Speech games

If you’re looking to make a wedding speech with a difference, here are five top games to make yours stand out…

The key game

This is one of the best ‘speech’ games we know, Bewildered? Let us explain:

• Pass a note around the female guest or speak to them beforehand about their role in the game. You can loiter outside the ladies’ toilets and catch them as they come out, but try not to look too obvious or someone might twig that you’re up to something‐or talk!
• During the speech, ask any of the groom’s ex‐girlfriends to return to his house/flat keys, and, you’ve guest it, all the female guests, from 89‐year‐old Aunt Flo to little Alice, the three‐year‐old flowergirl, will come up to the well‐placed bowl (arrange for am empty bowl to be placed on a side table where everyone can see it) and put a set of keys in it. Guaranteed to bring the house down!
• The key game can also be adapted for a father of the bride’s speech, asking all those who stayed over at the family home in the past to return the spare keys. This time, involved all the male guests in the scheming.

This is your life

Some people go to the trouble of making a book that commemorates important moments in the bride or groom’s life. Include things like:

• A sample of their handwriting at primary school (ask their parents for help if don’t have anything that old)
• The worst photos imaginable
• Details of an early date with the groom or bride
• Any newspaper cutting for their life, including childhood sporting achievements or local theatre appearances
• Although creating the book does take time, our brides have told us how much the gesture was appreciated and how it kept the entire wedding party entertained for ages, long after the carefully written speeches were given!
• You may prefer to show a home video or blow up old photographs instead.

Limericks

A quick way of adding a little audience participation to your speech:

• Put a note on each table asking guests to come up with a short poem or a couple of lines about the bride and groom
• Read out the best ones during the speech or, if you make it clear that they must not be offensive, ask each table to read their best efforts out in turn.
• You might like to play safe and make up the first two lines of the limerick yourself, then ask the guests to finish off with the last two lines.

Here some examples of what we mean:

There was a young/an old woman from

[Place where lives/born/works]

Who fell in love with [name/career]

We stood up to toast the couple

When the bride got up to say

The vicar/registrar/photographer

Looked at the bride/groom

And scratched his/her nose in disgust

There was a young man from [Uni/place where he works/ was born/lives]

Who decided he wanted to marry …

Sing to me!

One for the more artistic and less self‐conscious:

• The bride and groom compile a list of words that describe each guest on the table
• These lists are placed under the table centrepieces
• Each table has to compose a poem or song using all of these words and then stand up in front to perform

Sweepstake

Before the speeches start, have the ushers tour the reception asking guests to bet on the length of the time they estimate all the speeches will last:

• Write down each person and their predictions
• Charge 10p‐£1 a go
• Make sure your usher has a stopwatch running and can take verbal abuse from the losers!
• The person closest to the exact time wins the total amount. Alternatively, you could use the game as a way of raising money for charity or even starting a slush fund for the bride and groom.