A wedding speech is short, personal and given to a room full of people who are on your side. The hard part is usually nerves, not the audience. Well-made cue cards take away the fear of losing your place, so you can enjoy the stories instead of reciting them.
Cards, paper or phone?
- Cue cards are small enough to hold in one hand with a microphone in the other, stay stiff when your hands are shaking, and look tidy in photos.
- A sheet of paper works, but it is easy to lose your place on a full page, and it rattles near a microphone.
- A phone can lock, dim, or show a notification mid-speech, and it lights your face from below in photos. Keep it in your pocket as a backup instead.
From draft to cards
- Write the full speech first Draft it in Word, Pages or Google Docs as you would say it. A common shape is: who you are, a story or two, what the couple are like together, thanks, and the toast.
- Read it aloud and time it Aim for three to five minutes. If it runs long, cut a story rather than talking faster.
- Split it into cards One story or idea per card. Paste or import the draft into EasyPalmCards and it splits the text into cards that fit.
- Decide what stays word for word Keep the first line, each punchline and the toast in full. Trim the rest down to prompts if you know it well.
Making cards you can read
Use a large, plain font and leave space between lines. Put delivery marks in brackets: [PAUSE] after a punchline lets the laugh land, and [LOOK AT THEM] before the toast reminds you to turn to the couple. Bold the names you must not stumble over.
Number every card. If you print four cards to a page, the standard cue card size of around 89 × 133 mm on A4 is comfortable to hold. For more on sizes, see cue card sizes.
Print on card stock or thick paper if you can. Thin paper shows shaking hands; card does not.
On the day
- Hold the microphone close and steady in one hand, and the cards at chest height in the other. Slide each finished card to the back of the stack.
- Give a spare copy to someone you trust, such as the MC or the planner, in case yours go missing.
- Go easy beforehand. One drink for courage is common; a few more is how speeches go wrong.
- Look up for the toast. It is the line people remember, so say it to the room, glass raised.
Notes for each speech
Best man or maid of honour
Usually the lightest speech. One or two stories that show who your friend is, then turn to the couple. Keep jokes ones the grandparents can laugh at too, and skip stories about exes.
Father or mother of the bride or groom
Often welcomes guests and thanks people on behalf of the family. Put the thank-you list on its own card so nobody is forgotten, with names spelled the way they are said.
The couple
A joint speech needs both people to know who says what. Mark each line with your initials, and share the set so you rehearse from the same cards.
The wedding speech template gives you a welcome, a story card, a card about the couple and a toast. Replace the prompts with your words and print on A4 or US Letter.