to be some guidance on what you should do when giving your speech at such an important event as your daughter’s wedding.
So how long should your father of the bride speech last? It depends on several factors:
- How much time do you have?
- How emotional do you get?
- What do you plan on saying?
We suggest keeping it under 3 minutes.
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10 Ways to Begin Your Father of the Bride Speech
How do you begin this momentous speech? Here are some opening suggestions:
- “Hello. Is everyone having a good time? [allow for applause] I am [bride’s name]’s father. There’s a saying that when children finally find true love, their parents find true joy.”
- “When my wife and I discovered that we would have a little girl, we were excited beyond belief.”
- “Today is only the beginning for [bride’s name] and [partner’s name].”
- “For as long as we both can remember, which is quite a while if you look at all my gray hair, [bride’s name]’s mom and I knew that [bride’s name] was destined for great things.”
- “As a parent, the greatest thing you’ll ever have is the gift of your children. I always wanted all my children to be the happiest they could be.”
- “Welcome! My name is [your name], and I’m delighted you could make it to [bride’s name]’s wedding. My wife and I have been waiting for our daughter to find a nice boy for years, so today is an especially happy day for us.”
- “I’m [your name], [bride’s name]’s proud dad and [partner’s name]’s brand new father-in-law.”
- “Hi everyone, I struggled a bit with writing this speech because my daughter, the lovely bride, and my wife gave me the opposite advice.”
- “The couple has requested that I refrain from sharing any embarrassing stories… so that’s it from me! Thanks for listening!”
- “Hi, everyone! I’m [your name], and it’s time to give the speech I frantically scribbled down on this napkin 15 minutes ago!”
If none of these seem perfect for your daughter, we suggest checking out Pinterest or asking family and friends for help with a funny but sweet opener.
10 Toast Ideas for Your Daughter’s Wedding
This is a time to reflect on how wonderful it is to be involved in such an important event and how happy you are for the newlyweds. Here are some toast ideas:
- “Finally, it’s my great pleasure to invite you all to stand and raise your glasses high in a toast to our wonderful newlyweds, [bride’s name] and [partner’s name]!”
- “Please stand with me, if you’re able, and raise your glasses to toast the new happy couple.”
- “Let’s raise our glasses high to a long life filled with happiness, love and joyous occasions for both of them for years to come.”
- “Please join my wife and I as we raise our glasses to the beautiful, kind and loving couple. We welcome you, [partner’s name], to our family and look forward to many years of happy memories.”
- “I offer a toast to my lovely daughter and her partner, [partner’s name]. May the happiness they feel today last forever or at least as long as it takes me to pay off this wedding.”
- “May your love be longer than the bill from tonight.”
- “May you have warm words on a cold evening around the fire, a full moon on a dark night to light your way and a road downhill to your door for easy travels wherever you may go.”
- “To the newlyweds, we wish you health, we wish you happiness, we wish you wealth — and we wish you everything else we have always wanted for you.”
- “May the joys you share today on your wedding day be the beginning of a lifetime of great happiness and fulfillment together.”
- “May you have love, health and wealth, but most importantly, may you have the time to enjoy them all together as a happily married couple.”
10 Humorous Father of the Bride Speech and Toast Ideas
If you’re known as the funny father, you might want to try to incorporate your love of laughter and sense of humor into your speech/toast at your daughter’s wedding. Here are a few examples that we love:
- “Apparently, women subconsciously choose a new partner with characteristics furthest from that of their dear fathers. And only a few minutes ago, at cocktail hour, I heard my dear wife describing her new [son or daughter]-in-law as generous, sincere and good-humored.”
- “To my new [son or daughter]-in-law, I’ll give you some useful advice: forget your wedding anniversary once and you’ll remember it for the rest of your life!”
- “[Partner’s name], if you remember that this marriage is just a union in which one person, my daughter, is always right, and the other is you, you’ll be fine.”
- “Hello all, I’m [your name]. I hope you know who I am by now, but if you don’t, well done for sneaking into such an expensive meal unnoticed.”
