# Father of the Bride Speech: Outline, Length and Lines to Use > Plan a four-minute father of the bride speech: what the father traditionally covers, an outline with word counts, lines to adapt and the jokes to cut. Source: https://hidengpt.com/write/father-of-the-bride-speech # My daughter is getting married, and I have to give the father of the bride speech. Bring your daughter's name, her partner's name, who you need to thank and one or two true stories. HidenGPT's Speech format, set to Wedding speech, turns those notes into about 520 words for 4 minutes, written to be heard and ending with a toast to the couple. It leaves a placeholder where a memory is missing. Updated October 10, 2026 · by the HidenGPT team Try it with your own details Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line ## How to do it in HidenGPT - 01 Ask the couple when you speak, for how long and who speaks after you, then list everyone you need to welcome or thank, by name. - 02 With Speech picked under “Use it for”, set Occasion to Wedding speech, Minutes to 4 and Your role to something like “the bride's father, hosting with her mother”. - 03 In the main box, write the thank-yous, one or two stories about your daughter and one thing you have seen in her since she met her partner, then send. - 04 Check every name and spelling, cut anything that did not happen, fill each [add a short memory] with something true and reword lines you would never say at your own kitchen table. - 05 Read it aloud twice with a timer, once to someone who knows your daughter, and mark the line where your voice is most likely to go. [Speech & Toast](https://hidengpt.com/tools/speech): Weddings, graduations, keynotes: timed to the minute and written to be read aloud. ## What the father of the bride traditionally says In the British running order Debrett's describes, the father of the bride speaks before the groom and the best man, and he carries the formal part of the evening. He thanks everyone who helped organise the wedding, shares some affectionate memories of the bride, pays tribute to what she has done, welcomes the groom into the family and finishes with a toast to the couple. Debrett's adds that the role can go to whoever is chosen to act in it, so the same plan works for a stepfather, a mother or a grandparent. Many couples now change the order or add speakers, so ask where you sit on the list. That gives you an outline before you write a word: 1. Welcome. Say who you are and, if you are hosting, welcome everyone on behalf of both families. 2. Thanks. The other family, the people who travelled, the people who helped. Use names, not job titles. 3. Your daughter. One or two stories that show who she is now. 4. Her partner. A plain, specific welcome into the family. 5. The toast. Ask everyone to stand and name them both. Most fathers run long in two places: the thanks and the childhood. Both can be cut harder than you think. ## How to split four minutes, and the short and sweet version At about 130 words a minute, the pace HidenGPT plans for in English, four minutes is roughly 520 words. Toastmasters, whose wedding toast tips name the father of the bride among the speakers they are written for, says a toast should last no longer than three minutes, which is about 390 words. Think of four minutes as the limit when you also host and thank, and three when you only raise a glass. One way to spend 520 words: Welcome: 50. Thanks: 80. Your daughter: 200, which is one story told properly or two short ones. Her partner: 110. The toast, with one line about marriage if you want it: 80. If you want short and sweet, two minutes (about 260 words) is enough: one line of welcome, one line of thanks, one story, one sentence to her partner and the toast. When someone speaking after you will thank the guests and both sets of parents, as the groom traditionally does, your own thanks can shrink to a single sentence. ## Lines to adapt, and what to cut Lines you can rework with your own names and facts: “Good evening. I'm David, Hannah's dad, and on behalf of Susan and me, thank you for coming.” “Carmen and Jorge, you flew in from Valencia on Thursday. We are very glad you did, and we hope it's the first of many visits.” “At seven, Hannah took the kitchen radio apart to find out where the voices came from. She put it back together with two screws left over. It still works. She designs bridges now, and I have stopped asking about the screws.” “Luis, the first time you came to dinner, you washed every pan before anyone noticed. Susan made up her mind that night. It took me another month, but I got there.” “Would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To Hannah and Luis.” What to cut: The cost of the wedding and who paid for it. It is the oldest joke in the room, and half the room has heard it twice already this year. Threats dressed up as jokes, such as “if you ever hurt her”. His or her parents are sitting ten feet away. Any line about handing your daughter over or getting her off your hands. Her