Wedding toasts are important elements to your reception and rehearsal dinner. Some forethought and guidelines will raise spirits as well as your glass following a successful speech.
As a wedding consultant, I hear wedding speeches and toasts week after week. The best ones? Former President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt had 3 B’s of speech-giving, and they should definitely be the guide for wedding toasts:
BE Sincere.
You care about the Bride/Groom/Couple, and you want to let them know. You are so happy they found each other. You wish them
a wonderful future together. It is heartwarming to all to feel the love in the words of the toast.
BE Brief.
A short and cute story is fine. Welcoming someone -- or the whole new family -- into yours is wonderful.
BE Seated.
Raise a glass, toast to the Couple, and that’s it!
It is not fun to have food in front of you that you can’t eat, not appealing to have a band ready to play when you are ready to party and
someone is speaking endlessly, and not pleasant to hear embarrassing stories about the Bride and Groom that should be left
unmentioned. The kitchen is planning on serving a (hot) meal at a certain time, and if the toasts go too long, the dinner service will
suffer. If you ARE going to have long speeches, it is imperative that you let your wedding planner and the venue know so that the food
can be ready when you are.
And no one should/can take the microphone who isn't designated ahead of time as someone who is giving a toast. If the toasts are
too long, the only place to take the time is from the dance party itself. It is definitely better to have long (and spontaneous) toasts and
speeches (these are DIFFERENT!) at a rehearsal dinner.
And one other tip: Write your toast on paper, and refer to it. It is difficult for most people to get up in front of a crowd, and this makes
it easier to stay on the three B’s!