As a father who has delivered a speech at my daughter Jenny’s wedding, I can tell you that it was probably the most emotional day of my life (apart from my own wedding of course).

Father of the bride speeches seem to transcend virtually every other speech at the wedding. I was pondering this the other day and I realized that the reason father’s speeches are so emotional is because they are all about capturing the feeling a loving father has towards his daughter.

I mean, how often do you sit down and think (really think) about all the wonderful moments you’ve shared with your daughter throughout her life. Moments that have all led to this special day when your daughter becomes the wife of another man. It’s an incredibly emotional moment and all these feelings come pouring out in the words that you deliver in your speech.

To add to the whole drama of the occasion, the father’s speech is traditionally the first speech at the reception ceremony. After the actual church wedding has been completed and the reception starts is the time for you to deliver. You’ll have a few minutes to gather your thoughts together as the guests get seated at the reception.

Then a few taps on the nearest wine glass to grab everyone’s attention and quieten the guests down. It’s usually best to introduce yourself, although in my case half of the county I live in in Montana was present so just about everyone knew me anyway.

I welcomed all the guests to the wedding, thanked them for sharing this wonderful day with me, my daughter Jenny and my family and then I welcomed the groom’s family and expressed my joy at bringing them into our family unit.

My speech was also peppered with stories about my beautiful daughter Jenny growing up, how her and Scott met and a couple of funny and heartfelt memories from their time together. It’s important to compliment the couple on how wonderful they look together on their special day.

Of course, no father of the bride wedding speech can ever be really complete without telling your daughter how beautiful she looks in her bridal gown. But that was certainly not a problem because Jenny looked absolutely gorgeous.

After I’d finished my speech I simply raised by glass in the traditional wedding toast and wished Jenny and Scott all the very best in their new life together. I then introduced Scott, the groom, for his speech. And that’s it. I know that a wedding speech can be nerve-wracking. But it’s only that way if you are unprepared.

I have to be honest, I did have help writing my speech. Help that enabled me to get my thoughts jotted down properly. And some great tips on how to structure and pace my speech, so it never felt hurried or I was floundering because I didn’t know what to say next.

All of the stories, memories and magic moments that I recalled from my daughter Jenny’s life were mine. They were all there in my head all the time. I just needed a little guidance to help get them down on paper. Once I had that, I was able to deliver the perfect father of the bride wedding speech that my daughter Jenny still talks about fondly to this very day.