Your London Wedding - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 68)

SPEAK UP I’m not a natural public speaker and I really want to nail my wedding speech. Any advice? Laurence says : For many of us, the prospect of speaking at a wedding can ruin the entire build-up, not to mention the day itself. Unsurprisingly, there’s a growing demand for help from professional speechwriters. Here are my top tips: ❤ BE RELEVANT We’ve all heard a classic ‘cut and paste’ wedding speech and seen a sheepish best man recite jokes that he sourced online. Relevance means writing about the bride or groom in a way that could only be about them. For example, a best man wanted to talk about how often the groom got into trouble growing-up. It turned-out that he loved cartoons as a child and still wears his red and black school rugby shirt, so we suggested a theme that compared him to Dennis the Menace. That was relevant and fun – the speech went down a storm. ❤ MAKE IT HEARTFELT – BUT NOT TOO MUCH! Speak from the heart! Don’t be afraid to show vulnerability and remember that your guests will have invested their time and money in being with you – and this is an opportunity to demonstrate that it’s worth it. But please inject some humour to provide some much-needed balance. ❤ BE CLEAR You can write the best speech in the world but you still have to deliver it. Rehearse it out loud, becoming familiar with your words and emotions. Practice breathing slowly and looking your audience in the eye. Edit the words until they become punchy and easy to deliver. Clarity is crucial to an audience. ❤ SEEK PROFESSIONAL ADVICE You’re not expected to bake your own cake or sew your own dress so why write the speech alone? Speechwriters take all your anecdotes and ideas and craft them into an eloquent speech that retains your voice. If delivery isn’t your thing either, you can also hire a delivery coach. Meet the experts: Laurence Bernstein is director and senior writer of Great Speech Writing. Great Speech Writing | greatspeechwriting.co.uk | 020 8245 8999 PASS IT ON Why would I have to pay inheritance tax when paying for my child’s wedding? What has it got to do with the government? Martin says: Inheritance tax (IHT) is an undoubtedly emotive and political subject. But the simple fact is that, should you give a gift to someone and die within seven years, the government counts it as inheritance and will potentially want a slice of that value. This includes things like paying for other’s weddings. Proponents argue that, without inheritance tax, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. They argue that taxing people on their inheritance redistributes income and helps society as a whole. Those who are against it say that it is a financial fact that inheritance tax is a double tax i.e. you are being taxed on something that has already been taxed previously. Moreover, opponents say it’s a basic human right to pay or contribute to your child/ grandchild’s wedding, which the state should have no say in. Meet the experts: Martin Brieger runs not-for-profit, London-based website, inheritancetaxguru.co.uk Inheritance Tax Guru | inheritancetaxguru.co.uk | 020 8432 2913 alicethecamera.co.uk EXPERT ADVICE 107