There comes a time in every man’s life when the dreaded preparation and delivery of a wedding speech has to be dealt with – it will happen when you get married, if you are the father of the bride or one of the unlucky gaggle of best friends who get picked for duty at a wedding.

The problem is you have to deliver a diplomatic speech which will tickle everyone and offend no-one, which is suitable for children’s ears and still engages the grown-ups and which may test your friendship and relationship with the bride, groom, family and significant others but is definitely not supposed to break it.

The best rule is to try to keep it clean – ribaldry is fine, but try to keep the smut to a minimum!

You can start sketching out your speech around a few short jokes – try this:

Q. Do you think marriage is a lottery?

A. No – with a lottery you stand a small chance!

Clean and humorous and no-one is realistically going to get upset or have their feelings hurt.

It’s best to stay away from something like, “Marriage is the chief cause of divorce”, that is too close to the bone and especially if many of the wedding party already having gone through a divorce and with divorce rates so high.

Some one-liners from history are usually a good way to liven up your speech to, try these:

“The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they’re too old to do it.” – Ann Bancroft

“I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They’ve experienced pain and bought jewellery.” – Rita Rudner

“By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” – Socrates

“I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.”

- George Burns

Just make sure that you are even handed in your use of such quips – if a one-liner takes a swipe at husbands, make sure there is a counter-balancing quip at the expense of wives.

One-liners are great to drop into a speech but sometimes you need something more substantiated. One technique is to take an existing story and weave the bride or groom into the tale as participating characters. If you don’t feel comfortable with doing this, try personalizing a story using someone everyone is familiar with, even if the people involved are not directly know by all the attendees, say your old school teacher.

For instance:

“I remember meeting Mrs Smith, our old maths teacher, years after leaving school at a cocktail party. I said “Hi” and we started talking until I noticed she had her wedding ring on the wrong finger – when I asked her why she had the ring on the wrong finger she told me it was because she’d married the wrong man!”

Or you can poke fun at yourself:

“I married Miss Right, but I didn’t know her first name was Always”

There are of course mother-in-law jokes, but given the proximity of two of them to the bride and groom, great tact and care needs to be exercised, but just in case you need one, here it is:

“Behind every successful man is a stunned mother-in-law!”

Lawrence Reaves writes for a leading authority on loose diamonds, diamond engagement rings and fine jewelry. Danforth Diamond provides wisdom and advice to help you choose the right ring at the right price. Visit DanforthDiamond.com or call 877.404.RING

It is very common to get somewhat self-conscious about your wedding day appearance. With so many details needing your attention instead of your body, it’s not hard to get frazzled and stressed, which can make your complexion look tired and fatigued. Here’s some great ways to look fabulous on your wedding, even if you have to deal with some stressful situations before the big day.

The wedding dress you choose will dictate whether your look is fabulous or frumpy. Your shape, size, and weight can also help determine what style you need to purchase. For example, if your frame is lightweight and thin, there’s no reason you shouldn’t fit nicely in a halter top or strapless wedding dress. On the other hand, try adding a bolero jacket or shawl to cover up a few pounds in a wedding dress.

Getting stressed about a wedding can often cause certain stress marks to come out on your skin. Overnight wrinkles, puffy eyelids, and acne are all natural skin occurrences brought on by increased heart rates due to stress. Staying acne free before your wedding is not easy; however, if you cleanse your face and wash off your makeup each night, in addition to applying a little benzoyl peroxide to any acne marks you might have, will reduce the risk of getting a blemish on your wedding day.

Another great step for a nice wedding look is the jewelry. Affordable quality jewelry is just the ticket for your wedding if you don’t want to purchase costly diamonds. Low cost jewelry and antique jewelry are sometimes better than expensive gems; besides, your wedding budget will appreciate your choice by not spending several hundreds of dollars on something you’ll just wear once.

There’s no need to be shy when asking for help in dealing with wedding preparations. Brides-to-be usually can get a host of volunteers ready to offer their input and services for the wedding. Always ask for help if you need assistance setting up tables, candles, flowers, and other decor. Oftentimes, people you know often have some extra time to help you.

You and your bridesmaids can look your best with makeup done professionally at a cosmetic counter. Most cosmetic companies at the mall provide free makeovers, so this is a great and economic way to get everyone’s makeup done easily and affordably.

Remember, your wedding is all about your husband-to-be and yourself. Don’t let something small like stress put a damper on your fun; by getting beauty tips and such out of the way before it gets down to the wire, you’ll free yourself up to get a lot done before your wedding.