Most groom speeches cover the same ground. They thank the previous speaker, both families, the guests and the wedding party, say something about the person the groom has just married and finish with a toast. What makes one better than another is the detail. The examples below are about made-up couples, and each one is written in a different voice so you can see how much room there is to make the speech your own.
If you'd like to see the running order first, the groom speech structure page has every thank-you in order. The groom speech template lets you build yours section by section.
1. A heartfelt speech (about five minutes)
Rhys builds wooden boats at a yard in Penryn, near Falmouth. He is marrying Beth, a vet in Truro, and the reception is in a marquee on her parents' farm. Rhys wanted to be warm and a little bit funny, and to mention his grandad, who taught him woodwork.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Keith, for such a lovely speech, and for the kind things you said about me. I was expecting worse, so I'm very relieved.
I know it's tradition for me to say a few words on behalf of my wife and myself. That's the first time I've said "my wife" in public, and it feels very good.
Keith and Wendy, thank you for welcoming me into your family. The first time I came round to yours for Sunday lunch, Wendy gave me seconds before I'd finished my firsts, and I've been well fed ever since. Thank you for everything you've done to help with today, from the table plan to the hours Keith spent fixing the lights in this marquee. And thank you for Beth, who is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Mum and Dad, thank you for everything. You've backed every daft plan I've ever had, including the one where I left a perfectly good job in Plymouth to build boats for a living. Dad, you've driven from Redruth to Penryn more times this year than I can count, helping us get the house ready. I'm very lucky to have you both.
I'd also like to say a few words about my grandad Arthur, who died two years ago. He taught me to use a plane in his shed when I was eight, and the table we signed the register on this afternoon is one we started together. I finished it last winter. I think he'd have been pleased with the joints, even if he'd have pointed out the one that's slightly off.
Thank you all for coming. Some of you have come a very long way, especially Beth's cousins from Aberdeen, who set off on Thursday and have told me about every mile of the A30. We're so glad you're here.
Thanks as well to Beth's Auntie Linda for the flowers, which she grew in her own garden, and to my mate Jago and his band for the music tonight. Jago, I've asked nicely, so please don't play the song from the stag.
To the bridesmaids, Tamsin, Kerensa and Jo, thank you for looking after Beth this morning and for months of planning before that. You all look beautiful. Tamsin, I know you spent most of last night steaming dresses in your hotel room, and it shows. And to my ushers, thank you for getting everyone to the right seat and for keeping the field we're using as a car park under control.
Owen, thank you for being my best man. You're my little brother, and you're about to get your own back for thirty years of me being in charge. I'm trying not to think about it.
Now, Beth. Some of you know how we met. Four years ago the dog at the boatyard, Skipper, ate a whole pasty out of my lunchbox, paper bag and all. I rushed him to the vets in Truro, very worried, and the vet on duty was Beth. She checked him over, told me he'd be fine, and then told me very politely that I should keep my lunch somewhere higher. I went back the next week with a box of biscuits for the staff as a thank you. It was a thin excuse, and she knew it. We went for a walk on Gyllyngvase beach that weekend.
The first thing I noticed about her was how calm she is. I've watched her deal with a collie that had been hit by a car and a farmer who was very upset about it, and she was gentle with both of them. At home she's the same. When the roof leaked in our first winter, I panicked and she went and got a bucket. She makes me braver, and she makes me laugh every day.
Beth, thank you for marrying me. I promise to keep my lunch on a high shelf and to finish the kitchen cupboards by Christmas. I love you very much.
It's traditional for the groom to finish with a toast to the bridesmaids, and they have more than earned it. So would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Tamsin, Kerensa and Jo.
What makes it work: every thank-you has a small detail attached, such as the lights in the marquee or the dresses steamed in the hotel room, so none of them sounds like a list. The mention of Grandad Arthur is short and tied to something in the room. The story of how Rhys and Beth met is gently funny, and it leads into a plain description of what she is like, which is what guests will remember.
2. A speech with more humour (about four minutes)
Joe is a driving instructor from Walton in Liverpool and a lifelong Everton fan. He is marrying Leanne, a primary school teacher who supports Liverpool. Joe wanted plenty of laughs, and most of them are at his own expense.
Good evening, everyone. Frank, thank you for that speech. I've known you six years and that's the most you've ever said to me in one go. Most of it was nice, so I'll take it.
