A 25th wedding anniversary is a huge milestone in the lives of any couple. You will surely want to deliver a good product if you have been asked to deliver a speech in honor of this very special occasion. Even if you have never written a speech before, you will likely find this is easier to do than you might think. Of course, once the speech is written, you will also need to work on your delivery. Below are some tips about writing and delivering a 25th wedding anniversary speech.
Writing the Speech
Quotes and Jokes
What use is a great speech if no one is listening? Grab the attention of the audience by using a joke or quote in your introduction. Doing this will draw in the listeners and keep them interested through the rest of your speech.
Length
Some of the best speeches are not very long. Even the Gettysburg Address, one of the most famous speeches in history, was just barely over two minutes long. You should aim to keep your comments similarly brief when making a 25th wedding anniversary speech.
Ideally, the speech will be between two and five minutes long. This will give you plenty of time to make all of the necessary points and then sit down before the listeners start squirming.
Start Early
Do not wait until right before the wedding to start writing the speech. Most people will not be able knock out a quality 25th wedding anniversary speech in a weekend. Instead, this is something that you should work on, honing and editing the work, for at least a couple of weeks.
The Delivery
Relax
You’re among friends. You worked hard on the speech, so there is nothing to be nervous about. Take a deep breath and then deliver the speech in the manner that the couple deserves.
Don’t Rush
The audience will not be able to understand what you are saying if you talk too fast. Instead, deliver the speech slowly and deliberately to achieve the greatest impact.
Don’t Read
You do not have to memorize the speech word for word, but you should be familiar enough with it that you do not have to read from the paper. Bring a copy of the speech along with you, but only refer to it occasionally instead of staring at it the whole time.
An Example of a 25th Wedding Anniversary Speech
Mignon McLaughlin once said that a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. I have been so fortunate to watch my parents fall in love over and over again. Today, as they celebrate their 25th anniversary, I want them to know how much I have learned from their examples.
To say that any marriage is perfect is sort of silly. There are always going to be disagreements, problems with the house or the kids and other issues of everyday life that push out any hope of perfection. What I witnessed from my parents was not perfection, but rather determination to maintain a happy home and a vibrant marriage in spite of issues that arose.
Mom and Dad, from you I learned how to love my own wife. I learned that being right is not nearly as important and being supportive. I learned that marriage is as much about commitment as it is about love.
On this day, your 25th wedding anniversary, my prayer is that you will find even more love and happiness in the next years of your marriage than you have thus far. And that will be quite a feat.
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