For many traditional, heterosexual Western weddings, there’s an order for the speeches. Usually, the speeches will begin with the father of the bride, followed by the groom, then the best man. “In same-sex weddings, it is also common for both partners to speak but sometimes only one does,” writer Marc Blakewill explained to Hitched.
After that, there’s time for any other speeches to be made by people not in the traditional order, but those extras rarely include words from the bride or the mother of the bride. It goes without saying that tradition has dictated that it’s the men in the wedding we have to hear from, while the women stay quiet.
But no longer! At least if we have our say. We want to say goodbye to this tradition, with more brides (and mothers of brides) standing up to make speeches at their own weddings, alongside the groom and the father of the bride. And why stop there? We’d also love to see it become more commonplace for the maid of honor or bridesmaids to speak up, as well as sisters, aunties, friends, and anyone else who would like to spread the love.
