I went to two weddings recently and I would say that one of them the speeches were good and the other was a little uncomfortable. The expectations at a wedding are for the speeches to be meaningful and personal but also lighthearted, hopeful, and humorous. The good wedding speech I heard was for my cousins wedding and it was lighthearted and funny but also meaningful. The audience laughed many times and it was clearly well received. The other wedding was for my neighbor and her grandpa gave the speech and he did not seem very confident or well prepared. He made a few jokes but they were self deprecating and the audience laughed but more in an uncomfortable way.
Yes, I believe that you should always keep it lighthearted so we aren't putting anyone in an awkward mood. All of the weddings I have been to, the person has always been well prepared which is easy to listen to.
I agree that a speech should be funny and meaningful in order to keep the audience's attention!
This is a great response Faye. I like how you pointed out the contrast between the wedding speeches, and how they made the audience feel.