Ask Helen
Helen Lederer Celebrity agony aunt gives you her heartfelt advice every week
My daughter is getting married soon and I couldn’t be more delighted. We sadly lost her dad 10 years ago, so my daughter and son-in-law-to-be have asked me to do a short Mother of the Bride speech at the wedding. I know it’s an honour, but I have been panicking ever since they asked me and now the thought of the day just fills me with dread. How can I back out of this and not upset them? I don’t know what to do for the best.
Wedding day speeches… how we all dread them if we are asked to per form. I certainly understand your terror. However, let’s look at this in a different way. Your daughter is the woman she is because of you, and you can be justifiably proud of that. She wants you to be a central part of her wedding, so there’s no backing out!
Remember your speech can be brief and is not the main speech – that is down to the Best Man – and he will be feeling much worse than you!
There is an easy format that you can follow: thank all for coming, include a compliment about how lovely the bride looks – as she undoubtedly will – mention a funny escapade that you can remember from when she was a child or a teenager, and welcome her new husband into the family.
Write it down in big type and read it at the time. If you’re still scared, practise on a friend. Just the act of reading it out in front of someone will break the ice for when you do it for real. Everyone will be willing you on, so you cannot fail to be touching and true. WWW.TOPWEDDINGSITES.COM/WEDDING-BLOG/WEDDING-SPEECHES-AND-TOASTS/MOTHER-BRIDESPEECH
There’s an easy format you can follow, and it’s OK to write it all down and read it out