The wedding toast, it can be one of the best or worst moments of your wedding. Nothing is more touching than heartfelt words from your bestman or maid of honor. I have seen many brides and their guests moved to tears by a delightful toast. I have also seen the uncomfortable silence that follows a less than well done toast.
When planning the details of your reception, do not forget to plan for the toasts. I always suggest to my brides that toasts be given only by the parents to welcome the guests and by the bestman and/or the maid of honor for the couple. Any more toasts should be given at the rehearsal dinner, not at the wedding itself. Your guests will enjoy one or two toasts, more than that and they are bored and you are losing valuable party time.
I don’t believe the bride needs to control every detail of her wedding, but I do believe she should review the toasts that are to be given. This has a two fold purpose. One, it makes sure that the person that is giving the toast has actually prepared and written down their toasts. I have seen too many people struggling to throw together a toast at the last minute. Two, reviewing the toast makes sure that the wedding couple will not be in for any nasty surprises in the speech. Talking about ex-girlfriends or the little black book may seem funny to the bestman, but not so funny to the bride or her parents. A toast should come from the heart and be respectful of the couple and the moment.
Also make sure the toast is brief. Three to five minutes (at the most) is perfect. This is not a sermon, keep it short. There are mountains of books in stores and online that will give ideas for the perfect toast. I keep one in my emergency kit, just in case.
I prefer to have parents or the bride and groom do the welcome toast after the first dance. The bestman/maid of honor toast takes place after the guests are all seated and eating. This allows everyone to give their attention to the speaker. It also gets toasts out of the way without taking up party time. This can be followed by the groom toasting his bride at the cake cutting. This toast can be skipped if the groom is the shy type.
Remember the toast is something that will live on in your memory and in the video. Let’s make it something worth remembering.
When planning the details of your reception, do not forget to plan for the toasts. I always suggest to my brides that toasts be given only by the parents to welcome the guests and by the bestman and/or the maid of honor for the couple. Any more toasts should be given at the rehearsal dinner, not at the wedding itself. Your guests will enjoy one or two toasts, more than that and they are bored and you are losing valuable party time.
I don’t believe the bride needs to control every detail of her wedding, but I do believe she should review the toasts that are to be given. This has a two fold purpose. One, it makes sure that the person that is giving the toast has actually prepared and written down their toasts. I have seen too many people struggling to throw together a toast at the last minute. Two, reviewing the toast makes sure that the wedding couple will not be in for any nasty surprises in the speech. Talking about ex-girlfriends or the little black book may seem funny to the bestman, but not so funny to the bride or her parents. A toast should come from the heart and be respectful of the couple and the moment.
Also make sure the toast is brief. Three to five minutes (at the most) is perfect. This is not a sermon, keep it short. There are mountains of books in stores and online that will give ideas for the perfect toast. I keep one in my emergency kit, just in case.
I prefer to have parents or the bride and groom do the welcome toast after the first dance. The bestman/maid of honor toast takes place after the guests are all seated and eating. This allows everyone to give their attention to the speaker. It also gets toasts out of the way without taking up party time. This can be followed by the groom toasting his bride at the cake cutting. This toast can be skipped if the groom is the shy type.
Remember the toast is something that will live on in your memory and in the video. Let’s make it something worth remembering.
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