Fill in your details
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Script text
What you'll need to fill in
This script has 7 details to fill in before you read it. Have these to hand — the customizer above updates the script as you type:
- Your Name
- relationship to the couple
- Place
- Name 1
- Name 2
- specific observation
- honest, affectionate word
It also contains 4 stage directions in grey. Those are instructions to you, not lines to say out loud — they mark where to pause, listen, or wait for a response.
That timing assumes about 130 words a minute, which is a normal conversational pace. If you are presenting to a room you will likely go slower; if you are nervous you will go faster. Read it aloud once and time yourself before it matters.
When to use this script
Use this when the stakes are emotional and you will not get a second attempt. Wedding speeches, eulogies, and toasts are delivered once, in front of people who care, usually by someone who does not speak publicly very often. A script is not a crutch here — it is the thing that lets you get through the difficult sentence without losing the room or yourself.
It matters most in the passages you already know will be hard to say. Write those out fully and read them as written. Improvising through the emotional peak of a eulogy is how people end up unable to finish.
Making it sound like you
- Replace every generic compliment with a specific story. "She was generous" is forgettable; the time she did the specific generous thing is not.
- Use names and details freely. The audience knows these people, and the specifics are what make a speech feel like it was written for this occasion.
- Cut the length by a third. Almost every speech at an event runs long, and the shorter version is almost always the better one.
- Mark your pauses on the page. Prompted speech goes wrong when the text keeps moving and the speaker never breathes.
Reading it out loud
Print it or keep it on a device you can hold steadily — a phone at chest height is fine, and far better than trying to recall a paragraph while emotional. Use large text and short lines so you can find your place after looking up, because you will look up, and that is the point.
More on the setup side: Moving Text for Speeches, Teleprompter for iPhone & Mobile, What Is a Teleprompter? Complete Guide.
Questions about this script
How long does this rehearsal dinner speech script take to read?
The script runs to about 198 words, which is roughly 1 min 31 sec at a normal speaking pace of around 130 words a minute. Your own pace will vary, so time one read-through before you rely on the number.
What do I need to prepare before using this script?
There are 7 details to fill in: Your Name, relationship to the couple, Place, Name 1, Name 2, specific observation, and a few more. Enter them in the customizer and the script updates as you type, then opens straight in the teleprompter.
Is it acceptable to read a wedding speech or eulogy?
Completely. Nobody at an emotional occasion has ever objected to a speaker holding notes. What people remember is whether the speech was specific and heartfelt, not whether it was memorised.
How long should an event speech be?
Shorter than you think. Three to five minutes is plenty for most toasts, which at normal speaking pace is roughly 400 to 650 words. Speeches at events almost never fail for being too short.
