Father of the Groom Speech: Structure, Examples & Tips

A father of the groom speech is a short, warm speech of 3 to 4 minutes that thanks the bride’s family, says something true about your son, and welcomes his new spouse into your family. It usually comes straight after the father of the bride, so it should complement that speech rather than compete with it.

The father of the groom speech is optional at Australian weddings, which is why there is less guidance for it. Below is a clear structure with timings, three complete example speeches, a bank of lines you can borrow, delivery tips for the night, and the mistakes worth avoiding.

Does the father of the groom give a speech?

Traditionally, no. The father of the bride spoke as host, the best man and groom followed, and the groom’s parents stayed seated. That has relaxed a lot. Today the father of the groom speaks when:

• The couple asks him to, often to balance the two families.
• The groom’s family has contributed to the wedding and the couple wants that acknowledged.
• The father of the bride is not speaking, and the couple wants a parent’s voice.
• The family has a tradition of a parents’ welcome.

If you are not sure whether you are expected to speak, ask the couple. Turning up with an unscheduled speech is the one thing you should not do.

Where it fits in the Australian speech order

When the father of the groom speaks, it is usually second: after the father of the bride, before the best man. A typical order looks like this:

1. Father of the bride
2. Father of the groom
3. Best man
4. Maid of honour
5. The couple

Our wedding speech order guide covers alternatives, such as parents speaking at the welcome, or both fathers keeping it to a short joint toast. Because you follow the father of the bride, check his outline beforehand. You both want to thank guests and welcome the new spouse, and you do not want to repeat each other’s lines.

Father of the groom speech structure (with timings)

Section	What to cover	Time
1. Introduction	Who you are, a quick thank-you to the previous speaker	15 to 30 seconds
2. Thanks	The bride’s family by name, the couple, any helpers	30 to 45 seconds
3. Your son	One story that shows who he is	60 to 90 seconds
4. The welcome	What you love about his new spouse, a formal welcome	45 to 60 seconds
5. A wish	One line of advice or hope	15 to 20 seconds
6. The toast	Ask guests to stand, raise glasses, both names	15 seconds

That comes to 3 to 4 minutes. The average English speaker talks at about 150 words per minute, and slightly slower is easier to follow (Tools for Clear Speech, Baruch College). With pauses, plan on about 130 words per minute, so a 3.5-minute speech is roughly 450 words.

Tips for each section

• Introduction: say who you are, even if it feels obvious. Half the room is from the other family.
• Thanks: name the bride’s parents. “Thank you, [Names], for welcoming our family” is warmer than a general thank-you.
• Your son: one story is enough. The best man will cover the funny stuff, and the groom’s mates do not need you to repeat the bucks weekend.
• The welcome: this is the most important section. Say something specific you have seen in your son’s partner, then welcome them formally.
• Toast: tell the room exactly what to do and say both names.

Fill-in-the-blank father of the groom speech template

Good evening, everyone. For those who don’t know me, I’m [Your name], [Groom]’s dad. Thank you, [Father of the bride], for that lovely speech.

On behalf of [Spouse] and our family, I’d like to thank [Bride’s parents’ names] for [something specific], and for welcoming us so warmly. And thank you to everyone who has [travelled / helped / made today happen].

[Groom] has always been [quality]. When he was [age], [short story that proves it]. [One line on how that shows up in the man he is now.]

[Partner], the first time we met you, [what happened]. Since then, we’ve seen [specific thing you admire]. You make our son [happier / braver / calmer], and we’re so glad you’re part of our family. Welcome.

To you both, my wish is [one line].

Please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

Father of the groom speech examples

These three examples are original and written for this guide. Swap the brackets for your details and keep the shape.

1. Heartfelt father of the groom speech (about 4 minutes)

Good evening, everyone. For those I haven’t met, I’m [Your name], [Groom]’s father. Thank you, [Father of the bride], for your words. I’ll try to keep up, though I see you’ve brought notes and I’ve brought a napkin.

On behalf of [Spouse] and our whole family, thank you to [Bride’s parents’ names]. From the first dinner at your place, when you insisted we take home the leftovers, you’ve made us feel like family. We’re very lucky to share this with you.

When [Groom] was ten, he joined the under-11s football team. He wasn’t the fastest kid, or the most skilful. But every Saturday he was the first to the ground and the last to leave, because he’d stay behind to help the coach pack up the cones. Nobody asked him to. He just thought someone should.

He’s still that boy. He’s the one who stays to help. The one who notices when someone is carrying more than they should. I’ve watched him do it for his friends, his workmates and his family, and I’ve never been prouder of anything than I am of that.

[Partner], I’ll be honest: when [Groom] first told us about you, he talked for forty minutes without stopping. His mother and I looked at each other, and we knew. Then we met you, and we understood. You’re warm, you’re sharp and you laugh at his jokes, which is more than the rest of us do. More than that, we’ve seen how you look after each other. You’ve made our son happier than we’ve ever seen him.

So, on behalf of our whole family: welcome. You’re one of us now. That comes with a seat at Christmas lunch, a place in the family group chat, and a mother-in-law who will send you articles about superannuation. We love you already.

To both of you: stay on the same team, especially when it’s hard. That’s the whole secret.

Would you all please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

2. Funny father of the groom speech (about 3.5 minutes)

Good evening, everyone. I’m [Your name], the groom’s father. I was told this was an optional speech. My wife said it was “optional” in the same way that putting the bins out is optional. So here I am.

First, thank you to [Bride’s parents’ names] for hosting such a wonderful day, and for being so welcoming to our family, even after the engagement party, when our side ate all the party pies in the first twenty minutes.

