Mitch Murray's One-liners for Weddings Speeches

The jokes in this book are organised by theme, so if you wanted to you could go straight to the ones about, for instance, the honeymoon. But it's worth reading the whole lot. Some are laugh-out-loud funny (which is what you want for a speech!), others will make you groan, but there's something for everyone and plenty to choose from. There are also tips of putting together a speech, linking jokes together smoothly, preparation and delivery, so even the most nervous speakers should find everything they need to create a really entertaining speech.

There is always someone getting married or you always have to give some speech. Well, it's always good to put a bit of humour into it and this book has some great one liners that are sure to break the ice and relieve the tension. I recommend it to everyone, along with The Complete Best Man: How to Turn a Terrifying Prospect into a Piece of Cake.

I notice from one of the reviews of the earlier edition of this book, that some people think the lines rather naff and old-fashioned. But if these critics ever stood up and tried out their own comedy writing in front of an audience, they would get a big shock.

Making an audience laugh is all about rhythm. The crafted one-liner works best. It's easy to read, it has a sting and it is usually rather silly. That means everyone from the teenagers to the oldies get the joke.

Take this one, "We're here to celebrate a love match, pure and simple; Lucy's pure and David's... a very nice guy."

He sums up almost everything you need to know in his introduction. Yes he's a bit of a 60s throwback in his style, but that's where he comes from. Carefully select the gems in this book and you'll be a hit.