Mother of The Bride Speech or Toast : A Down-To- Earth Guide To Simply Writing A Memorable Mother Of The Bride Speech For Your Daughter and Son-In-Law That Will Get You Tons Of Compliments

Have you ever heard a mother deliver a beautiful mother of the bride's speech at her daughter’s wedding and wished that when your daughter is getting married you would make her proud too?

You are not alone…Most mothers wish that they had what it really takes to write a sweet mother of the bride's speech. But, the overwhelming majority of them are just not good with words…How sad this is!

I will never forget how I felt when I received a message from Lori asking for help with her speech when it was only four days to her child’s wedding day.

I was apparently overwhelmed with work so I asked her to put something together since she was a writer and I will later review it

A few hours later, Lori wrote back to say even though she was a writer, she had never given a speech before and was worried she might flop.

After much pleading and cajoling, we co-wrote her piece and this was her feedback afterward: ( Please click on the image to read her words)

I know you probably believe that it takes an eloquent speaker or a gifted writer to write a unique mother of the bride speech.

Can I completely be honest with you?

Having a way with words can help to a certain extent. So can your gift of gab.

But, they are by no means all that you need to give the best speech ever at your daughter’s wedding and you’re robbing yourself of one of the greatest sources of joy and fulfillment in your life as a mother if you’re still thinking you need those twin-gifts.

And that brings us to the next side of the equation:

So What Should The Mother Of The Bride Say In Her Speech (And What Should She Not Say)?

That’s a great question! But, please…please…please stick with me here because I am going to share with you some time-tested ideas, tips, advice and templates I have personally used so you can easily write a heartfelt speech and not embarrass yourself and your baby girl.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in…

Always Look Before You Leap or Else You Will Drop Like A Stone

You see, in a bid to say what’s in their hearts, most moms look up mother of the bride speech examples online and other places in hopes of getting some words and phrases they can customize for their own scripts.

In spite of its obvious benefits, this commonly-used approach has several drawbacks as it can strip your completed draft of originality if not used more tactfully. You may check out this post I wrote about how to get the best out of them.

Now, consider this: would you take a trip to another country without learning a little bit about your intended destination? Would simply having a visa and enough cash suffice? Well, you be the judge!

Similarly, you shouldn’t even think of writing your speech without first finding out what goes into writing a great mother of the bride speech.

If you only put your thoughts together after scanning through a couple of examples, your speech won’t turn out too well.

Here’s what you should know before you even jot down your ideas. First and foremost, all great pieces go through this process:

Pre-writing stage
Writing stage
Post-writing stage

I follow the same processes listed above whenever I have to actually put something down on paper or even type on the keyboard.

Don’t worry…Just keep reading and I will share ideas on how to do just that.

Ok, let’s take it one step at a time and then put all the pieces together to create a sweet speech for your daughter.

Now…

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Skip This Part And How To Make It Count

The pre-writing stage comes before the draft; this is the time for you to get your ideas down. And these ideas won’t just come to you unless you seek them out.

Wondering where you can find those ideas? Here’s what I would suggest you do now.

Watch a lot of interesting mother of the bride's speech video clips. Right below is a great example you can learn from.

P.S: Grab a pen and paper and write down phrases, words, and ideas you think you can include in your own speech as you watch that video or any other good one you can find.

There are plenty of such videos on online video-sharing platforms like YouTube which you can watch over and over again for inspiration and guidance. By the way, this is a good one to stimulate creative thinking.

In addition to that, you can study well-written mother of the bride speech examples intently and studiously like a student prepping for an admissions test.

You can read it like three times or more and consider how it was written and see if you can modify it to your needs.

By the way, here’s...

A Short Mother Of The Bride Speech Example

Good evening and welcome to the joining of Rachel and Mark

I’m Bernice and I am the mother of the bride.

I would like to thank everyone who has come from near and far to share in our joy and happiness. It means a lot.

Nothing can compare to the joy I have in my heart as my only daughter is getting married. Thank God, she’s found the love of her life.

Rachel was always a happy and lively little girl who loved playing with her chocolate Labrador retriever, Yogi.

Growing up, she played softball and I was lucky to have coached her for many years.

She was always a source of joy and laughter. When she was 15 years old, she began to study French and knew the basics, enough to get us by whenever we visited her grandparents in France.

Once, we were in Brussels for vacation and on our way to the city from our hotel, we got stuck on the third floor because the elevator kept breaking down.

