Paste your draft to see how long it runs, checked against the right length for your role. Then stand up and read it against the stopwatch. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere.
Target: 600 to 900 words
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words
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spoken at 150 words a minute
Read it out loud
Stand up and read at the pace you will use on the day. Leave room for laughs and pauses.
No draft yet? Talk through your stories and get one at the right length.
Write my speechMost people speak at about 150 words a minute at a wedding, a little slower than in conversation. These are the ranges the timer checks against.
| Role | Minutes | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Best man | 4 to 6 | 600 to 900 |
| Maid of honor | 3 to 5 | 450 to 750 |
| Father of the bride | 3 to 5 | 450 to 750 |
| Groom | 3 to 5 | 450 to 750 |
| Bride | 3 to 5 | 450 to 750 |
| Mother of the bride | 2 to 4 | 300 to 600 |
| Father of the groom | 2 to 4 | 300 to 600 |
| Mother of the groom | 2 to 4 | 300 to 600 |
| Bridesmaid, sibling or friend | 2 to 3 | 300 to 450 |
| A short toast | 1 to 2 | 150 to 300 |
When in doubt, go shorter. The full reasoning by role is in our guide to wedding speech length by role, with separate pages for the best man, maid of honor and father of the bride.
Reading silently is faster than speaking and will tell you a speech is a minute shorter than it is. Read it standing, at the pace you will use on the day, and add a few seconds for every line you expect to get a laugh. If the stopwatch runs past your range, cut a story rather than speeding up.
What do guests actually want? In YouGov's 2026 survey, three to four minutes was the most popular ideal length. More sourced numbers are in our wedding speech statistics.