Quite frankly, I have seen so many terrible toasts at weddings. You know, the ones filled with embarrassing college stories, rambling on and on and on about complete nonsense, and the ones that completely forget to even congratulate the bride and groom.
Today, I am setting the record straight and providing tips for giving a meaningful and appropriate toast.
1. Unless you are an incredible public speaker I don’t suggest you wing it. You shouldn’t write down your entire toast and read it from a piece of paper but you should take down a few notes to ensure you stay on track and don’t fumble.
2. Make it short and sweet, ideally less than 5 minutes. At most weddings there are many toasts to be given and guests sometimes have a difficult time remaining engaged if one participant carries on for too long.
3. A toast is not a speech. Your time on the microphone is not meant to share embarrassing childhood, high school or college stories. It is also forbidden to mention any previous relationships, no matter how relevant you feel it is to your toast. It isn’t.
4. Focus on the couple. The toast is not about you, it’s about the bride and groom. Face them when you are toasting and remember to congratulate them before you end your toast.
5. For bonus points, if you are the best man, tell the bride she looks beautiful. I just love that!
Happy toasting!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
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I agree! Heard way to many toasts that have gone on and on and on and on... All of these are good points and I might just have to forward this along to my best man for my wedding.
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