exes, and any story her new in-laws or her boss should not hear. The tour from birth to graduation. Pick one age and one story. A long lecture on marriage. One sentence from your own marriage is plenty. ## What the Speech format does with your notes With Occasion set to Wedding speech, the draft opens with who you are and how you are connected to the couple, uses one or two concrete stories from your notes, leaves out exes, money, fights and embarrassing or crude jokes, and ends by raising a glass to the couple. Minutes runs from 1 to 15. At 4 it aims for about 520 words and shows a warning if the draft lands more than 30% over or under. Switch on Stage cues under More details if you want [pause] or [raise your glass] in the script; cues do not count toward the length. It works only from what you give it and is told not to invent anecdotes, names or events, so type the thank-you names exactly as they should be said, and expect [add a short memory] where a story is missing. A light red pen pass cuts stock lines such as “a testament to” and “a beacon of”, which turn up in a lot of fatherly toasts. On Pro or Pro Max, a saved voice built from your own writing (at least 300 characters, two to five pieces works best) moves the wording toward how you talk. Old emails or letters to your daughter make good samples. ## Not the right tool if - A roast of the groom. The Wedding speech setting keeps humor gentle and leaves out embarrassing stories, exes and money. - Stories you do not have. It will not invent childhood memories; ask her mother, her siblings or her oldest friend for one, or fill the placeholder with something true. - Rehearsal. It writes the words. Saying them aloud with a timer, and getting through the line about your daughter, is still your part. ## Other ways to do it Writing it yourself from the outline above Costs nothing. Welcome, thanks, your daughter, her partner and a toast is all the structure you need; slower if you rarely write. The bride's mother or siblings They remember the stories you have forgotten and can tell you which one your daughter would rather keep private. A professional speechwriter Polished and personal, if you have the budget and a few weeks before the wedding. ChatGPT or another chatbot Fast, but expect stock lines and details that never happened, which you will need to find and cut. ## Questions ### How long should a father of the bride speech be? Three to five minutes, with four as a sensible target. Toastmasters puts a toast at three minutes at most, and a father who also welcomes and thanks people needs a little more. At about 130 words a minute, four minutes is roughly 520 words. ### What order do the wedding speeches go in? Traditionally the father of the bride speaks first, then the groom, then the best man, which is the British order Debrett's describes. Many couples now change it or add speakers, so ask them where you are on the list and how long you have. ### What should a father of the bride say? Welcome the guests, thank the people who made the day happen, tell one or two stories about your daughter, welcome her partner into the family and propose a toast to them both by name. ### How do I make it funny without embarrassing her? Make yourself the joke: your dancing, your tears, the radio you never managed to fix. The room laughs with you and nobody at the top table gets hurt. Skip jokes about the cost, her exes and what you will do to the groom. ### How do I mention her mother if she has died? Briefly and plainly, with wording your daughter has agreed to. One or two sentences, such as “Her mom would have loved today, and she would have cried before I did,” then carry on. Ask your daughter where in the speech she wants it. ### What if I'm her stepfather, or two of us are speaking? Say how you are connected in your opening line and put it in Your role, for example “the bride's stepfather of 15 years”. If two parents are speaking, agree who welcomes and who thanks, so the room does not hear the same list twice. ### Can I try it before I pay? Yes. The homepage lets you try 2 drafts a day without signing up. Writing in the studio, with saved drafts and your own voices, needs a plan, and Pro costs $3 for its first month. ## Related - [I'm the best man at my brother's wedding, and I have three minutes.](https://hidengpt.com/write/best-man-speech-for-brother) - [I'm giving the maid of honor speech for my sister, and I don't know where to start.](https://hidengpt.com/write/maid-of-honor-speech-for-sister) - [We're writing our own wedding vows, and mine are still a blank page.](https://hidengpt.com/write/wedding-vows) - [My parents' 50th anniversary party is next month, and I'm the one giving the toast.](https://hidengpt.com/write/toast-for-parents-50th-anniversary) - [Does my writing sound like AI?](https://hidengpt.com/tools/ai-cliche-checker) - [Essays, homework and everyday writing that sounds like you](https://hidengpt.com/write) [Prefer HidenGPT on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=hidengpt.com)