Should we do wedding speeches at the reception or rehearsal dinner?
Couples often get stuck trying to choose between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception for toasts, especially when worrying about guest fatigue or whether speakers will feel comfortable in front of a large crowd. Some even consider skipping speeches entirely to avoid awkwardness. The core challenge is balancing traditional moments with keeping the event relaxed and engaging for everyone.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Splitting the speeches between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception
- 2Moving all speeches to the rehearsal dinner
- 3Limiting the number of speeches and keeping them very short
- 4Skipping speeches entirely or having the bride and groom just say a few words and thank everyone.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Personally don’t see either Best man or MOH being really strong speakers in front of 175 guests. Are speeches really necessary? thoughts on a “no speech wedding”?”source ↗
“I am stuck between doing my wedding speeches at my wedding vs my rehearsal dinner.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 6When is it too early to send save the dates?
- 2How to write a non-religious wedding ceremony script from scratch
- 3How to balance humor and reading a best man speech off your phone
- 5Will the wedding processional song be long enough for a long aisle?