Leanne and I would like to thank you all for coming. I know for some of you getting here meant crossing the Mersey, and for Leanne's family on the Wirral that's a big step. We're really glad you made it.
Frank and Debbie, thank you for welcoming me into your family, even though I turned up to meet you for the first time in an Everton shirt. In my defence, nobody told me it was a formal occasion. Debbie, thank you for all the lists. There were a lot of lists, and without them half of us would have gone to the wrong church.
Mum and Dad, thank you for everything you've done, today and for the last thirty-two years. Dad, thanks for teaching me to drive. I failed my test three times, which is a strange thing for a driving instructor to admit at his own wedding, but I think it makes me a better teacher. I've told my learners that. It hasn't helped them much.
Thanks as well to Auntie Pauline for the cake, which is three tiers of lemon sponge and took over her kitchen for a week, and to Leanne's cousin Gemma for sorting the photo booth.
To our bridesmaids, Shannon and Kayleigh, you both look gorgeous. Thank you for getting Leanne to the church on time, which I believe is a first. And to my ushers, Carl and Ste, thank you for your help today. I asked you to be gentle with the car, and I'll be checking it later.
Kieran, thank you for being my best man. We've been mates since Year 7 and you know far too much about me. I'd just like to remind you that I know a lot about you as well, and I've written some of it down.
Now, Leanne. We met at a crazy golf place on Bold Street. She was on a work night out, I was on my mate's birthday, and her team beat us by eleven shots. I asked for a rematch and she beat me again. I've lost at nearly everything since, including every game of Scrabble we've ever played and every argument about which way to go.
She's also a Red, which has made derby days very quiet in our house. We've agreed that any children will choose their own team when they are old enough. Leanne thinks old enough is about six months.
Leanne is also the kindest person I know. She teaches Year 4 and knows the name of every child in the school. She knows most of their dogs' names too. When I broke my ankle playing five-a-side, she looked after me for six weeks and she didn't laugh once, or at least not while I was in the room. I'm very lucky, and I know it.
Leanne, thank you for marrying me. I love you, and I promise to lose at crazy golf graciously for the rest of our lives.
So would you all please stand and raise your glasses to our bridesmaids. To Shannon and Kayleigh.
What makes it work: the jokes are about Joe himself, or about the football, which both families can laugh at. Nothing embarrasses Leanne. The thank-yous stay short and each one has a small joke or detail, so the speech keeps moving. Joe changes tone at the right moment, and the part about Leanne being kind lands better because the room has been laughing.
3. A short speech (about three minutes)
Fraser drives buses in Edinburgh and doesn't enjoy public speaking. He is marrying Nadia, a dentist whose grandparents have travelled from Jordan for the wedding. The reception is in Leith. Fraser wanted to thank everyone properly and say one true thing about Nadia, then sit down.
Hello, everyone. I'm Fraser, for anyone who doesn't know me. I'll keep this short, because Euan has a lot to say and I'm told the food is nearly ready.
Hamid, thank you for your speech and your kind words. Hamid and Samira, thank you for making me feel at home from the very first dinner, when I ate far too much of Samira's lamb and had to lie down on your settee. I'm proud to be part of your family.
Mum and Dad, thank you for everything, and for all your help with today. Dad, thanks for the lift this morning, and for not mentioning my tie until we were already in the car.
Thank you all for coming, especially Nadia's grandparents, who have come all the way from Amman. We're so pleased you could be here. Thanks to Nadia's cousin Rami for the photos, and to everyone here in Leith for looking after us so well.
Leila and Ailsa, thank you for everything you've done for Nadia this year, and for this morning. You both look lovely. Euan, thanks for being my best man, and for organising a very civilised stag in Pitlochry. I'll say no more than that.
Nadia and I met on the bus. I drive for Lothian, and she got on at the same stop on Morningside Road every morning at quarter to eight. She always said thank you when she got off. After about three months she left her scarf on the seat, and I handed it in at the depot. The next day she thanked me for that as well, and I finally asked if she'd like to get a coffee.
She's a dentist, so she's very patient, and she's very good at telling me when I need to floss. On our first proper date she took me up Calton Hill and told me what all the monuments were, and I pretended I knew most of them already. She's also the first person I want to tell when anything happens, good or bad. I've never been happier than I have been since I met her.
