Skip to main content
Weddings

How to Give an Awesome Joint Wedding Speech

Doing a combined speech with someone else can really help to take the pressure off you and ease your stage fright.

two bridesmaids giving speech at reception

two bridesmaids giving speech at reception

Photo: Pasha Belman Photography

If the thought of having to give a speech at your friend’s wedding is enough to make you want to skip the day altogether, a great option to consider is a joint speech.


Doing a combined speech with someone else can really help to take the pressure off you and ease your stage fright.

Joint speeches are also a great option for larger wedding parties because it gives more people an opportunity to speak on the big day! It can be hard for the wedding couple to choose between say a sibling or a best friend to give a speech, so asking them to team up will help everyone feel included and valued.

Great joint speech combos include siblings, the mother and father of a bride or groom, the maid of honor and the best man, two wedding party members, or other combos.

If you’re stepping up to the mic with a partner for an upcoming wedding, check out our top tips for writing an awesome joint wedding speech.

Explain why you’re doing a joint speech
This point depends on the reason you’re giving a joint speech. If it’s because one or both of the speakers is shy and terrified of speaking alone, it’s best not to get into that. However, if there is a funny or significant connection between the two speech givers, explaining it can really add to your speech.

Tell your own stories
Regardless of the reason for giving a joint speech, the bride or groom still know you separately and you each want to honour your unique relationship. Take turns telling a special story that showcases what the bride/groom means to each of you individually.

Tell a combined story
In addition to your own individual stories, it’s nice to add a combine story - one that involves both speakers and the bride/groom. This is a great why to tie everything together.


Keep it short
Just because there are two of you up there, doesn’t mean you get double the length of a normal wedding speech - the wedding attendees’ attention spans are the same regardless of the number of people giving the speech!


Don’t be corny
Okay, some level of corniness is to be expected (this is a wedding speech after all!), but you want to keep it to a minimum and steer towards heart felt rather than sappy. A joint speech has the potential to be cornier than a single speech, so be careful here. Introduce yourselves rather than introducing each other, don’t finished each others sentences, and don’t get carried away with too much banter between the two of you.

Keep the focus on the bride/groom
As much as you do want to put together a great speech, remember that the focus should be on the people getting married, not on you and your speech partner’s great performance. Don’t go into any stories that only involve the two of you and exclude the person who the speech is really meant to be about.

Be Creative
Having two people speaking is a great opportunity to get creative and put together a really fun speech! While speaking on your own can be nerve wrecking, having someone else up there with you can help both of you to relax and open up. Set each other up for jokes, write a song, tell two perspectives on the same story, etc. Have fun with it!

Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to an awesome joint speech. Remember to keep it short, focus on the bride/groom, and have fun with your co-speaker!