What is as reliable as rain on a Saturday at Lords, as constant as time and as inevitable as toast falling butter-side down? It’s the thousands of bridegrooms-to-be who each year look forward to making their wedding speech with as much relish as they would a visit from the Inland Revenue or an appointment with the dentist.

Fear not, help is at hand! This essential little handbook is written especially and exclusively for the ‘trepid’ bridegroom. It will show you how to prepare and present a unique, relevant and memorable speech that includes just the right balance of emotion, sincerity and humour. And it will supply you with a rich selection of stories, jokes and quotations you may wish to use or adapt.

Times and manners change, but human nature and the human condition do not. Don’t be embarrassed about being emotionally honest and patently sincere. What can make your speech gripping is the potential to involve the guests on a subjective level, to make them empathise with your deepest feelings and – most importantly – to forge a bond between them and you.