I’d like to tell you a little about [Groom]. As a boy, he was curious. He took apart the toaster, the video player and, on one memorable occasion, the lawnmower. He put none of them back together. To this day, I’m not allowed to ask him to fix anything in our house.

As a teenager, he was a man of few words. Mostly “yep”, “nah” and “what’s for dinner”. So you can imagine our surprise when he met [Partner] and suddenly started using full sentences. Paragraphs, even. At one point he called his mother just to chat, and she thought something was wrong.

[Partner], you’ve done what we couldn’t in twenty-five years. He’s organised. He cooks. He owns a set of matching towels. We don’t know how you did it, but we’re grateful, and we’d like you to start on his father next.

In all seriousness, we couldn’t have hoped for a better person for our son. You’re kind, you’re clever and you make him laugh. Welcome to our family.

My advice, after [number] years of marriage: learn to say “you’re right”. You don’t have to mean it every time. But it helps.

Please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

3. Short father of the groom speech (about 90 seconds)

Good evening, everyone. I’m [Your name], [Groom]’s dad. I’ll keep this short, because the best man has been waiting all night and I don’t want to stand between him and his material.

Thank you, [Bride’s parents’ names], for a beautiful day, and for welcoming our family so warmly.

[Groom], you’ve always been a good man. Watching you today, with [Partner] beside you, I can see you’re also a very happy one. That’s all a father wants.

[Partner], welcome to our family. We’re so lucky to have you.

Please stand and raise your glasses. To [Groom] and [Partner].

If you want more options at this length, see our guide to short wedding speeches.

A line bank for the father of the groom

Opening lines (and more in our wedding speech opening lines guide)

• “I’m [Name], the groom’s father, or as I’ve been known for the last year, ‘the guy who pays for the bar tab’.”
• “I’ve been asked to keep this brief. I’ve been asked that my whole marriage.”
• “I was going to tell you some stories about [Groom] as a teenager, but his mother has asked me to stay married.”

About your son

• “He’s never been the loudest in the room, but he’s always the one you can count on.”
• “Everything good in him came from his mother. The stubbornness is mine.”
• “I taught him to kick a footy, change a tyre and pick a good melon. He taught himself the important stuff.”

Welcoming the new spouse

• “We’ve always wanted another daughter. We just didn’t expect one this organised.”
• “[Partner], you don’t just make him happy. You make him better.”
• “Welcome to the family. Like all families, we’re loud, we’re late and we love each other enormously.”

Advice

• “Never stop dating each other.”
• “Every day, find one thing to thank each other for.”

Toasts

• “To two families, now one.”
• “To [Groom] and [Partner]: may your home always be full.”

Delivery tips for the night

Microphone and notes

• Hold the mic a fist-width below your chin and keep it there. When you turn to address the couple, bring the mic with you.
• Print your speech in 16 to 18 point type on numbered A5 cards. Hold them in your free hand at chest height so you only drop your eyes, not your head.
• Do not tap the mic or ask “Is this on?”. Start with “Good evening” and let the MC or AV person adjust.
• At an outdoor or marquee reception, card is better than paper. Melbourne wind turns loose pages into a performance of its own.

Timing around the reception run sheet

• Confirm with the MC that you are on the run sheet, and where. Speeches commonly run between courses; our wedding run sheet guide shows typical timings.
• Because you follow the father of the bride, be ready to stand as soon as he raises his toast. A long gap between speakers is where a room loses focus.
• Make sure glasses are topped up before speeches, and save your second drink until after you have spoken.
• Run the speech out loud with a timer twice in the week before. If it is over four minutes, cut it.

Before and after the speeches

While every guest is seated for speeches, think about what else is happening in the room. If there is a photo booth, ask for it to pause during the formalities and make sure it is not directly behind the head table, so its lighting does not distract from the speakers. Once speeches end, it is a nice moment for both families to get a photo together; the booth’s face-detection printing gives everyone in the shot their own print.

The other tie-in is the message you did not say aloud. An audio guestbook is a vintage-style phone: guests pick up the handset, hear a greeting and leave a message after the beep, with no limit on length. After the speeches, a minute on the phone welcoming your son’s partner in your own words, or telling your son the thing that would have made you choke up on the mic, is a message the couple can replay for years.

A baby blue audio guestbook phone with its instruction sign on a marble table.

The phone comes in white, black, beige, baby blue, red and pink, with a personalised greeting pre-loaded in your voice or ours, so it can sit with the wedding styling rather than against it.

The red phone option, set up with the standard arched instruction sign.

If you are helping your son and his partner choose between guest keepsakes, our guide comparing audio guestbooks, photo booths and traditional guestbooks breaks down the differences.

Common father of the groom speech mistakes

• Competing with the father of the bride. You are the second parent speech. Keep it shorter and do not repeat his thanks or jokes.
• Telling the best man’s stories. Check with him first so you are not both telling the same school camp story.
• Forgetting the bride’s family. Name them. A generic thank-you sounds like you could not remember.
• Making it about your son only. The welcome to his new spouse is the heart of this speech.
• Embarrassing childhood stories. Gentle is fine. Bath-time photos and teenage heartbreak are not.
• Speaking without being asked. If you are not on the run sheet, the couple’s toast is not the time to add yourself.

The rest of the speeches

Pass these on to the other speakers: the mother of the bride speech, best man speech examples, groom speech examples and bride speech examples. For the bridesmaids, our maid of honour speech template and examples and maid of honour speech for a best friend are good places to start. And if you are still choosing a card message, see our wedding wishes for a son.

Planning a Melbourne wedding? Ghost Booth Events provides photo booths, audio guestbooks and wedding signage across Greater Melbourne. Share your date and venue on our enquiry page and we will come back with options.

Father of the groom speech questions