I was totally freaked out by this and began to cry. After being stuck there for 2 hours, we overhead two French-speaking men chatting on the fourth floor. Rachel(my bilingual secretary) then shouted at the top of her lungs " Aidez nous! " which, being interpreted means, Help Us! for those men to come to our rescue.

Thinking that " Aidez nous! " was the French version of hotel attendants, I cried out of utter frustration " Mr. Aidez nous! ...we are dying here. Can you please help us? "

Rachel gave me a look and said: "Mom…please don’t embarrass yourself anymore. Please let me do my job"

When they eventually showed up, they greeted me with a smile and said " comment allez-vous madame? which I later learned means? " How are you Madam"

Not wanting to embarrass us, I smiled wanly and stood still like the Statute of Liberty, wondering what I was supposed to say exactly!

Needless to say, when the fixed the elevator and took us out, we were dead tired and had to go back to our hotel room.

Rachel, I am so proud of you and proud of the woman you’ve become. You’ve always been so kind, giving, respectful, caring, and anytime I think about who you are, I keep wondering what good have I done to deserve a daughter with a true heart of gold!

I am so happy that you are getting married to Mark.

I have had the privilege to get to know Mark over the last few years and I can say he is loving, polite, thoughtful, caring, and kind. I absolutely adore how he loves and adores my baby girl.

Mark and Rachel, you are a wonderful couple, and let me congratulate you on reaching this significant special milestone.

You have gone through a lot to get thus far and you are bound to have ups and downs as you begin this new phase of your life. So make sure to keep an open mind and be ready for whatever life throws at you. God bless you

Did you enjoy that brief remark and wish you can write something close to that, if not better? It’s way easier than you think.

You don’t have to photocopy my example. I cautioned you against that earlier…do you remember?

Just keep reading and you will find out how I wrote that so you can use my suggestions and advice to write something unique for your daughter without your head against a wall.

That said, let’s draw the curtain on the pre-writing stage and switch over to the writing stage.

We will use the template above as a guide to putting your thoughts and best ideas together.

That speech outline has three main parts and your presentation should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Let’s recap the introductory remarks we saw in that sample speech.

As you can see, the opening lines have the following components

Name of the speaker and greeting the audience which forms an integral part of the wedding etiquette
Words of gratitude

Writing this part is obviously very easy. But you can alienate sections of the guests if you make sweeping statements like thank you all for coming.

Ask yourself questions like:

Who helped me raise my girl? Was it her dad or my parents or her uncles and aunts? Please list their names and state why you are thanking them.

For example, if her father is deceased, you can say

" My late husband who happened to be Rachel’s dad died when she was a teen. We still feel his love for us whenever we remember him and we so appreciate everything he did whilst alive.

Rachel’s come thus far because he gave his all to make her who she is today. We will always keep him in our hearts and I know he’s looking down at her with pride.''

Which persons influenced her life for the better? Your neighbors, her friends, her teacher, or who?

Just stretch yourself a bit and make sure you this fine opportunity to let the world know how much you appreciate the help they offered.

Remember, '' Thank you'' is the best prayer that anyone could say. " — Alice Walker

Now, let's see how to write the content of your speech. Ok, before we do so. Can you please put your creative thinking cap on and try to answer these questions?

Are you doing a joint-speech with your husband or going solo as a single parent or mom?

Are you going to deliver a long or short speech?

Are you looking forward to delivering a funny mother of the bride's speech or a combination of more styles like sentimental or even narrative? For example, if you really want to go for something hilarious, you should come up with humorous stories that will support the overall theme.

To illustrate, let’s see how Bernice chose her story

Bernice made things easier for herself by simply talking about her childhood years through adolescence to becoming a bride.

This approach always works best when you want to give a very simple and sweet speech which is something I always recommend as that can take a huge load off your shoulders if you are asked by your daughter to put something together on very short notice.

If you find yourself in this situation, consider structuring your speech by including one or more of these ideas:

Day of her birth--- You have to put down memories of what happened on that beautiful day and how you felt

Talk about when she was a little kid---Put down her beautiful qualities like how kind, active, and lively she was.

Don’t leave your points hanging. Expand on only admirable traits you have enough supporting details for.

Human qualities that speak to the heart are more preferred. Let’s see exactly how this works.

Example A: Rachel was an active little girl. She loves climbing fences. I’ll never forget how she tripped over our backyard fence when….

Example B: Rachel has a heart of old. She hates to see people suffer. I first noticed that when she was a kindergartener...

Which version do you think will tug at the heart of anyone listening to your message?

The latter by all means if you want something heartfelt or sentimental.

