Being a close-up magician I perform at a LOT of weddings, sometimes 4 in the same week. The speeches are usually a time for me to have a break from performing, or to sit back and be entertained by the best man telling embarrassing stories about the groom.

When planning weddings, couples don't often realise there are a few mistakes they can easily avoid which will greatly help one of the most anticipated moments of the day. Here are the 6 wedding speech mistakes to avoid.

Mistake 1: The Time Of Speeches

For the sake of the food cravings of your guests it is good to have the speeches after dessert rather than before the meal. Hungry guests are restless during speeches and want the speaker to finish quickly so they get fed. This makes it harder for the person speaking as they can often sense this vibe in the audience, fed people are much more receptive. The only exception to this rule would be when one of the speakers has severe nerves, in this situation the couple will sometimes have the speeches before the meal so the speaker can enjoy the meal rather than it being a time for the nerves to build.

Mistake 2: Poor Audio

Some venues have no speaker system or one that is not fit for purpose. It's a shame when the people on the back table can't hear what is being said. It's wise to check the venue's sound system is sufficient for everyone to hear, and if not you can always make alternative PA arrangements (for example with your DJ).

Mistake 3: Looong Speeches

It is best to give each speaker a STRICT time limit of 10 minutes per speech. People have a short attention span and three speeches lasting this time will total 30 minutes, which is just right for the audience (there is a reason TED talks are 18 minutes!). Make sure each speaker has practised their speech and checked the timings. In addition to keeping the day on schedule, a strict time limit should force the speakers to be more concise and focus on the gold material and cut out waffle, less is more!

Mistake 4: Untested Speeches

Very important for the best man! Make sure each person speaking has run their speech by one or two people beforehand for feedback. Not only will this help them check the running time when spoken, it will alert them to anything that should be removed. There have been weddings where the best man has been told off by the bride for the speech content, you really don't want that kind of drama on your wedding day.

Mistake 5: Extras In Speeches

Remember people have short attention spans, if there are videos messages to play do it at a separate time from the speeches. I would suggest telling those doing the speeches to avoid using flip charts, powerpoint presentations and excessive props (an odd prop for a gag can work, but too many is overkill). The person speaking usually thinks these things will add something but in my opinion 90% of the time makes the speech dull as the person waffles through a presentation. If a speaker is in the 10% where this approach works well, then they will know this by testing it first and seeing what feedback they get (see 4).

Mistake 6: Not Having A Magician

This is a shameless plug for my services. When I perform table-to-table magic at weddings it invariably leads to audible reactions such as cheering, screams (the good kind) and laughter. When guests hear these audible reactions from other tables it creates a very positive atmosphere in the room and people get excited waiting for the magician to come to them. This gets the speeches off to a great start as the the crowd is in very high spirits from having seen the magic performed. Think of the magician as a warm up act before the speeches.

At most weddings I go to the speeches are a very special time for people. I have heard amazing speeches that have not followed all these tips, so the advice here is just general thoughts and not definitive, but I hope they are useful as you plan for your big day.