Whether your wedding celebrations are held in a hotel, restaurant or outdoor venue, there usually is one person in charge of proceedings i.e. a person who takes charge of the celebrations from start to finish – The Wedding Coordinator. This is a person that the Bride & Groom trust as it has probably been the first person they met when they first entered their proposed venue for their wedding. The Wedding Coordinator also must trust the Bride & Groom with respect to what they want on the day and their plans for the day i.e. a schedule of events. They say that the only thing that the Wedding Coordinator is not in control of at a wedding is the speeches. They can control everything else as usually they call the shots, but when it comes to the wedding speeches they have no control, they usually know when they are going to take place and that\’s it. Duration and content is out of their hands. The speeches can place at anytime during a wedding:
- When the guests arrive in the main foyer of the wedding venue
- Just before the guests enter the eatery
- Before the meal starts
- After the starter
- After the main course
- After dessert
- The speeches can be delivered during the meal courses where one or two speakers would deliver their speech
Wedding Coordinators usually prefer to have the speeches delivered after the dessert is served. There are many reasons for this with respect to the Wedding Coordinator and indeed the guests. The guest would prefer the speeches to take place after the meal because:
- From the time the wedding service (the nuptials) are over to the time they get to the venue can be usually a long period of time and hunger sets in
- When people are hungry, all they are thinking about is their stomach
- They need to know when the meal is officially over, the speeches does this
- They want to allow the food that they have enjoyed \’settle\’ by they sitting down and not moving for at least 30-40 minutes, the speeches fills this time period
- They want to experience various emotions as they think about the Bride & Groom through other people\’s thoughts and stories and they cannot best do this on an empty stomach
The Wedding Coordinator would prefer the speeches to take place after the meal because:
- They can plan their day better for the Bride & Groom
- They can work with the Chef and his or her kitchen staff around when to start cooking the food and what time to serve the food
- The Chef can plan when he needs to have his team ready to serve the food
- The Chef would prefer to serve the food immediately when it is cooked as we all know food that has been kept warm for a period of time after its cooked does not taste the same
- When the food has all been served their main worry and challenge of the wedding is done and complete
So whether you are a Bride, Groom or indeed the Bestman (the person who is in control of the speeches, their content and especially their duration), let the Wedding Coordinator know about your plan for the speeches, when they are taking place, how long they will take and then inform each speaker of this giving them a maximum time to speak. They should then have the courtesy to plan their speech around this and everyone will be happy with everything.