There are generally two kinds of wedding toasts: beautiful, touching ones and those that were completely unplanned. Following these five tips will ensure that your speech falls into the first category.
- Make it from the heart.
The perfect toast needs to come from the heart. You are honoring a friend, loved one, or close companion on one of the biggest days of his or her life. Take some time before the wedding to think about what you truly want to say. Add some personal memories or even an inside joke to show the bride or groom that you really took some time to come up with something special to say. You want to show how you know the happy couple and what being a part of their wedding day has meant to you.
- Keep it short and sweet.
Remember, the wedding day and reception is not about you; it is about the bride and groom. This means that the toast should be kept short and sweet. Make the toast memorable and personal, but don’t ramble on for 20 minutes. Guests want to get to the fun stuff like the dancing and cake!
- Practice, practice, practice.
So you have written a toast. Now, it’s time to practice it. Read through it to yourself a few times before practicing it out loud. Enlist the help of family and friends by making them an audience. They could probably even give you some suggestions to make it better. Public speaking can be unnerving even for talented speakers. Don’t make it worse by being unprepared.
- Add a little humor.
Sometimes being funny eliminates the stress and nerves of everyone staring at you. Try adding a joke into the toast or tell a funny story that includes you and the happy couple. Keep things lighthearted. Laughter is a great source of amusement, especially at events such as weddings. But be careful when choosing a joke. Remember that there are children and family members in attendance.
- Bring a drink.
A toast is typically done with a drink in hand, so be sure that you not only have a glass, but that the glass is filled with your beverage of choice. Just be careful about the amount of drinking done before the toast. This is a fun occasion, but you don't want to be sloppy drunk when you have such a crucial speech to make.