Well, if you want to get a good laugh out of the wedding guests, you can use the second illustration. It's even possible to combine both styles to produce a memorable message that will be very well received by everyone.

Since the body of your speech is one of the key parts of your message, you should well to come up with a series of anecdotes about your daughter's life from when she was a little girl, to when she became an adult.

The pointers below can steer you in the right direction:

Write down at least 2 or 3 memorable stories on paper about her childhood years
Put down at least 2 memorable stories on paper about her adolescent years
Jot down at least 1 memorable story on paper about her after college years

Then, you can look at those stories at every stage of her life and select which ones you wish to share.

In choosing, you should consider, how long or short you want your speech to last. I know you might be wondering about this...

How Long Should My Mother Of The Bride Speech Be?

It should be long enough to cover the most important aspects of your speech. Some folks will encourage you to go for something short which is fine.

But I think if your story is very engaging, the wedding guests will love every bit of it and no one will feel bored.

I once listened to a thirteen-minute long speech and I enjoyed every bit of it. But honestly ask yourself if you can hold the interest of everyone for that long?

Well, if you want to honor your girl by speaking at different venues, say at the rehearsal dinner, or bridal shower or reception, then you can tailor your stories accordingly.

For example, if you choose to speak at the bridal shower, you can share memories about her growing up years and use the remainder for another occasion like the reception.

But it’s always best to stick to a single plan as being a mother of the bride can be stressful, emotionally draining, and exhausting, and I don’t want you to be stressed out by this.

By the way, there's nothing wrong with making your remarks very short. But make sure it truly captures the essence of what makes your daughter's story unique.

Ok...let's get back to our last point about listing memorable events about her life. After you've chosen your preferred stories for those milestones, you should say something about your son-in-law.

This Is What You Can Say About Your Future Son-In-Law

· Talk about the first time you met him

· Mention how he’s made your daughter’s life better

· State his good qualities and why you think he will be a good husband

· welcome him to your family and thank his mom and dad

I am sure the extract below will give you an idea of how to write something about the groom:

Over the last few years, I have seen how polite, thoughtful, caring, and loving Mark is. He's also a great cook, an avid swimmer, and a passionate gardener. We are so full of admiration and respect for him and we are confident that she will treat Rachel right.

After you've written down a few words about your son-in-law, you may scroll up this page to re-study that short example and then piece your scattered thoughts together.

Don’t worry about how messy it looks after coming up with a first draft. Congratulate yourself once you have completed your task and take a break!

You can come back to it later and cut out parts you don’t really need by reading it out loud. Keep doing that until it comes out best.

Now, let’s see…

How To End Your Mother Of The Bride Speech On A Memorable Note

Just as you have to start your speech on a bright note, you also have to close it well if you want to be remembered for putting on a great show.

Below are some proven tips to help you end with a bang.

First, you can simply share some pieces of advice based on your own experience of marriage

An example is...

Mark and Rachel, through the years, we have been married, we have discovered that a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. So, always date each other and put each other first in everything you do and you will rekindle the spark in your marriage.

Do you have in mind any lovely poem? Then, you should conclude with it.

Are you a Christian or a deeply religious person? If you are, you can pick a bible verse about marriage or use a religious quote or even end with a prayer. I love it when mothers end with a prayer and I feel it's one of the best ways of closing your speech.

The famous bible reading ''I Corinthians 13: 4- 7'' comes to mind.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres.

Again, you can end with the lyrics of a love song by modifying it and singing it out and this act alone will get you a standing ovation. Don’t worry if you don’t have a good voice.

You can personalize the conclusion of your speech by using the lyrics of a love song or even a tune everyone can sing along. You may use Ben King’s Classic: ''Stand By Me''

One or more of the following love quotes can also be employed

''A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.'' – Dave Meure

''Never marry the one you can live with, marry the one you cannot live without.'' – Unknown

''A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love.''– Pearl S. Buck

Using the underlined quote, I came up with this:

Marriage is a lifetime adventure filled with incredible memories with the person you cannot live without. Nonetheless, it's full of many ups and downs…

Did you see how I did that? Do likewise and you will prosper. If one or all the points listed above won’t work for you, you can simply toast the couple after making brief remarks about your new son-in-law.

P.S: Is the thought of giving you a great wedding speech keeping you up at night? It shouldn’t if you do what most moms do. By following this simple plan that's guaranteed to help you write a great mom speech like the one you read above.

Claire was quite skeptical when she came to us but we kept assuring what she will make her son and family proud-and this is what she sent over after the wedding was over.

