Modern grooms turn to professional wordsmiths to deliver a knockout speech

The wedding speech shocker may become a thing of the past with more modern grooms, and best men, turning to professional speechwriters to help them express their sentiments, emotions and excitement on the big day.

Anita Stevens, who specialises in writing wedding speeches, said that as men become more involved in the wedding preparations, they are taking their duties, including the speech, a lot more seriously.

 “It’s not uncommon for couples these days to spend upwards of $50,000 to create the perfect wedding” said Anita. “So many grooms are realising that it’s no longer acceptable to overlook or deliver a half-baked speech. After all, we live in the age of social media where everything is recorded and shared online.

“A terrible speech will be remembered long after the flowers and invitation designs have been forgotten, so it’s worth spending the time, effort and in some cases, money, to get it right. Why risk spoiling such a special - and expensive - day with an ill prepared speech where the results can be horrendous?”

Most of us have endured a bad wedding speech. Common mistakes – often intended as jokes – include bagging the institution of marriage, lamenting the demise of single life, and a best man who thinks - and drinks - like he’s at a 21^st birthday party, leaving uncomfortable guests and a mortified bride and in his wake. Think Zach Galiafanikis’s character of Alan in ‘The Hangover 2.”

A survey done in the UK asked 1000 brides what they regretted about their wedding and No. 1 was the best man’s speech.

Another asked 380 wedding guests what would most likely dominate the conversation on a trip home from a wedding and 95% answered: the speech. 50% also said they’d seen a bad speech nearly ruin a wedding.

“The speech can make or break a wedding”, said Anita. “And if speech writing isn’t your thing there is no shame in hiring a professional to help you find the right words.”

A professionally written groom, best man or father of the bride speech can cost less than some brides spend on their bouquet and can have arguably greater impact.

Anita takes the time get to understand the speaker’s personality and style and extract their personal stories and emotions so that the content is authentic and the tone matches the speaker.

“You won’t lose any of the sentiment. They’re still your words and stories. I just pull it all together and make sure it captures all the important things you want to say. I also provide guidance and advice on etiquette and the types of stories that should — and most definitely shouldn’t — be included,” said Anita.

The end result is a well-structured speech with the right balance of sentiment and humor that not only sounds authentic but also comes from the heart.”