For the fourth part of my favourites from 2012 (you can see the previous parts at these links: Getting Ready, Ceremonies and Couples & Cocktails), I’m showing some of my top picks from the speeches.

Before I embarked on my photography career, as a wedding guest, I always used to look forward to the speeches – and now, as someone who has seen a very large number, it’s still the same: I really look forward to them! The belly laughs, the hands-in-face shame, the embarrassed cringes, the tears – just so much emotion to capture; I love it.

On a personal note – and this is quite soppy, I hold my hands up – but, since having a baby daughter last year (who’s just about to turn one; can’t believe how quickly last year went!), I can’t help but feel pretty emotional during the Father of the Bride speeches; they make me flash forward twenty or so years, to a time where I may be doing a speech about my own daughter – ah, very soppy, I know!

This year’s speeches included some truly unforgettable moments, such as Ben’s best man doing his speech in song (using re-worked lyrics to the tune of Michael Jackson’s ‘Ben’ – so funny!), Kelly’s dad regaling everyone with how his daughter was named after an ‘adult magazine’ star (and then presenting the magazine in question!), Nick’s brother and best man presenting an evidence pack of the groom’s diaries, Steve’s best man showing everyone the groom’s old modelling portfolio, speeches outside in the gorgeous Rosevine gardens, and Charlie & Mike’s wedding which featured no less than 9 different speeches, to name just a few!

So, without further ado, here are some of my 2012 Speeches personal favourites:

Looking forward to many more speeches in 2013!

If you enjoyed this selection, you may be interested in seeing the other parts of my 2012 review: Part 1: Getting Ready, Part 2: The Cermony, and Part 3: Couples and Cocktails. The fifth and final part is now also live, this time focusing on The Party.