The best alternative to traditional wedding speeches

If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional wedding speeches that keep the stories but get rid of the stress, a celebrant ceremony is the perfect choice.

Perhaps one of the most famous parts of a wedding is the section for speeches… but often for the wrong reasons. I think most of us have been to a wedding where the speeches were, shall we say, less than ideal: whether it’s because they were too long, a tad awkward, or you could tell the people doing them would rather have crawled into a hole. If only there was an alternative to traditional wedding speeches, I hear you sigh…

…and I’m here to tell you: there is! Hoorah. You can absolutely have all the good bits of a speech at your wedding without having to do any actual speeches. That means all the lovely personal stories, the warm fuzzy feelings and/or the tears-in-your-eyes funny quips, without any of the nerves or social pressure. 

Do people have to give speeches at weddings?

So, to clarify In a word: no. In a few more words: Tradition schmadition. Wedding speeches, alongside every other element of a wedding, fall under the advice of “Do whatever the hell you like”. Do speeches if you want to. But if the idea gives you the ick, don’t.

Sure, wedding speeches are nice and everything, but some people feel anxious about public speaking. It doesn’t feel fair to put your best mate/dad/whoever it would be under an enormous amount of pressure if it’s not their thing. 

(For example, my dear Grandad, my Mum’s dad, wasn’t a confident public speaker and so couldn’t make a speech at my parent’s wedding. Spontaneously the night before, when they were all having tea at home, he stood up and shared what he wanted to say at this milestone in his daughter’s life. From the heart, not in front of 100 people. It was golden, and one of my Mum’s favourite stories about him. Had he been forced to do a speech at the wedding, they’d never have had this lovely moment!)

Plus, it definitely doesn’t seem right that YOU would have to give a speech if you don’t want to. It’s meant to be a day for you to relax, celebrate and have the time of your life, not spend constantly wiping sweaty palms worrying if people will laugh at your jokes…

Enter the celebrant wedding.

Celebrant weddings are an excellent alternative to traditional wedding speeches

An excellent alternative to traditional wedding speeches is a celebrant wedding. With a celebrant wedding, you can get all the personal stories with none of the speech stress. 

During the planning process, you chat with your wedding celebrant a number of times to give them the material that they then use to craft your ceremony script. It’s part of their job to tease this material out of you, so don’t fret: you won’t need to turn up to meetings with photorealistic recollections of Every Single Experience You’ve Ever Had. Your wedding celebrant will help guide the conversation to find out more about the both of you, and what you’re looking for during your wedding day.

Then, when it comes to putting it together and delivering it in front of your adoring fans friends and family, it won’t feel awkward because public speaking is second nature to wedding celebrants. Getting someone who knows what they’re doing with the elements that you would find much harder means you can fully relax and enjoy your day.

Why celebrant ceremonies make the perfect replacement for wedding speeches

Essentially, celebrant ceremonies include all of the good things about a traditional wedding speech, without any of the things that might be making you feel anxious. 

You get all the stories, none of the stress

You don’t have to miss out on the lovely personal stories or messages that people sometimes share in their speeches, but equally no one has to stress about writing something funny or clever, and no one has to anxiously wait for a public speaking moment. 

If the idea of doing a wedding speech is giving you sleepless nights, it’s a win-win.

You can still sneakily be sincere, without having to say it in front of everyone

​​Another reason a celebrant wedding is a perfect alternative to traditional wedding speeches is because you can even sneakily weave in the nice things you might want to say to each other, but would never normally do in front of other people! 

If you’re not a particularly lovey-dovey couple, the idea of sincerely declaring your love in front of everyone might be another reason you don’t want to do speeches: with a celebrant wedding, you can say those things without actually saying those things. 

If you’re wondering if a celebrant wedding is right for you as a non-mushy couple, you can read my blog post all about that. It’ll come as no surprise to you that the answer is affirmative!

You can still have toasts and gifts during the reception

Just because you don’t want traditional wedding speeches, it doesn’t mean you have to forgo any of the other bits that usually accompany them like toasts or thank-you gifts. You can still do these without having to make a big event out of them.

Or, if you prefer, you can equally go without any formal stuff at the party part of the wedding. Do whatever you want! 

Your loved ones can still be included

There might be a few family members who at best don’t understand your decision to not have speeches, and at worst feel actively put out by it. This is always a possibility when you choose to have an alternative wedding. However, we can mitigate against this by involving your loved ones in a different way. 

Your wedding celebrant can speak directly with the people in your life to contribute their messages or stories into the ceremony, so they still get a shoutout and to share their love. 

Get in touch about a celebrant wedding

If a celebrant wedding feels like it might be a bit of you, I’d love to chat to you about what we could do – get in touch to chat about yours. 

WE WANT AN AMAZING CEREMONY!

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Thank you to PHOTO CREDIT and VENUE MENTION.