Wedding Toasts

Wedding toasts are key moments in the schedule of festivities. They give context and express in words the sentiments of the guests.

Toasts - A Celebration

Arrange for those who will offer toasts. Typically, there is a toast to the bride, and a toast to the bridesmaids and/or bridal party. That toast may include the guys. There should also be a toast to the parents. There can be more toasts. These are the basics. Keep in mind there may be those who offer a toast that was not planned as part of the program.

Woman Toasting

When you have decided which toasts will be offered, you will want to share this webpage with those making the toasts.

Whether it is a special person in your life, the groom, the parents, or a member of the wedding party, the following are some key points that will make the moment a success.


Five absolutes to make wedding toasts and YOU a hit!

1. Your Frame of Mind Matters - determine ahead of time to make giving toasts and tributes a great experience. Set the tone in your mind and spirit to make it so.

2. Being stressed about making a toast will show no matter how great an actor you are and this will diminish the power of your presence and your words. The tribute will be weak if inside you really don't want to do it.

3. Look forward to the opportunity, no matter how hard that might be. A positive frame of mind in the weeks and days before changes you, and enables you to engage your audience making the moment meaningful and memorable. And, if you do a grea job, you could find yourself in the spotlight for such a task again. That is a wonderful compliment.

4. When you're smiling! At least half of your message is in the way you deliver it. Smiles are contagious and make people feel good. Your role in giving the toast is to make people, everyone, come together in a moment of feeling good!

5. The floor is yours; enjoy the moment. The opportunity to give formal Toasts and Tributes does not come often.

Elegant Toast

Wedding toasts bring people together

Your job in delivering a toast is to bring people together. The act of raising a glass is a collective one. To drink a toast is equivalent to the entire gathering expressing the collective hear-hear, Amen, or We Agree. In order to do this, while not specifically your job, ensure that everyone has something in their glass. It is considered rude to raise an empty glass. The drink does not need to contain alcohol, but sparkling beverages add to the celebration.

Delay your own indulgence until after your job is complete. It is distancing to your audience, and puts you at a disadvantage if your words are slurred, your judgment off, and your composure compromised. Maybe a small well-paced drink will soften the nervous edge but be careful. The effects of alcohol creep up unexpectedly. Your job in creating this moment is your primary responsibility. It is important, and brings its own joy. Save your personal fun until after the toasts and tributes. It’s worth it.

Wedding Party Toast


Base your toast on 5 things

The following is more focused on giving a toast to the wedding couple. Modifications can easily be made when giving a toast to the bridal party, parents, special guests, and others. When giving a toast, consider the following.

1. Give context by talking about how you came to know the couple, and what the relationship has meant to you. Be cautious of humor. If it isn't funny and acceptable for everyone, it isn't funny. The context should be warm, meaningful, and sincere.

2. Move toward talking about how the is perfect together. Think of a story that illustrates your point. Stories make what you share come alive.

3. Share what you have learned from them as a couple. Wish them well by commenting on something that the two of them have shared with you about their hopes, ideals, dreams, and priorities. This is a moment to comment on their future together.

4. Write out your toast word for word. Read it over and over, and revise it as new thoughts come to mind. Do not assume that you will be able to speak extemporaneously. This seldom works. You MUST prepare. Know your toast so well that you do not need notes. You will have a glass in your hand or at least nearby. You therefore should not hold notes in your other hand. Notes will distract and lessen eye contact. Rehearsing what you will say, over and over again is key to delivering a meaningful and memorable toast.

5. Limit your toast to about 3 minutes, and no longer than 5 minutes. After three minutes people will begin to drift in their attention and your toast will be less impactful.