Weddings are a celebration of all things love and romance. The air is full of magic and excitement. Family and friends come together to rejoice and take part in the union of two young people in love. Everyone loves a wedding, the beautiful dresses and men in tuxedos take us back to a different era where gentility and sophistication was the norm.

As the father of the bride you can expect to experience a range of emotions. First and foremost happiness, of course, but you may be feeling a little sad as well. Your little girl is all grown up and has become a woman ready to begin her life with another. The role of number one man in her life will be passed to her husband.

Father of the bride speeches are a wonderful time to show your daughter that you accept the fact she has matured to be a lady and you are prepared to let her go. It is a great time to welcome your soon to be son-in-law into to the family as well. A father of the bride speech is generally warm and sweet with a little wit and humor mixed in. Your daughter will appreciate and expect a little light teasing of her groom as well as some stories of the younger years. Be heartfelt in your speech and make it memorable. If you allow your heart to guide you your speech will turn out great.

A father of the bride speech is expected to be sentimental, sweet and warm. You are walking you little girl down the aisle toward the beginning of a brand new chapter in her life. You must come to accept that your role in your little girl's life will be drastically different.

You can begin your speech with sweet stories of your daughter's childhood, nothing that may be inappropriate. You certainly don't want to embarrass your daughter on such a special day. Memories of times you shared together when she was young are appropriate as well as stories of firsts in her life and how you felt to watch her grow. You can add a little twist of humor by mentioning a trying moment in her teen years that you now look back on fondly, or a funny moment in her adolescence. Wrap up this part of your speech by letting your daughter know how special she has been in your life and what an honor it has been to be her father.

When it comes to the matter of your new son in law you can have a little bit of fun in your speech, but don't be heavy handed. It is expected that there will be some light teasing and good natured ribbing of your new son-in-law and everyone will be prepared for it. When you finish giving your son in law a hard time make sure you end with a compliment. Acknowledge his love and care for your daughter and give him a good welcome into your family.

Give yourself plenty of time to prepare for your father of the bride speech. Once written, practice your speech often and read it out loud. Reading it aloud will prepare you to give your speech on the special day, and enable you to identify areas in your speech that you may want to rewrite. Read your speech for other people and ask for their input. Before starting your speech take a little time to relax and gather yourself. Make sure you speak clearly and slowly so everyone will be able to understand your words. Take a moment to enjoy this moment. Your daughter's love will be shining in her face as you give a father of the bride speech she's going to cherish for the rest of her life.