When I was writing my father of the bride wedding speechone thing that continually niggled away at the back of my mind was how funny it should be.

After all, funny wedding speeches are a great way to break the tension and inject a little bit of laughter into what is usually a pretty stressful day.

But what I soon realized was that funny wedding speeches and funny wedding toasts are great as long as they are in moderation. Do your daughter’s wedding guests really want to see a standup comic in front of them? Or do they want to hear a father’s wedding speech that includes moments of humor with moments of great memories and insights into your daughter’s life that they never knew?

I know what I would rather listen to. So before you go off and write a half hour comedy sketch instead of a truly memorable father of the bride speech keep a few things in mind. It’s easy to drop a funny one-liner into your speech. But don’t overdo it. When I gave my daughter’s wedding speech I used humor at different times to hold people’s attention. I didn’t want my speech to be too formal but I was also careful not to make too many jokes.

It’s a fine line, particularly when you are the father of the bride. I found that whenever I spoke very emotionally about a particular time in my daughter’s life I would add a little humor to diffuse the moment and keep everyone relaxed and focused. Another thing I learned was to try and stay as relaxed as possible.

My role as the father of the bride was too keep proceedings moving along nicely so that the groom and the best man had enough time to give their own speeches. And traditonally both of them tend to inject a lot of humor in their speeches.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that the best man is itching to include plenty of jokes into his speech. In my humble opinion I think it’s best to leave the funny one-liners, the humorous poems, the embarrassing photo slideshow and especially the hilarious home movie to the other wedding speechmakers.

Your father wedding speech is there to set the tone of the evening. And remember it’s not a comedy night. It’s a night for love, great memories, tears and a few laughs. A few poignant laughs. Funny wedding speeches are great but they really are the territory of the best man’s speech.