- “I want to really enjoy the next five minutes of tonight that [bride’s name] couldn’t plan and has no control over!”
- “Funny, passionate, intelligent, hardworking, kind and good-looking. My daughter [bride’s name] definitely gets all those traits from me!”
- “Today is a special day, a day beyond measure — you’re about to witness the very first and last time anyone trusts me to make a speech.”
- “The last time I stood up in front of a crowd with a microphone in my hand, I was belting out a drunken version of [your favorite song].”
- “[Bride] has always brightened our lives — she never remembered to turn off any lights and drove up our energy bills.”
- “They say marriage is like a fine wine; it keeps getting better and sweeter with age so long as you put a cork in it!”
Remember These Things When Making Your Speech
You’re nervous and that’s okay. But here are the only two things you need to remember:
1. Be yourself
Every relationship is different and every father-daughter connection is unique. Your relationship with your daughter has its own special story.
2. Be honest in your speech
Nothing will ruin a wedding more than an overly sentimental speech full of clichés or untruths (or both). You are giving this speech because she loves you and you love her.
3. Introduce yourself –
It is always polite to begin your speech with a brief introduction. Unlike in her childhood, your daughter may not have brought home all her friends throughout college and her professional life and most of them may not be familiar with you. Besides, at least half of the people in attendance are there for the groom and like have no idea who you are. Despite how obvious the walking down the aisle may be, there’s no harm in a formal introduction to the guests.
4. Throw in some memories
Besides the mother of the bride, you are probably the only person in the room that has known your daughter her entire life. It’s okay to reminisce on memories of your daughter’s childhood that have stuck with you. If you can bring in a sweet memory that involves your son-in-law, even better!
5. Steer clear of the embarrassing stuff
We understand wanting to garner some laughs from the guests, however, this should never be at the expense of the bride. Teenage shenanigans, past relationships, and other stories that could embarrass your daughter should be avoided. While the memories may be funny amongst family members, they may not sell as well in front of colleagues and other people that do not know her well.
6. Express pride
Most dads want to be able to see their daughters grow up, achieve their dreams, and settle down with a great guy. As a father seeing this happen for your baby girl is a huge emotion. Feel free to express this by speaking of her character and how proud you are of how far she has come.
7. Jokes aside
The depiction of wedding speeches in the movies may have led us to believe that it’s always laugh after laugh. Truth is, you are not a comedian and no one expects a stand-up show. It’s okay to throw in a few jokes here and there however, the most important thing is to share in the joy of your daughter.
8. Acknowledge the groom
It’s tempting to go on and on about your daughter for the entire speech but the truth is; your daughter is now part of a team. Take this time to thank your son-in-law for making your daughter happy and welcome him to the family.
9. Drop a few words of wisdom
Both your daughter and son-in-law are stepping into a new and untrodden chapter of their lives. Feel free to share your wisdom and lessons you have learned throughout your life that will help them take on any challenges they face together.
10. Sign off with a blessing
The wedding is well on its way because you gave your blessing, however, bestowing blessings, and good luck on the newlyweds is always welcome.
Final Thoughts
Make sure that no matter what tone you choose for your speech, you welcome your daughter’s partner and their family to your family. Thank them for coming and say how happy you are that they are part of your family now.
We hope you enjoyed this list of great father-of-the-bride speeches. Planning a wedding is a lot of work, but it can also be a lot of fun. It’s important to take some time and enjoy yourself before the big day arrives. You deserve it!
For even more father-of-the-bride speech ideas, check out this site.
As a multi-passionate creative and a self-proclaimed frequent flyer of weddings, Kiara combines her love for the wedding industry and experience as a professional wedding photographer with her writing abilities to share tips, tricks, and helpful information with couples. She is the owner of Switech Studios a popular wedding photography business. With tons of insider information from behind her camera lens on how to have the best wedding possible, Kiara’s in-depth knowledge is sure to put you on the road to wedding planning success.
