10 helpful TOASTING TIPS!

The purpose of the wedding toast is to HONOR the person to whom it is offered.  You want to leave them feeling good about themselves - not hurt or humiliated.  This doesn’t mean you can’t have fun by gently teasing or poking fun, as long as you remember that the purpose of a wedding toast is to HONOR the bride and groom and to help celebrate their marriage. 

Here are 10 keys to making a memorable wedding toast:

1.   Be yourself.  If you try to do something that’s not natural you can come off sounding pompous.

2.   Keep it short.  A wedding speech should be under 5 minutes.  People often lose interest if you carry on any longer. 

3.   Be authentic.  You have a wealth of information you can use in your toast.  Pull from humorous stories in the past you’ve shared with them. 

4.   Be balanced.  Try not to get carried away.  Trying to write stories out as a comedy routine can take it over the top.

5.   End on a positive note.  If you’ve been humorous, go serious at the end with praise.  Talk about how you admire them, what their friendship means to you, why they’re perfect for their new spouse, or how you’ll miss them now that they’re married!

6.   Poke fun at yourself before teasing someone else.  By demonstrating that you can laugh at yourself the audience will be more willing to laugh with you as you poke fun at someone else.

7.   End with direction.  Focus your attention on the subject of your toast, raise your glass and ask the guests to join you in a toast to the bride and groom.

8.   If you run out of stuff to say - END THE TOAST!  A simple raising of the glass and saying “To the bride and groom!” can help bail you out if you’re struggling to find something to say.

9.   Keep it “Grandma friendly”.  Try not to bring up past relationships that they may have had or what might happen on their honeymoon, etc.  Keep it clean!

10.    Prepare in advance.  Nothing you can do on the day of the wedding will be as good as something you prepare in advance. 

  While this is no means a comprehensive guide to giving a toast hopefully it will allow you to be better prepared and able to offer a memorable tribute.  If you want more information about toasting I highly recommend “Wedding Toasts Made Easy” by Tom Haibeck.