I'll try to keep this as simple as possible.
I hate the concept of only the groom, best man and father of the bride doing speeches. Fuck that for a game of soldiers. The bride and groom are more important than their parents (and way more important than the best man) on their own wedding day. So I'm doing a speech.
Getting married in France, I'm English, husband is French, some of the guests speak both languages but a fair few (particularly the English side) don't understand the other language.
I imagine that the best men (there are two) will want to do some kind of funny speech (probably a powerpoint presentation because they love that kind of shit here in France) and it feels a bit unreasonable to say that they can't.
My dad is painfully shy, doesn't speak French and doesn't really like public speaking. He did a great job reading my grandmother's eulogy, but I wrote it for him. Obviously I can't do that for his speech on my wedding day. I think my dad will want to do a speech because he feels it's his duty, but he will need some help and guidance.
My mum is completely fluent in French, LOVES talking, and loves to show people how good she is at speaking French. I don't really want to let her do a speech, either on her own or with my dad, because she will literally talk at my guests, mostly in French, for about two hours, and once she gets into her stride, nothing short of a fire will stop her.
My father in law also LOVES talking at length and will want to show people how good his English is, and so I have a horrible feeling he will also want to do a very long speech which will be full of anecdotes that most people don't get or find amusing.
How do I keep this under control?
How many speeches should we have and who should do them?
Any advice would be gratefully received!