So with a wedding just around the corner my thoughts have got to turn to writing a speech. I guess it's most likely not the custom here to have the traditional UK style of Father of the Bride, Groom, Best Man speeches however it's something I would like to incorporate into mine.
Approximately half the guests are going to be from England, and the other half will be German speakers. I was wondering if anyone has any experience giving speeches at weddings where the language will not be understood by everyone? As ever, most of the German speaking guests have very good English however I'm still not sure in which language to do the speeches.
Do you do it in one language and then do the whole thing again in the other (I have the feeling this would be boring for me as well as the guests)? Do you do half in German and then half in English? Or perhaps one should just chop and change depending on who you are addressing in the speech? Or even do the whole thing just in English? Any feedback and experience would be much appreciated!
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I am not sure I agree , you don't have to be entertaining if you don't feel comfortable making jokes or telling stories, the best tip I can give you is be sincere and say thanks to everyone.
My half Dutch, half Scottish brother married an Italian girl. He did part of the speech in each language and in the meantime had a slide show of photos in the background with trilingual captions underneath so nobody got bored! Everybody loved that he made such an effort for each nationality of guest. Good luck!
I think all wedding speeches have much the same forumula, just the content is tailored to the individual.
Hi, I'm so and so and it's a pleasure to be here, and lets give a big thanks to everyone who helped make this a special occassion.
The bride looks so beautiful today, I'm sure everyone agrees (don't forget the bride bit).
Here's a funny story about the groom that isn't disgusting or degrading or will make anyone uncomfortable.
Now I'll take the tone down and say something sweet and sincere to make the Aunties and single women cry.
For the finale, let's raise our glasses and wish them both an enjoyable future together...... now let's get drunk and dance.
As for the language, I guess the 'no brainer' is to pick the one language that most people speak.
I'd throw in a few phrases or something in the other language so those who don't quite follow don't feel too alienated.
Above all, keep time in mind. Nobody likes a long boring speech.... or a long funny one either...... and any speech in another language you don't understand is always 'long'.
Short and Sweet wins everytime (under or around 5mins).
I did a maid of honour speech for one of my best friends' wedding and quite a number of the guests werent too proficient in English.
I spoke in English as the majority of guests are English speaking but added in a few phrases of Mandarin through out the speech when appropriate for the benefit of those non-English guests (with quick explanations in English.)
Tricky but it can be done. Keep the speech short, funny and the main language simple - omit slangs. Good luck!