Nobody warns you about this bit when you're planning a wedding, but speech timing quietly shapes the whole tone of your reception. Get it right and everyone relaxes into the evening. Get it wrong and you can end up with a room full of people who've barely tasted their starter, or a best man who's spent an entire three-course meal too nervous to eat a thing.
Our honest, tested advice is to get the speeches done right at the start — as guests are walking in and taking their seats, before the meal properly begins. It sounds counterintuitive if you've been to weddings where speeches happen after the plates are cleared, but think about it from the speech-givers' side: if they know the speech is still ahead of them, they'll spend the entire meal picking at their food, running lines in their head, and not actually enjoying the day. Get it out of the way early and your dad, your best man, your maid of honour can all sit down afterwards and genuinely relax through their meal, rather than white-knuckling their way through three courses.
Nobody has ever left a wedding wishing the speeches had gone on longer. A few well-chosen minutes each, focused on one or two genuine stories rather than a full biography, lands far better than a rambling twenty-minute tribute — for the room, and for whoever's stood up there holding the microphone. We'd rather film three tight, funny, heartfelt speeches than one that runs so long people start checking their phones. If in doubt, cut it down. Short and sincere beats long and meandering every time.
The other version we'd gently steer you away from is breaking speeches up between courses — one after starters, one after mains, that sort of thing. It sounds like it might keep energy up, but in practice it just stalls the meal service, leaves food going cold while everyone waits, and stretches what should be a warm, contained moment into something that drags across an hour or more. Pick one point, get through them together, and let the rest of the meal and evening flow properly after that.
If you're planning your day and want a second opinion on timings — speeches, first dance, golden hour, all of it — we're always happy to talk it through with you.