Wedding Toast Tips for Guests

  • Publication date: 12/26/2022
  • Updated: 11/14/2024
Content
night Villa Erba
Photo by night Villa Erba

You may not speak at conferences, on TV shows, or hold master classes, but few people manage to avoid such public speaking as a toast at a wedding. After reading the article, you will be able to give a toast with confidence, even when someone tries to catch you off guard. In addition, your speech will be unusual, you'll know the best things to say at a wedding toast, and all guests will remember it.

leileiphotography
Photo by @leileiphotography

Wedding Toast Guidelines

A toast can be simple: I wish you happiness, health, and many children. Neither the groom nor the guests will remember it. If you are a close guest at a wedding, it's worth blowing this thing well.

To receive an "Oscar" for originality, your toast must contain several features:

Conciseness

If half of the guests start yawning in the middle of your speech, and the other half is already standing with empty glasses, you should seriously work on the brevity.

Sincerity

Your personality as a friend or parent must be presented at the toast. Fewer words, less pathos, and more of your feelings and thoughts are better. Openness will be manifested not in what you say but in how you do it.

Bayleigh Vedelago
Photo by Bayleigh Vedelago

Imagery

A good toast should touch feelings. You could do it by using analogies, metaphors, and stories.

Originality

You could achieve originality by performing for sure. For example, your toast may accompany jumping up on the table and sitting on the twine after your speech. It will be original and unforgettable, but it isn't a fact that you will ever be allowed to make a toast again.

Therefore, you should add some points, facts, or stories related to the personal qualities of the bride and groom to your toast.

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Photo by irish emerald

Wedding Speech Tips

The moment of the speech is stressful, so you shouldn't learn the toast like a poem or a verse. In case of stress, our memory can fail us. That is why it's worth making a compact plan and, looking at notes, saying this toast out loud several times.

Wedding Toast Etiquette

Let's define what toast is. "A toast is a public wish followed by the consumption of a certain amount of liquid." Everyone chooses the amount and type of liquid independently. Someone select wine or strong alcohol, while others prefer tomato juice. Everything depends on budget, self-esteem, traditions, and beliefs.

Wedding Toast Joke

A good idea for a toast is to tell a joke. It must be appropriate. It won't be wise to joke about divorced spouses or quarrels. The best gag you can tell is a funny story you shared with the bride or groom that you remember.

ashleehuffweddings
Photo by @ashleehuffweddings

Wedding Toast Timeline

It's very influential for listeners that your toast fits into 5 minutes. You should only talk longer if you have prepared a show, photo display, or other video gifts. Remember there are other speeches during the wedding day timeline.

In general, the outline of your perfect toast should look like this:

Start with the main thing

Choose something from the life of the culprit of the holiday (likes to cook, likes to travel, breeds Gibraltar hamsters, etc.).

dana spitsyna
Photo by dana spitsyna

Add comparing

Combine the selected feature with your wish. If the groom knows several foreign languages, you can wish the newlyweds to find a common tongue because they still need to learn each other's language well. If the bride likes to cook, wish her to cook the dish called "Family" without chili pepper.

Make a concise summary with an appeal

End the toast with the main wish and a call to raise glasses for the bride and groom.

Each of these three steps should take no more than 2 minutes. It is better to allocate a minute for the first and third steps and 2-3 minutes for the second. Don't worry about when should the toast be given at a wedding, you will usually be warned and called out by the wedding vendor in advance.

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Photo by gogoladze

Wedding Toast Ideas

Wedding Toast To Daughter And Son

A toast from parents to children is a very emotional moment at a wedding. It's better not to talk only to your daughter or son during the speech. From now, the newlyweds are a separate family, so the toast should be up to two people. Of course, it will sound and look awesome on the wedding video if you start a toast with childhood memories and funny stories from school time. You could single out character traits you respect in your child, talk about successes and difficulties, and give 1-2 tips from your married life.

Wedding Toast To Sister Or Brother

The best idea for a toast to a brother or sister is to start with a funny story from childhood, telling how deeply you respect and love each other and promising you'll always be there. A slide show, photos, or even children's videos may be suitable for accompaniment. If you are in a strong relationship, use pics from recent trips and meetings. Share your plans and hopes for the best future for your sibling.

visuasitel
Photo by visuasitel

Wedding Toast To Best Friend

It's also appropriate to start a toast from friends with an introduction, thanking your friendship is so strong. You can prepare a dance or a song, compose a poem or an unusual video wish. Try to add creativity to your greeting. By the way, here you can speak with several friends at once, you don't have to go on the floor alone in front of a hundred people.

Wedding Toast To Guests

Don't forget to end the rehearsal dinner and the wedding by thanking all the guests, your closest friends, family, and relatives who helped you prepare and shared this best day with you. Speeches look very sensual when the newlyweds single out their parents, siblings, or best friends in their appreciation for their help and understanding.

Be sincere in every word you say, write down ideas and notes, remember moments that touch you, add a metaphor, and turn the best memories into the most promising wishes for the future.

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Photo by hello annie

Check out our photographers and videographers portfolios for some additional inspiration for your wedding!

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Natali Grace Levine Editor-in-Chief

Manages The Wezoree's content strategy
Writes and edits articles for the Inspiration Blog