The last few years have taught us that nothing is certain. Despite this uncertainty, it’s no excuse to leave your speech till the last minute, even if that’s your normal style. Sadly, it’s rare for grooms to be hit by divine inspiration in the fortnight before their wedding, so take the time to put the work into your speech early.

Write the core of it and adapt the opening and toast depending on whether you’re addressing a smaller audience than you expected or one that is overjoyed to be back in a room together celebrating together.

Don’t get bogged down with etiquette guides and feel you have to be overly formal. Yes, thank the important people but it’s fine to start your speech with a ‘Well hello everyone’ rather than addressing your guests as ‘ladies and gentleman’ (chances are they’re not!).

Begin with a few insights about you as a couple: perhaps an anecdote from when you started dating or an account of any bumps in the road you hit while planning your wedding. If you’ve both managed to choose your wedding outfits (including your wedding suit) and accessories without a fuss, well done. These are the big decisions.

Don’t be shy in acknowledging the difficult times you might have faced; guests will naturally be able to relate. This needn’t be maudlin – humour lightens the hefty reality of all that’s happened since 2020 and helps you bond with your audience.

If there’s one thing every boring speech has in common, it’s being packed full of platitudes. Resist the urge to use catchwords like ‘best friend’ or ‘soulmate’ to describe your spouse. These are unoriginal and add nothing to the speech.

Every groom thinks his partner is gorgeous, kind and generally amazing, so make sure you prove, don’t tell. If yours has been checking in with all your elderly neighbours throughout the pandemic, give this some well-deserved acknowledgment.

Think about their unique character quirks – wedding planning may have accentuated some of these. Perhaps their super creative, DIY frenzy made you discover one of their hidden talents. Or maybe you were amazed at the way they made every effort to include people you love in your wedding ceremony.

Step away from the Googled jokes. Yes, it’s tempting but wedding one-liners are just not on these days. Ask yourself lots of questions. How does your partner make you laugh? What do you regularly ‘debate’? What do you do that annoys them? Remember the old adage ‘it’s funny because it’s true’.

Avoid starting your speech with the thank yous. Hook your audience with the entertaining stuff and get round to the formal stuff later. Don’t turn your speech into a roll call – there’s no obligation to namecheck half your guests. You certainly don’t need to thank anyone who’s been paid for their help.

There might be people whose support has been particularly significant in the past year. Give them a special mention, of course, but consider offering gifts and a more personal thank you at another time, to spare the guests who are there for the laughs.

There’s a skill in keeping your speech short. A groom’s speech should generally be between a thousand and 1,300 words. Any longer and you risk losing your audience.

Stories and jokes are stronger the punchier they are. ‘Command X’ is your friend – get rid of anything that needs too much explaining. If an anecdote is particularly long-winded, it’s unlikely to win any genuine laughs – drop it. We promise the more ruthless you are at the cutting stage, the funnier your speech will be.

No one even sat through a wedding speech and thought ‘If only it was longer’.

That’s jargon for ‘small wedding’ if you’re wondering fellas, something that’s become super trendy since the pandemic. Delivering a speech to a very exclusive guestlist requires a change of tone. Having fewer expectant faces in the audience allows more of an ‘in-joke’ vibe to your anecdotes which, chances are, most of your guests have heard before in a less formal setting.

Less background noise might feel intimidatingly quiet, but embrace the intimacy of the occasion – a small group, giggling together is a real tonic. These are literally your nearest and dearest, so give your speech the affectionate tone that warrants.

A confident delivery is key, and sadly, Dutch Courage is a myth. Limit yourself to no more one than one drink before the speech.
Using notes is fine (on thick quality paper, or maybe off your phone at a push) but you need to know your speech beforehand. It’ll help it to flow more naturally.

In the run-up to the day, film yourself giving the speech, then watch it back and decide where you should put more emphasis or slow down. Don’t forget to delete it off your phone or risk your performance being outed before the big day!

As a general guide, slow down and talk at half the speed you would do in normal conversation. It feels odd at first, but it really does make you sound more confident.

On the day, maintain as much eye contact with the guests as possible, especially the people you’re thanking. Prepare for good-natured heckling and make sure you pause where you expect laughter (it will come, promise). And relax – smiling is contagious, and if you’re feeling comfortable then people will be able to see that and they’ll feel relaxed too.

Do what you need to feel confident

If you need to take yourself away from things beforehand just to have a little relaxation time and to mentally prepare, that’s cool. Just mention it beforehand so that no one thinks you’ve bailed.

Once your speech is over you take a little time out to reflect, relax or decompress if you need to. We’re sure you’ll have smashed it!

Speechy is a team of ex-BBC TV scriptwriters who now specialise in wedding speeches. Make a speech to be proud of with its quality speech templates, speech reviews and bespoke speeches.

Tails transform a smart outfit into a special one. Popular for weddings (particularly ever since Beckham wore tails for Harry and Meghan’s big day), morning suits help mark a grand occasion by being unmistakably different from what you wear the rest of the time.

If the bride is wearing white or ivory, match the groom in an ivory waistcoat, while the groomsmen wear waistcoats in the colour of the jacket as a contrast. Or, have the groom follow Beckham’s lead in black tails with a grey double-breasted waistcoat, while the groomsmen stick to single-breasted. Pastels and nudes are trending wedding colours at the moment, and they’re versatile too. Even if nude tones aren’t your colour scheme, they’ll work with any flowers and bridesmaid dresses, which can be helpful if you’re struggling to get the perfect match.