'' Hello Dan, their wedding went very well. The usual stress beforehand for the couple organizing the event but all things to do went so smoothly. I also like to say that I'm so proud of my speech, almost got a standing ovation, lol! I'm so glad I've found you. I will definitely recommend you to my friends and family for future weddings. I wish you the very best.''- Claire, New Zealand

Want to know how she did just that? She got on board our wedding speech program and one of our talented speech consultants helped her out.

Want to get on board? You should by first filling out this form.

This is a letter a mom sent me after her wedding. (Please click on the image to enlarge it so you can read it)

Ok, Is This Offer For Me?

Yes, if you are expecting nothing less than a very special, beautiful, unique, and memorable speech.

Don’t have much time to write a perfect speech just as you want it because of work demands and other life's pressure or even sick? Then, let’s take care of it and the guests will definitely sing your praises--we have done it for so many others and it's your turn now!

Yes, if you are overwhelmed by the pressures of work and don’t have the time to put together a very meaningful speech, so you can have your peace of mind

Yes, if you want your family, your daughter, friends, and wedding guests to shower you with very sincere compliments…just imagine how you will feel

Yes, if you are not good with words and you feel you’re not a natural writer and you are struggling to find the right words but still want to give a great speech.

Yes, you get so scared anytime you’re asked to say something before an audience and you really want to save yourself from any form of embarrassment on your daughter's big day.

Yes, if you are not too eloquent or not too sure if you are on the right track.

Yes, if you absolutely hate speaking in public or feel this is not your thing but you want to make your son feel very proud

Yes, if you have a day or less to the wedding and you are worried that you might make some horrible mistakes

Yes, if you are a good speaker but you still want someone to look over or review what you've come up with!

Just imagine leaving your entire presentation in the hands of skilled wedding speech consultants who will take away your pain of spending hours thinking hard and long about what to say and what not to say.

Also, envision being patiently guided to say something that will leave a favorable impression on the mind of your listeners.

And also imagine the thrill and feeling of excitement and pride you’re going to experience when the audience leaps onto their feet and scream and shouts and even sing your praises.

Won’t you love that? I hope you do...

Wedding not too far away? Or happening in less than 24 hours? Trust me, we can deliver! it doesn’t matter if your speech is today, tomorrow, next week, next month ,next year,... we can make things work for you

Ok, I am Interested, What’s the Cost?

You simply pay what you want after you’ve got your beautiful speech.

Why? As you know, the current health and economic crisis has caused severe hardships for most people.

Precious lives have been lost, jobs wiped out and families displaced, leaving everyone wondering what the future holds.

Yet, some daughters are still getting married and asking their moms to give speeches.

Nonetheless, not every mother could afford our services even before the pandemic suddenly hit us.

So, we have dropped our normal rates so you can simply pay what you want after you have got your beautiful speech.

Please note: When life gets back to normal, this offer will be scrapped for good.

So, please take advantage of it now even if your daughter’s big day is in the future.

Even though we are going through this crazy time, if you do a poor job at it, your speech will be captured on video and your daughter and son-in-law and other viewers will forever remember what you said and would not attribute your poor performance to the fact there was a deadly disease in town.

So, please take advantage of it now even if your daughter’s big day is in the future by simply paying what you want after you get your beautiful speech.

''It was perfect Dan. I changed a few things in the speech. And I had several people come up and tell me how well done it was. I couldn't have done it better. Thanks for your help''- Marilyn, Canada

This is another note a mom sent me after her wedding. (Please click on the image to enlarge it so you can read it)

Oh Ok, How Then Do I Get Started Since I Want To Get On Board Right Away?

Ok, here’s how it works

All you have to do RIGHT NOW is to click on this link to receive an easy-to-fill-in questionnaire via email. Check your email a few hours after you’ve submitted your request.

So,

1)CLICK HERE NOW TO GET STARTED NOW TO GET YOUR GREAT SPEECH NOW BY FILLING OUT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE---you only pay after your beautiful speech has been delivered. So, you can have peace of mind!

After that, we will send you a very short questionnaire to fill out via email! You only have to check your email a few hours after you have made your request

Then, you fill out the questionnaire sent through your email and please have it sent back to us…

We will confirm receipt of it…If something is not too clear, we will ask you to clarify….

If not, we will send you a wonderful draft in a couple of hours if this on very short notice….If not, after a few days

Then, you look it over and tell us if you are okay with it or you want to amend or reviseit till you are happy with it--although we always get it right even with the first draft.
Then, we ask you to pay for it. It's as simple as that!

Just a reminder of what you pay after it’s duly completed.