I'd love my mum to give a speech on the wedding day but she's nervous. Any advice?
Firstly, reassure your mum that we work with lots of mothers (both of the bride, and increasingly, the groom's) so it's no longer unusual to see a mum on the mic. Whether your mum is standing in for your father, speaking in addition to him or your dad isn't part of the picture, we generally find mothers have a lot to say!
In terms of getting your mum excited at the prospect of delivering a speech, rather than dreading it, send her a few blog posts to show her how simple writing her speech can be. There's lots of helpful templates and speech examples online that will give her inspiration and increase her confidence. Writing a mother of the bride speech is similar to a father's. Brainstorm ideas (and get other family members involved), pick out the best stories and then pull it all together.
A good wedding speech is always under 1,300 words but there's really no minimum, so make sure your mum doesn't feel undue pressure to fill up her ten minutes on the mic. Sometimes just one or two anecdotes will be all a mum really needs to sum up a lifetime of love. Generally, a mother of the bride speech should...
Get the audience smiling (ideally laughing along)
Provide an insight into the bride's younger years
Pay a heartfelt tribute to the woman she is today
Welcome her partner to the family and express your joy in the union
Raise a toast to their future life together
My top tip for feeling more confident on the day is to make sure you have some early humour scripted into the speech. It doesn't have to be a one-liner worthy of Peter Kay, just something a bit fun and jovial. Once you get everyone laughing, you'll immediately feel more relaxed.
Remind your mum that she doesn't need to be formal or stuffy. Maybe suggest she exploits your siblings or her trusted friends to help her work on those crucial ice-breakers. Of course, she can find plenty of ideas online but ideally, you don't want any cut and paste gags. Is there any fun to be had in the wedding venue, or how long it took you to plan your wedding? Maybe she can utilise some self-deprecating humour and add a funny line about having the public speaking skills of a wheelie bin!
Once your mum's convinced she's written a good speech, she'll naturally feel more confident about delivering it. Ultimately, make sure she knows that no matter what she says, you'll be very proud of her.
New app launches to simplify one of marriage’s biggest admin headaches
Changing your name after marriage can mean updating details with countless organisations, from banks and subscriptions to official documents and employers. New app Name Change Navigator aims to make the process easier, guiding newlyweds through each step from one platform. Founded by Rebecca Dainton, Head of Product at Flutter UK & Ireland, the app was created to reduce the stress and mental load associated with name changes. It supports a range of naming journeys, including traditional surname changes, double-barrelling, blended surnames and other choices following marriage, civil partnership, divorce or personal identity changes. The launch comes as younger generations increasingly rethink traditional naming conventions, with technology offering a more streamlined approach to this often-overlooked part of newlywed life.
READ ARTICLE
Flawsome! reveals 81% of Brits say weddings don't need to be perfect to be memorable
Growing frustration with wedding perfection culture is reshaping how couples plan their big day, with sustainability, guest experience and authenticity becoming increasingly important, according to new research from Flawsome!. A national study of 2,000 UK adults found that 81% believe a wedding does not need to be perfect to be memorable, while 71% say social media has increased pressure on couples to create a "perfect" day. Sustainability is also becoming a key consideration, with 52% saying it is important when planning a wedding. Yet wedding waste remains widespread, with 41% of respondents having seen food and drink thrown away at weddings, while 32% recalled single-use decorations being discarded and more than a quarter had seen flowers go to waste.
READ ARTICLE
Something borrowed, something blue’ is out – but 1 in 4 Brits still value wedding cards
New research from Moonpig reveals the top wedding card writing confessions. A whopping 30% of Brits admit to defaulting to a safe "congratulations!" because they simply can't think of anything else to say. This is followed by recycling the same message for different couples (11%) and signing a card without knowing what your partner has written (8%). What's more, when stuck for words, one in 10 (8%) admit to turning to AI for inspiration - this rises to one in seven (14%) among 25–34-year-olds. Brits are not alone in facing this wedding card conundrum. More than half of Brits (55%) admit they have struggled with at least one aspect of wedding message writing. Nearly one in four find wedding cards (23%) or guest-book messages (24%) difficult, while one in five (20%) hit writer's block when preparing the all-important wedding speech.
READ ARTICLE
The YouGov Big Survey on Weddings
The journey that begins with "will you marry me" and ends with "I do" transforms a couple's lives in multiple ways, but it also involves a huge number of decisions, as planning a wedding is no mean feat. Every guest will have an opinion on what a wedding should be like: from what's classy and tacky, to which traditions should be followed and which can be discarded. To help prospective couples get a grip on what these potential guests hope to see in a wedding, YouGov's new Big Survey on Weddings examines all these key debates about what should and shouldn't feature on the big day, including looking at the decisions that brides and grooms would make themselves. The study is part a Big Surveys project: a series of in-depth surveys on British society. It was conducted between 7-9 August 2026, with a sample of 1,784 adults in the UK aged 18 and above.