Nadia, thank you for marrying me. I love you.
Would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Leila and Ailsa, the bridesmaids.
What makes it work: Fraser gets through every thank-you in a sentence or two, and each one still has a detail in it, like the settee or the tie. The story of how they met is simple and specific, down to the bus route and the scarf. He says how he feels about Nadia in two plain sentences, which suits him. If you want a speech this short, the how long page shows how three minutes compares with the usual length.
4. A groom marrying a groom (about four minutes)
Will works as a lab technician in Cambridge. He is marrying Ade, an architect, at a barn near Grantchester. Ade's mum, Folake, gave the first speech, and the two grooms agreed that Will would give theirs. There are no bridesmaids, so Will toasts both families.
Good afternoon, everyone. Folake, thank you. I don't think I'll ever forget being called your second son in front of a hundred and twenty people. Thank you and Tunde for welcoming me into your family from the very first day. I've been eating your jollof rice for six years and I still can't make it the way you do. I've stopped trying, and Ade says that's the kindest thing I've ever done for him.
Ade and I agreed that I'd do the talking today and he'd do the dancing later, so you've all got that to look forward to.
Mum and Nick, thank you for everything. Mum, you've phoned me nearly every day since we got engaged, and most of those calls were about the seating plan. Nick, thank you for building the arch we got married under, in your garage in Ely, over three weekends. It's still standing, which I know was a worry.
Thank you all for coming. Ade's uncle Femi and his family have flown in from Lagos, and his cousins have come up from London and down from Leeds. Having everyone together in one place means a lot to both of us.
I'd like to thank Hattie, my sister and my best woman, who has kept me calm for the last two months and has saved every one of my text messages, which worries me. Thank you to Ade's best man, Kofi, who organised a stag walk along the Cam and got everyone home safely. And thanks to our friends from the choir, who sang for us while we signed the register.
That choir is where Ade and I met. A friend from work talked me into joining the Mill Road Singers, even though I can't really sing. On my first night I was put next to the loudest bass in Cambridge, who leaned over and whispered, "Just move your mouth, it's fine." For the first month I thought he was just being kind to a beginner. It turned out he was hoping I'd ask him to the pub afterwards, which I eventually did, in March. He's been looking after me ever since.
Ade designs schools for a living, and he's the most thoughtful person I know. He can always tell when something's wrong. When I had a bad week at work last winter, he didn't say much about it. He took me and Pickle, our greyhound, out to Wandlebury on the Saturday and bought me a bacon roll from the van in the car park, and it was exactly what I needed. He makes our house feel like home, and he makes me laugh even when I'm trying to be cross with him.
Ade, I love you. Thank you for marrying me. I'll keep moving my mouth.
We haven't got bridesmaids today, but we do have two families who have done more for us than we could ever list. So would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To our families.
What makes it work: Will speaks for both of them and says so at the start, so nobody wonders why Ade isn't speaking. He replaces the best man thank-you with thanks to his best woman and to Ade's best man, and the toast to the bridesmaids with a toast to the families. The choir comes back at the very end with "I'll keep moving my mouth", which gets a laugh just before the toast. The rest works like any groom speech.
Writing your own
Start with your list of thank-yous, because it takes the longest to get right. Then pick one story about how you met and one or two things that show what your partner is like. If you'd rather answer a few questions, Speechmade will write a first draft with AI from your answers, following the same shape as these examples. You can change any of it before the day.
It's worth reading the other speeches too, so yours fits with them. The father of the bride examples show what usually comes before you, and the best man examples show what usually comes after.
Common questions
Can I copy one of these groom speeches?
You're welcome to borrow the structure or a line you like, but a speech copied word for word won't sound like you and won't be about your partner. Keep the shape and swap in your own people, places and stories.
How long are these example speeches?
The first runs to about five minutes, the second and fourth to about four, and the third to about three. Timings assume a steady pace of around 130 words a minute. Laughter and pauses will add a little on the day.
Are these real speeches?
No. They were written for this page about made-up couples, so nobody real is being quoted. They follow the way UK groom speeches usually run and the things grooms tend to talk about.
Do I have to finish with a toast to the bridesmaids?
No. Three of these examples do, because it's the tradition. The fourth is from a wedding with two grooms and no bridesmaids, so it finishes with a toast to both families. You can also toast the wedding party, absent friends or your new spouse.