As a groom, you can coast through pretty easily when it comes to the dress part of the preparation, but one aspect that you can’t skimp on is the groom’s speech. If you’re worried about getting in front of your guests to deliver a resounding heart-warming speech, don’t worry. Here are some tips for you to deliver a perfect speech and profess your love and gratitude at your wedding with laughter and applause.

Prepare and Practice

The first and foremost thing to do is to prepare your speech in advance. Start about a month before the big day and think about and flesh out what you want to say. Winging it can be pretty daunting in the heat of the moment, so being prepared is better. Once you’re done with writing the speech, read through it out loud to test for punches or sentiment deliverances. Once it’s thoroughly checked and edited, your speech is ready for you to practice on your big day.

Say Thank You

One of the important aspects of your wedding speech is the thanking part. Your list of people to be thanked should include all the important people, not limited to friends and families, gift-givers, and people who helped you organize the event. This is the most appropriate time to publicly acknowledge and express your gratitude towards the important people at the wedding.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

No speech is complete without a trip down memory lane, the story about how you met your spouse. Everybody there is present to celebrate the two of you, and the story of how you both got to be standing at the altar is a definite crowd-pleaser. Put together a story that finds the perfect balance between bland and over-share. Take your guests through your journey of love without going into too much detail. You can even leave room for a few sentences to talk about the future you and your spouse are planning. It could be about starting a family or just wanting to grow old together, but touching upon what’s to come next is a great way to tie it all together.

Keep it Short and Sweet

Now that you’ve professed your love, thanked your loved ones, and maybe made a joke or two, you can easily exit the stage. Hitting the perfect balance between too long and too short is very important. End it with a lovely toast or a shout-out to the future before handing the microphone over to the next speaker.