If you’re planning a barn wedding or one outside, tweed suits will really look the part. There’s a scale for tweed, from traditional greens and browns to more modern bright shades.

Put the groom in a full tweed three-piece with a vintage-inspired waistcoat then have the groomsmen nod to his look in tweed waistcoats worn with a plain suit or a tweed two-piece with a waistcoat or trousers in a contrasting colour. After something more casual? Skip the waistcoat altogether, or take it down even further for the wedding party with tweed waistcoats against plain jackets and trousers.

Traditional tweeds go with rich colours like yellow, orange and red, but today’s tweeds have colourful highlights and look great set off with accessories that pick them out.

If you’re having a city celebration, you may want to go for a more minimalist look with a lounge suit. A grey or blue for your suit will work with any colour of accessories for an easy match with the bridesmaids.

Make it look the part for a wedding by matching the groomsmen’s ties and pocket squares to your wedding’s colour palette but keep the groom’s accessories in ivory. You can also double-up on pocket squares with one in ivory and the other in the colour of the bridesmaid dresses for a more blended look.

Getting changed between the wedding breakfast and the evening do is becoming increasingly popular.  It can help to shift the mood for the evening, getting you and your guests into the party spirit – especially if the change involves a tux.

An outfit change also means everyone in your wedding party can do their part and look unified for the wedding photos, but then relax into the celebrations later. The groom might go full works in a classic tuxedo, while the wedding party can change things up with a colourful velvet jacket or a printed shirt. You’re still looking for them to dress up, not down, but there’s definitely room for them to do it in something more their style.

It’s no surprise that Liverpool – famous for the Grand National held in Aintree every year – is first out of the gates, taking the top spot for the number of searches for race day topics. As many as 70,000 people attend the Grand National every year, and it’s a huge deal on the Liverpool social calendar.

Here’s the full ranking of the cities with the most searches for race-related topics:

1. Liverpool
2. Leeds
3. Edinburgh
4. Glasgow
5. Bristol
6. Cardiff
7. Sheffield
8. Manchester
9. Birmingham
10. Coventry

Which race are people most excited for?

When it comes to which race events people are getting the most excited about, based on search, the Cheltenham Festival takes first place. It’s no surprise that the Cheltenham Festival generates more bets, as well – £500 million in total vs. £300 million for the second-most searched race in the UK: The Grand National.

Royal Ascot, one of the most formal race events of the year is in third place, followed by the Welsh Grand National, York Ebor and Guinness Festival.

Race day fashion

It’s not just the races that these cities are into either. Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds and Coventry also made it into the top 20 UK cities with the best-dressed men, showing that these cities are just as dedicated to fashion as they are to the races.

In the run up to race day, there are thousands of searches for race day outfits and trends, so they’re serious events when it comes to style, too. There are more than 3.8 million searches of Royal Ascot outfits and more than 6.4 million searches for what to wear to Royal Ascot, along with 28,000 #RaceDayFashion hashtags on Instagram.

And men’s fashion is an even bigger deal, with more than 176 million searches for “men’s race day fashion” and 29.6 million searches for “men’s suits for horse races”. As some of the best-known races have some strict dress codes, it makes sense that men are seeking out style inspiration online.

Just before the Grand National, there was a spike in searches for two-piece and three-piece suits, along with linen suits, according to Google Trends data.

Need some style inspiration for your next race event?

Style it out with a three-piece suit in a classic colour like black, navy or grey.

Or go bold in a two-piece in aqua, camel or brown linen.

With the arrival of British Summer Time comes lighter evenings, beautiful seasonal flowers (hello Peony season!) and a bumper time for bank holidays. Spring feels fresh and full of promise, and it’s also not as wet as you have been led to believe – it’s honestly a wonderful time of year for an outdoor wedding ceremony. A light blue suit would look amazing against a backdrop of fresh flowers and lush foliage. Pair this with a white shirt and colour-pop tie and you’ll fit right in to the optimistic spring mood.

If you’re dreaming of an outdoor wedding blessed with balmy weather, then summer is the best time to do it! A huge number of weddings take place across August and September, so get planning early to secure your favourite dates, venue and suppliers. If you’re having a classic British garden wedding complete with lawn games and refreshing cocktails, a stylish light-coloured suit like this neutral one would be the perfect option. It’s lightweight and adaptable, with a tailored fit and minimal lining leaving you feeling well-dressed, cool and comfortable.

With temperatures gradually decreasing, autumn is a wonderful time of year to embrace the great outdoors – think soft, warm light and a rich colour palette. The popularity of tweed for groomswear is a trend that grows year on year, and we can understand why. It’s stylish, versatile and will keep you warm on those cooler days. Team the Moss blue Donegal tweed suit with a crisp white shirt, dusky pink tie, and taupe loafers for a lighter take on this seasonal classic.

Outdoor ceremonies in winter? They’re absolutely do-able, and actually quite magical. Just don’t forget the candles, blankets and a fire pit or two! If you’re planning on spending a good part of your winter wedding outdoors, then you’re going to need your outfit to work hard for you. We love a tuxedo-inspired jacket with high wool composition and a sharp outline. Ever considered swapping your white shirt for a stylish merino rollneck? Now’s the time to do it!

Coco Wedding Venues is the first place to kickstart your wedding planning.

They are the UK’s original style-focused wedding venue directory, showcasing a carefully curated selection of the very best wedding venues in the UK and beyond.