How to write a good wedding speech

culled from:http://pulse.ng

It's quite an honour if the bride or groom asks you to give a speech at their wedding.

This is almost compulsory if you happen to be the maid of honour. You'll be expected to share with the wedding guests interesting info about the bride - most of which they don't know already.

Here are some tips to help you do it right:

• Keep it short: We all love an anecdote or two but it's easy to get carried away with stories and forget that they may not be relevant (or make sense to) half the wedding guests. Forget about inside jokes and choose one stand-out story that really defines the person you're toasting. If the story takes too long to tell or can't be linked to the rest of your speech, then it doesn't belong there. Wedding guests get bored when speeches go on for too long, so cut your self off at three minutes.
• Make it relatable: All wedding guests have something in common - they're near and dear to the bride and groom. While most won't understand inside jokes, they will love to hear details about the couple that they may not already know. Choose to tell stories about the couple that wedding guests may not know. If addressing a large group of people isn't your thing consider doing a narrated slide show.
• Be honest: Don't exaggerate in an attempt to spice up your speech. Keep it simple and honest. Write from the heart and tell everyone what makes the bride special.