Tips for Groom's speech?

Hey Everyone

My fiancee and i got engaged on Thanksgiving last year and are due to get married at Leeds Castle in Kent this Thanksgiving. I am British, she is American.

Does anyone have any tips for resources to go to for general advice on speeches? I am beginning to have a think about mine and wanted to hear what others did.

I'd also like to inject a bit of UK/US banter and humour into it but also don't want to go too far!

Thanks

Tim

My advice would be to avoid making references to "Ladies Man" type things or anything that could be offensive to the bride, even if you do think its in good fun! But yes, humourous stories of your travels would be appropriate - airport/taxi-driver jokes or anything that happened to you while travelling that might make for a good story, cultural differences that are humourous, etc. And of course, be sure to end on a sweet note and say some lovely things about your blushing bride.  Good luck, and try not to make anything too complicated, keep your natural personality and style in it as much as possible, unless you are going to read a passage from a book or a poem or something like that. 

My DH didnt really prepare a speech since the best man/maid of honor did such incrediable jobs!
MY DH got up and said thank you to everyone near and far who came and then told me how beautiful I was - very simple and from the heart.

I think go with what you would normally do and be - dont try to be someone else out of a book but be natural.  You will be great.

My DH didnt write a speech either (although he knew he has to do one!). Usually the groom says all the thank you's and hands out any thank you gifts to the bridemaids/ushers etc and says lovely things about his new wife. It is also traditional for the groom to specifically thank the bridemaids during his speech and toast them too.

Try this website from confetti

http://www.confetti.co.uk/article/view/7148-8296-0-How_to_make_the_perfect_groom_s_wedding_speech_Groom_s_Speech.do

Should give you a good starting point

I saved these two links on speeches when I was doing my initial wedding research (and trying to describe to my American Man Of Honour what was expected):

http://www.hitched.co.uk/speeches/speechhome.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A695324 (though this is more focused on the Best Man, there's good takehome advice)

DH hates speaking in public, so he kept his speech short and sweet at our wedding. He did thank my father and stepmother for helping with the wedding as well as saying nice things about me and the bridesmaids. And he thanked a lot of people who had traveled a long way for making the trip. Other than that, not much! I think there's much more pressure on the best man to deliver a performance. You grooms have it easy!