Heart-warmingly Hilarious: 20 Brilliant Wedding Speech Photos

Cringe-worthy, tear-jerking and hysterical – a spectrum of emotions span the classic moment of a wedding speech. Some dread it; others can’t wait to have their moment in the spotlight. Here are 20 brilliant examples of the speechshot, to help calm pre-speech jitters

1. Cardiff City Hall Wedding by F5 Photography – Rahul Khona

“Gaurav was talking to his beautiful bride Mukti at this point in his speech, and I quickly ran around to capture a frame to reflect this,”says Rahul of F5 Photography. “Although she was getting emotional, I wanted to capture the love that Gaurav had for his wife, and I think this frame totally shows this. I loved shooting this wedding, as they smiled throughout the day at each other.”

2. A Cheshire Peckforton Castle Wedding by ARJ Photography

“This image just makes me smile and captures the essence of this couple, Caroline and Dan’s Peckforton Castle wedding in Cheshire and Caroline’s dad too,”explains Adam Johnson. “Dan, the groom, is one of the genuinely funniest people I’ve ever met. Caroline’s dad Brian was the life and soul all day long, and to have Caroline in the middle of this moment just loving everything that’s happening around her summed it up perfectly for me. It fits my ‘tell the story in one image’mantra perfectly. I love this ‘awkward turtle’moment!”

3. A Cheshire Arley Hall Wedding by Adam Riley Photography

“I prefer to show some of the emotion of the speeches where possible,”says Adam. “I like this image as it shows the joy and unity between the two families. As the best man sings a song and the bridal party cheer and sing along with him – it was an amazing atmosphere.”

4. A Knutsford Wedding in Cheshire by Albert Palmer Photography

“Taken at a wedding in Knutsford, Cheshire, this is a shot of Georgie and Ben hugging during his speech,”explains Albert. “Almost anything can happen during a wedding speech. I think I’ve witnessed every emotion on the spectrum. I love how it’s easy to see how tightly they are both hugging. His cheek on her shoulder being the biggest giveaway.”

5. A York Wedding by Andy Gaines

“As with most documentary photography it is all about having the patience to pick your spot and wait it out for the moments to fall into place,”says Andy Gaines. “Like here, as Chelsey’s bridesmaid reads out a letter from family who weren't able to make their wedding in York from overseas.”

6. A London Royal Society of Arts Wedding by Ben Joseph Photography

“This picture was taken during the father of the bride speech. The venue is the Royal Society of Arts in Central London. I like the energy within the shot and the composition,”photographer Ben Joseph says. “The focus is on the bride who is obviously enjoying what is being said by her dad. It’s important that you can see the hands and the paper, giving the picture an obvious reference point for the wedding day.”

7. A Kent Marle Place Wedding by Jackson & Co Photography

“We love wedding speeches. Absolutely love them,”say Michael and Hannah of Jackson & Co Photography. “Tessa and Patrick had already had a wedding day at Marle Place stuffed full of laughter but come the speeches and some particularly funny photos of Patrick on his stag do, (we won’t say what he was doing). Tessa’s reaction just summed it all up perfectly.”

8. A Hertfordshire Moor Park Wedding by Kristian Leven Photography

“Sometimes it isn't all in the faces when photographing the speeches –I'm always on the look out for subtle nuances in body language that really show what people are feeling,”Kristian reveals. “For me, this moment says it all as Mahsan's father clasps her hand with both of his, as his new son-in-law speaks about her during their Moor Park wedding.”

9. A Four Seasons Wedding in Singapore by CG Weddings by the Crawleys

“This frame was created at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore,”say the Crawleys. “One of the most challenging things about being a wedding photographer is being creative in your documentary work. Things move very quickly at weddings, moments come and go in a split second and we must capture them in a way that is visually interesting to the viewer. We like this image for this reason –a nervous moment during the chief bridesmaid’s speech captured in a way that holds the viewers attention.”

10. A London Horniman Conservatory Wedding by Lorenzo Photography

“This is one of my favourite speech photos taken at the Horniman Conservatory in south London,”Lorenzo recalls. “The best man’s speech should be moving, occasionally embarrassing and definitely entertaining. This speech did it all for me and I just love the bride and groom’s reaction as they collapse into each other in embarrassed laughter as their guests share their pain. Such a cheery moment to remember.”

