On Cloud 9: Wedding Speeches by Robert Lang

When I first started my own business back in 2012, my core offering was to write Wedding Speeches. I attended a large number of fairs, and there was considerable interest in this service, though in the end, partly because my work quickly morphed more into B2B copywriting and then book editing, I have only written a handful of such speeches. But they have always been well received and sometimes have raised the roof and brought the house down.

There is no single reason why clients ask me to write for them, though all are seeking something more dynamic in content and, ultimately, in their delivery than they feel able to produce for themselves. Most have a fair idea of what they want to say, but not how to say it. I’ve had the following variety of requests:

• From the Bride, who wished to make light-hearted fun of her husband’s idiosyncrasies
• From the Mother of the Bride, because dad wasn’t present and she’d been passed the mantle
• From a Father of the Bride, whose daughter had told him it had to be good and he wasn’t to mess about

But in all cases, I draft the speech so that the assembled guests will hear the voice of the speaker rather than mine. My clients are free to claim the speech as entirely their own if they wish, or acknowledge they had some help or credit me entirely. I don’t mind, and that’s not important to me. Unless specifically asked to, I don’t contact third parties (Family and Friends).

Ideally, I will meet the client because it helps to know someone a little when crafting a speech for them, and I prefer to work that way. But it is not essential, and I can draft content for anyone, anywhere in the world (provided it’s in English)

I begin by agreeing on a time frame and requesting as much info as the client feels they wish to include. In the past, this initial information has been either edited down or added to, prior to the speech being finalised. Changes are inevitable as the work progresses, and I expect and anticipate that.

Without obligation, I prepare a short piece to provide an indication to the client of what to expect, so they can judge whether they feel that what I propose to write will work for them. If it does and they are happy, I then produce a one-page Contract and a Project Brief, the latter describing in more detail the dos and don’ts – one client told me very pointedly not to include someone’s name in the speech because although a close family member, they would not be attending the wedding nor to be mentioned, without spitting on the floor! (I could have worked that in, but the client said no. J )

I keep the client informed of progress as I write and always complete the speech at least two weeks before the ceremony. This provides time for any final tweaking felt to be needed, but that’s never yet happened. It also gives time for the client to learn the speech if they wish, and some have. My speeches can assist the client in this regard as they are typically written in a poetic, rhyming style, and I can provide guidance as to where a pause or a change of pace in delivery might add to the impact, whether for humour or to inject a more serious note.

I have, on two occasions, framed the speeches I have written with added graphics. One such piece I initially prepared to use as a promotional display at Wedding Fairs, but later, the groom - the subject of the wife’s ribbing him in the speech referred to above – contacted me to request the images, as he intended to create his own artwork of the speech as a 1st Anniversary gift for his wife.

On Cloud 9 Wedding Speeches is a wedding speech creation business based in Warwick, Warwickshire.