This page explains how our guides are put together and how the speeches you buy are written, so you know what you are reading and what you are getting.
Our guides
- Each guide starts from the questions people actually ask about that speech, and answers them in plain language.
- They follow the customs for weddings, funerals and other occasions in the UK, and say so when customs vary.
- Example speeches are written for made-up people. Any resemblance to a real family is a coincidence.
- We only quote poems, readings and sayings when we are sure of the wording and who wrote them. If we're not sure, we leave it out.
- Where rules differ from place to place, such as what can be said at a civil ceremony, we tell you who to check with and don't guess.
- Every guide is reviewed by Katie before it is published, and we review them again each year.
We use AI to help draft some of our guides, in the same way it drafts your speech. A person reads and edits every guide before it goes on the site.
Your speech
Speeches are written by AI, using Claude, a model made by Anthropic. It follows a clear set of rules:
- It uses only the names, facts and stories you give it, and never invents people, events or details.
- It writes the way people talk, in short sentences that are easy to read out when you're nervous.
- It follows the order and etiquette for your speech, such as who to thank and who to toast.
- Humour stays kind. It never mocks anyone's appearance, and it leaves out anything you ask it to avoid.
- For a eulogy or obituary, it never guesses at the cause of death or adds details you didn't give.
AI can still make mistakes, so please read your speech carefully and check every name and date before the day. You get two free rewrites, and the speech is yours to change however you like.
Spotted a mistake?
If something in a guide is wrong or out of date, please tell us at the email address at the bottom of the page and we will fix it.