Your wedding day should be the most important day of your life. It is the day when all your friends and family, as well as the friends and family of your husband-to-be, gather together to celebrate your big day. Unless you are lucky enough to be able to afford a wedding planner, you will have so many things to think about and plan, from the pre-wedding parties to the wedding ceremony and reception, and even the honeymoon.

As part of your wedding day, it is expected that certain people in your wedding party give speeches to congratulate you on your newly married status and also to tell a few stories about you and the groom. To a certain extent, you don’t need to worry about this aspect of the wedding, unless you intend to make a speech yourself. However, you will want to have an input into who makes the speeches and how long they are because this will have a roll-on effect on everything else that happens at your wedding reception.

Who gives the speeches and toasts at your wedding really depends on what you want. It is traditional for the male side of the wedding party only to give speeches. You may even want to cut this down further and just ask the best man and groom to give a speech. Then again, you may want to laugh in the face of tradition and make sure the female side of the wedding party, including yourself, have the chance to say something. Of course, you will need to check with everyone that they are happy to give a speech.