Skip to content
Menu
Sign in

Your speech as a parent of the couple

You're speaking as a parent of the couple. Tell us about your child and about the person who now belongs to the family.

Start writing your speech
  • Free preview
  • 14-day money-back guarantee
  • You review every word

From first notes to the last rehearsal

An interview that asks follow-up questions

Every role has its own questions, so your stories make it into the speech.

Read first, then decide

You see the outline and the opening for free before you pay anything.

Cue cards to print

A6 landscape, one card per section, with a time mark for a glance at the clock.

Practise with timer and teleprompter

You know beforehand how long your speech really takes.

What a speech from your stories sounds like

An excerpt as an example. Your speech is written from your own answers.

Parent of the couple, example

I remember a Sunday in July when Mira was seven. She had decided our garden fence should be blue, and she painted it with watercolours. By the evening the rain had washed it all off. The next morning she simply started again.

Jonas, you noticed long ago that this is who Mira is. And you have never tried to talk her out of it. Thank you for that.

What this speech needs to do

As a parent you have known your child longer than anyone else in the room. The biggest temptation is to tell too much: birth, school, university, first job. A good parent's speech isn't a CV. It shows your child's character through one or two memories and says what you're proud of without reading out their achievements.

The second part matters just as much. You welcome the new person into the family, explicitly and warmly, and their family with them. One sentence about how you met them and what you value in them often means more to the couple than any anecdote.

How your speech can be structured

  1. Opening: a welcome that suits your family.
  2. Thanks: to the guests, the helpers and the other family. If you're officially welcoming everyone, give the thanks more room, otherwise one sentence is enough.
  3. Tribute: what makes your child who they are, proven by a detail.
  4. The story: a memory from childhood or growing up that still fits today.
  5. The couple: a warm welcome for the partner.
  6. A wish: what you'd like to give them for the road ahead.
  7. The toast: for example “To Mira and Jonas.”

What to settle beforehand

  • Are you officially welcoming the guests, or is someone else doing that?
  • Are you speaking together as parents or one after the other?
  • Who would you like to mention by name, and who better not?
  • Should someone who has died be remembered, and how would the couple like that?

One line we leave out on purpose: “I'm not losing a daughter, I'm gaining a son.” It has been said so often that it no longer says anything about your family.

Common questions

Can't find your question? Write to us at support@moverba.com

When does the father of the bride speak?
At a traditional British wedding he speaks first, welcomes the guests and toasts the couple. Elsewhere the hosts may simply say a few words of welcome. The interview asks whether you are officially welcoming the guests. If so, the speech opens with welcome and thanks, otherwise the thanks stay short.
How long should the speech be?
We suggest 5 minutes. In the interview you choose anything from 2 to 10 minutes. If you are also welcoming the guests, allow a little more time.
Can both parents give the speech together?
Yes. Choose “Both parents together” in the interview. The speech splits the sections between you and shows who says what.
I'm a stepfather, grandmother or godparent. Does this work?
Yes. In the interview you choose the role you're speaking in, including step-parent or another parent figure.
Can I remember someone who isn't with us?
Yes, if you mention them in the interview. The speech remembers a relative who has died in one gentle sentence, and not at the end, so the ending belongs to the couple.

What you can rely on

Promises you can check before you pay anything.

More about Moverba

  • Nothing made up

    Every detail comes from your answers. If something is missing, we mark the spot instead of making it up.

  • You have the last word

    You review and change every word before you give your speech.

  • Read first, then pay

    You see the outline and the opening for free. Your first purchase comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

  • Your stories only for your speech

    We use what you tell us only for your speech, never for advertising. Our servers are in Germany.

Occasions
5
Roles with their own interview
14
Speech languages
8
Days money-back guarantee
14
Servers in Germany
DE

Other roles, their own questions

From the guides

Guide

How to write a father of the bride speech

Welcome the guests, thank the right people, tell one story about your daughter and welcome her partner. Here's how, part by part.

Your speech starts with your story

Answer a few questions, read the free preview and then decide.

Start writing your speech