When your precious daughter was a little girl, how many times did you look on in love as she dressed up in a makeshift wedding gown—a haute couture design no doubt made of exquisite materials such as bathroom tissue or day old newspapers—and pretended to walk down the aisle with her favorite Backstreet Boy? And how many times did you make that midnight trek to the department store to get that special bride fashion doll she just had to have on Christmas morning? Furthermore, how many times did the two of you sit down in front of the TV, Kleen-ex in hand, to watch the grand spectacle of a royal wedding; or perhaps just the spectacle of your two favorite soap opera characters as they tied the proverbial knot?
As the honored and exalted mother of the bride, you understand better than anyone that your daughter’s wedding day is among the most important, significant, memorable and meaningful days of her life. And you also realize the massive responsibility that you assume as the mother of the bride.
You will act as your daughter’s main source of encouragement and support during the entire wedding planning process. You will help her select a dress, a cake, and a venue. You in all likelihood will make a financial contribution to make the ceremony possible. You will be there to hold her hand and ease her fears moments before that ceremony takes place. And at the reception, it will be your task to deliver a winning and wonderful mother of the bride speech.
When you step up to the microphone at your daughter’s wedding reception, all of your family, friends and other guests in attendance will greatly anticipate what you, the bride’s mother, has to say. Yours will probably be one of the final speeches of the evening, and may take place just before the bride’s and groom’s. They are sure to remember the words that you say and sentiments you share, so be sure that your mother of the bride speech is the best, most articulate, most moving and most memorable it can be.
Ready to give up and beg your daughter and her husband to skip the big wedding and opt for an elopement? Not so fast Mom; you as a mature, intelligent and articulate woman have it well within your capability to deliver a winning mother of the bride speech. You just need to keep in mind a few simple guidelines in preparing and giving this once in a lifetime oratory.
In delivering the best possible mother of the bride speech, always remember that you have two primary audiences to consider; the most important of which, of course, is your daughter the bride. The mother of the bride speech will be your one opportunity to express your love, devotion and best wishes to the bride on the biggest day of her life. This will be your last chance to address her, both mother to child and woman to woman, before she sets off to start a family of her own.
So in planning your mother of the bride speech, take some time well in advance to think about just what you want the world to know about your precious baby girl; and just as important, what you want her to know on the day of her wedding—both in regards for your feelings for her and your hopes and aspirations for her new married life.
In delivering your mother of the bride speech, be sure to address her directly at several points during the speech, showering her with warm words, smiles and compliments. Be sure and tell her what a beautiful and elegant bride she makes, and how gracefully she glowed in that day’s wedding ceremony. Tell her how proud you are of her, this day and all days, and express your very best wishes to her for a beautiful future with the man she married. Be sure to temper your words with wisdom and humor, and try not to get so very emotional that you have trouble conveying your words and thoughts in a clear and cohesive manner; keeping in mind of course that, to a certain extent, people will expect some degree of emotion from the proud mother of the bride.
Also temper your words of praise with terms of gentle advice; thoughtful and judicious words that will serve to advise her and her new husband about the course of their new life together. While it might not be best to get too specific, i.e., telling them exactly how many grandchildren you’d like to have and when, they no doubt will appreciate some commonsense suggestions from someone who is knowledgeable about these matters; someone whose opinion they trust and respect. If they hear a line like “Never go to bed angry” or “Always be willing to compromise but never to surrender your individuality” once, they just might remember and heed these words for the rest of your lives; or they might at least get one heck of a good laugh out of the fact that Mom is such an entertaining cornball. Either way, Ma, you have done your job.:)
At the same time, keep in mind that—aside from being a bride—your daughter is an accomplished and well-rounded young woman. Today’s brides do not simply want to be known as wives; they also want to be acknowledged for their professional and academic accomplishments as well. Hey Mom, this is your grand chance to ‘brag on’ your daughter; to tell the crowd about what a brilliant and accomplished woman she is.
And speaking of the crowd; the secondary audience for your mother of the bride speech will be the other people in attendance at your daughter’s wedding—including the groom. That’s right, you have to mention HIM; the very special man that your daughter has just pledged her life to, the one with whom she plans to start a family and carve out a future. And be sure to be kind and complimentary in your words; make him feel welcome, not only as your daughter’s husband but as a part of your family.
Also acknowledge his original family; his parents, siblings and friends also present at the wedding. Make them feel just as welcome as you do your own family, and invite to share both in the joy of the day and all of your future events.
And, of course, don’t forget to mention your own family in the context of your oratory. Mention the father of the bride, your other children, any grandparents and other elders in attendance, etc. Make them all feel like honored and special participants in this, the occasion of your daughter’s wedding; a day that all of you are sure to remember for a long time to come.
As much as a wedding is a treasured and time honored event, always remember the fact that your daughter is the true and beautiful queen of the day. This is your little girl, your little princess, and this is your ultimate opportunity to cast her in a golden spotlight and help her shine. Have you ever wanted to share that priceless anecdote about the massive charity project she undertook in college; the one that helped so many people in the community and served as proof of her kind nature? Do you want people to know how beautiful she looked on her prom night, how very impressive her commencement speech was? This is your time to share your precious stories with the world.
And if inspiration ever fails you during the course of preparation for your mother of the bride speech, then just think back to the precious little girl with the hopeful smile who walked down a pretend aisle in her childhood bedroom; think about how very happy she must be to realize the long held dream of becoming a bride–just as you now embody every mom’s wish of becoming the mother of the bride.
And while these notions and images are sure to be powerful, if you still happen to need a bit of help in determining how to express your message and ideas, and how to structure and deliver your mother of the bride speech in its entirety, then ample assistance is available. For more information on how to prepare and deliver a winning Mother of the Bride speech, please visit http://www.bestmotherofthebridespeeches.com and get some valuable tips and suggestions; also learn more about a comprehensive speech pack that will help you give a memorable speech.
You can make the single biggest day in your little girl’s life even more lovely, significant and endlessly special by writing and delivering a memorable mother of the bride speech. Make your words as lovely and distinctive as the day itself by writing and delivering the mother of all mother of the bride speeches.
