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Speech and reading planner
Decide who speaks and who reads, in what order and for how long, and see roughly how long each draft will take to say out loud.
Your speeches and readings
- Speeches
- 0
- Planned time
- 0 minutes
- Estimated from drafts
- —
- Ceremony readings
- 0
Speeches
In speaking order. Five to ten minutes per speech is a good rule of thumb; brief each speaker on their slot and who they're toasting.
A common guide is no more than about half an hour in total.
A rough estimate for an unhurried pace, not a fact. Time a read-through out loud and adjust it to match.
No speeches yet. Add your first speaker below, or start from the traditional order and change it to suit you.
With more than four speakers, it's worth asking each one to keep it short.
Need a starting point? The traditional UK order is the father of the bride (or whoever is hosting), then the groom, then the best man, each ending with a toast. It's a tradition, not a rule: many couples now add a speech from the bride, give a joint speech, include a maid of honour, or have a parent or grandparent speak instead.
Ceremony readings
In a civil ceremony in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, readings can't be religious, and registrars will usually want to see them in advance. In a religious ceremony, your officiant will guide you on what's flexible. The guide to order of service, vows and readings has popular readings to start from.
No readings yet. Add one below when you have an idea, even if you haven't chosen a reader.
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How to use the speech and reading planner
- Add your speakers in speaking order, with a name, a role or both. If you're not sure where to start, add the traditional order and change, reorder or remove whatever doesn't fit your family and friends.
- Give each speech a target length in minutes, and set an overall target if you have one. The totals at the top tell you, in words, when the plan runs over.
- Use the notes for what each speaker is covering and who they're toasting, so everyone knows when to raise a glass.
- Paste or write a draft to see its word count and roughly how long it will take to say. Change the speaking pace if a read-through out loud comes out faster or slower.
- Add the ceremony readings, and move each one through the stages as you choose it, ask a reader, and check it with your registrar or officiant.
- Print the running order for whoever is introducing the speakers, copy it into a message, or download a CSV.
A worked example
Example
Priya and Tom plan four speeches: Priya's mum, who is hosting, with a target of 8 minutes; Tom, 6 minutes; Priya, 5 minutes; and Tom's sister as maid of honour, 7 minutes. That's 26 minutes against their overall target of 30, so the planner shows 4 minutes to spare.
Tom pastes in his draft. At 910 words and 130 words a minute it comes out at about 7 minutes, a minute over his target, so he trims about 130 words. When he times himself reading it aloud, he's a little slower than the estimate, so they set the pace to 120 words a minute. That puts his 780 words at about 6½ minutes, which he decides is close enough.
For the ceremony they choose two readings: Sonnet 116, read by Tom's grandad, and "Union" by Robert Fulghum, read by a friend. Both are marked "Checked with registrar or officiant" once the registrar has seen them.
Tips for speeches and readings
- Brief every speaker on their time slot and who they're toasting. A speech that runs twenty minutes is nearly always remembered for the wrong reasons.
- Read drafts out loud. A word count is a useful guide, but a timed read-through is the real test, for vows and readings as well as speeches.
- Give readers their text well in advance, and print a copy for them on the day.
- Decide when the speeches happen, before, during or after the meal, and tell your speakers and your caterer. The wedding breakfast guide explains how they fit into the afternoon.
- Ask someone to introduce each speaker and keep things moving, whether that's a toastmaster, the venue's coordinator or a confident friend, and check there's a working microphone.
Speaking times here are estimates from word counts. They don't account for pauses, laughter or toasts, so leave a little room in the day's schedule.
Where your information is kept
Your speakers, readings, notes and drafts are saved in this browser only, using local storage. They're never sent to this site or anyone else. Drafts are left out of the CSV download, the printed running order and the copied text, so they stay private unless you choose to share them.
Clearing your browser's data for this site, or using a private window, removes it. To keep a copy or move it to another device, use Your planner data to download a backup.
Questions people ask
- How is the speaking time worked out?
By dividing the number of words in a draft by a speaking pace, 130 words a minute unless you change it, then rounding to the nearest half minute. It's a rough guide for an unhurried pace, not a measurement: everyone speaks at a different speed, and pauses, laughter and toasts all add time. Time a read-through out loud, then adjust the pace until the estimate matches.
- Do we have to follow the traditional order of speeches?
No. The traditional order (the father of the bride or whoever is hosting, then the groom, then the best man) is a starting point, not a rule. Plenty of couples add a speech from the bride, give a joint speech, include a maid of honour, or ask a parent or grandparent to speak instead. The guide to drinks and toasts covers the options.
- How long should the speeches be?
A good rule of thumb is five to ten minutes per speech, and no more than about half an hour for all the speeches together. If you have more than four speakers, keep each one short. Set an overall target in the planner and it will tell you if the target lengths, or the drafts so far, add up to more.
- Can we have a religious reading in a civil ceremony?
Not in England, Wales or Northern Ireland: civil ceremonies there can include readings, songs and music, but nothing religious. Registrars will usually want to see your readings in advance, so check anything you're unsure about. In a religious ceremony, your officiant will guide you on what's flexible. See order of service, vows and readings for popular secular readings.
- Can a speaker write their draft here?
Yes, but it's saved only in the browser it was typed in, so it's best for the person writing the speech to use their own device. A draft can be up to 20,000 characters. To keep a copy, select the text and copy it into a document, or download a backup from Your planner data.