11.  A Norfolk Wedding at The Kings Head in Letheringsett by Lyndsey Goddard Photography

“Many speeches take place at some point during the wedding breakfast, often in low light and usually with other members of the top table visible in the photo,”Lyndsey says. “This photo features newlyweds Amy and Dan, whose wedding speeches took place outside at The Kings Head pub in Letheringsett, Norfolk on a hot August afternoon. It's a tender moment, featuring just the two of them as he gave a speech directly to her in front of all their guests. Moments later they both cried and hugged, but this is taken in the seconds before as the emotion was building.”

12. A London Wedding Reception on a Cruise on the River Thames by Matt Tyler Photography

“Ivan and Tony got married in London and then had their wedding reception on a river cruise along the Thames,”Matt Tyler remembers. “It was such a good day full of love, emotion and fun. The speeches were a very poignant moment of the day –there were tears and cheers throughout them all. I feel this photo encapsulates all of that.”

13. A High School Chapel Wedding in Hertfordshire by Miki Photography

“Jen and Adam got married in their high school chapel in Hertfordshire as they as that’s where they met during their school days,”says Miki. “There was a lovely vibe to the day, the whole idea of this couple who had met while at school and were now getting married there surrounded by a lot of family and friends who also attended. So you can imagine the wealth of history Adam’s best man had on him. I love this shot as it’s where he’s describing one of Adam’s many misdemeanours. The look on Jen’s face in stark contrast to how proud Adam is about it says it all I think.”

14. A Lancashire Stanley House Wedding by Neil Redfern Photography

“I can’t disclose what Paul the groom had just said in this shot at Stanley House in Lancashire,”says Neil. “I can say it was very funny to everyone except maybe his new father-in-law, hence why Hayley the bride is looking so embarrassed and her sister Hayley is covering hers dad’s ears. I just love all the expressions in this shot, it always makes me laugh.”

15. A Cotswolds Cripps Barn Wedding by Rik Pennington Photography

“There's not much to say about this picture other than the sheer emotion that's going into making the speech truly animated,”Rik says. “I like the perspective from behind as it leaves something to the imagination and the emotion is in the body language of the speaker. The reactions speak for themselves.”

16. A Bristol Coombe Lodge Wedding by Sam Gibson Photography

“The speeches are a great time during the wedding day for creative documentary to really shine –here you can see Rob’s nervous smile as his best man starts to deliver his speech,”says Sam. “I think he got off fairly lightly in the end, but at this point the nerves are clearly visible. This was a beautiful autumnal wedding at Coombe Lodge, just outside Bristol.”

17. A Cotswolds Stone Barn Wedding by Samuel Docker Photography

“A huge part of my love for photography is that an image can transport you back –it can make you feel as though you’re there, or still there for that matter,”Samuel Docker says. “And when I look at this image of Akanksha’s dad delivering his speech at Cripps Stone Barn in the Cotswolds, I can’t help but smile and remember how much laughter was in the room.”   

18. A Somerset Babington House Wedding by Stephen Bunn Photography

“This image was taken at Faye and James’s Babington House wedding, during the father-of-the-bride’s speech,”explains Stephen. “We glimpse the moment the groom wipes a quick tear from his eye.”

19. A Lancashire Shireburn Arms Wedding by Lawson Photography

“Speeches are probably my favourite part of any wedding. There's so much laughter and expression packed in to 30 or so minutes, it's hard to go wrong (photographically that is; it doesn't apply to the best man). This is towards the end of the father-of-the- bride's speech. I love everything about how these guys are reacting: the dad enjoying the response of the audience, the groom smiling through the shame, and the bride with one hand clutched to her chest in laughter, and the other reassuringly placed on the groom's shoulder.”

20. A Papakata Teepee Wedding by York Place Studios

“Speeches are some of our favourite times to capture wedding moments, as there are always some awesome expressions to be had,”say Liam and Dominique of York Place Studios. “We always find that Papakata weddings seem to be full of life and fun, and Laura and Tom’s wedding was certainly no exception to the rule. We love how each person in this photograph is framed and the explosion of laughter from a particularly inspired section of the speech.”

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