Father of the bride - wedding advice

I spend most of my working life writing father of the speeches that have a backdrop of love and happiness, however, as much as we'd like to gloss over it, quite a few of those marriages don't go the distance. I was pretty amazed to discover recently, that the divorce rate in the UK is around the 50% mark, and which is an unbelievably sad conclusion to all those buffets and hangovers left in the wake of weddings gone by. This doesn't mean that you should think twice about marriage, it simply means that by the time you become a father of the bride, then family composition will almost certainly be a lot more interesting than you might have expected it to be.

The rarest wedding scenario I write for is two young people with two intact sets of parents. So, what does this mean for a father of the bride speech, where the bride's mother is a former partner, and in some cases, there have been a few wives in between? Well, the best policy here is caution and fairness. A bride's mother, unless there has been some Biblical falling out, must be included, however, you must ensure you're doing it in a genuine way. If you're too over the top, it's going to sound sarcastic, and if it's too little, it's going to come across as petty. Somewhere in the middle is perfect.

If there has been another father figure on the scene, who has played a part in your daughter's life, then he too must be acknowledged. Now is not the time for resentments to play out, you must be the bigger man, and thank him for everything he's done to be there for your daughter. Of course, this privilege applies to your situation too. So, if you have a long term partner, who also has a great relationship with your daughter, then make sure she has her part in the speech as well.

remember to keep everything even handed, so a basic word count approach will ensure that nobody is getting more time than anyone else. Then, you can relax in the aftermath, knowing you're not going to get lynched at the bar by any past or present love interests. Good luck.