Wedding speech
A wedding speech is an oral communication that is given on the occasion of a marriage as part of the celebrations. The wedding speech belongs to the genre of ceremonial speeches. The addressee is usually not just the bride and groom , but the entire wedding party. The subject of the wedding speech varies with the person of the speaker as well as the respective culture and religion . Typical contents are blessings for the bridal couple, explanations about the marriage, advice and - often funny - anecdotes about the bride and groom. Wisdoms of life and quotes are often woven into the speeches.
history
Even in pre-Christian Egypt, wedding speeches were held and associated with gifts to the gods. The ancient Greeks also knew the wedding speech as a sub-genre of the so-called epideixis or epideictic speech, which Aristotle treated in his famous rhetoric in the fourth century BC.
Wedding speeches are also discussed in the text "About epideictic speeches" by the rhetor Menander , which dates from the third century AD. Wedding speeches by various authors from late antiquity - for example the pagan Himerios and the Christian Chorikios of Gaza from the fourth and sixth centuries - have been handed down in Greek. The wedding speech is related to the classic epithalamion , which is an occasional poem performed at wedding celebrations - often chorally.
Speakers and topics
While wedding speeches were originally written and given primarily by professional speakers, today it is mainly people who have a certain connection with the bride and groom who act as speakers. In theory, any member of the wedding party can deliver a wedding speech. Most often, however, the fathers of the bride and groom give a speech in which they greet the spouse of their child in the family. In addition, it is appropriate to name positive characteristics of the child and the new partner as examples. This is how the parents show what they appreciate about the bride and groom. The bride's father's speech is often seen as a symbolic act with which he hands his daughter over to the groom. Groomsmen or close friends often talk about funny anecdotes from the life of the bride or groom and discuss getting to know the bride and groom. The wedding speech of the new husband usually contains a declaration of love for his wife and words of thanks to the guests. It used to be uncommon for women to give wedding speeches in many regions, with the UK being an exception. In the course of emancipation, the number of wedding speakers has also increased in other countries.
Order of wedding speakers
The order of the speakers is clearly regulated. The wedding speech of the bride's father or mother of the bride comes first. Then the father or mother of the groom speaks. Then groomsmen, family members and friends talk. The bride and groom have the final word: A quick thank you to the speakers, the guests, the parents and friends who hosted the party.
Often, however, the groom wants to do more than just say thank you. He wants to honor his bride with a speech of his own. The timing of this public declaration of love depends on who else is speaking besides him. As a gentleman, he lets the bride's parents and his own parents go first. Then he speaks himself. Afterwards groomsmen or friends can come up with their wedding speeches and toasts.
literature
- Josef Kopperschmidt (Hrsg.): Fest und Festrhetorik: On the theory, history and practice of epideictics. Fink, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-7705-3376-3 .
- Sabine Horstmann: The Epithalamium in the Latin literature of late antiquity. Saur, Munich / Leipzig 2004, ISBN 3-598-77809-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b aragia.com. In: www.aragia.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016 .
- ↑ Manfred Fuhrmann: The ancient rhetoric: An introduction. 2nd Edition. Patmos, Düsseldorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-491-69141-4 , pp. 81ff.
- ↑ Sabine Horstmann: The Epithalamium in the Latin literature of late antiquity. Saur, Munich / Leipzig 2004, p. 88.
- ↑ Structure of a wedding speech. on: sprueche.com