Photo courtesy of Flashbox Photography
Toasts – the most anticipated and/or feared part of any wedding celebration. Just kidding! Toasts are usually a great way to allow your nearest and dearest a chance to honor you and your new spouse. Unfortunately, those nearest and dearest might be very nervous about standing up and speaking in front of your crowd. Here’s some tips on creating a great environment for toasts.
First, choose carefully. Unless your family has a tradition of passing the mic around to anyone who wants to speak, try and limit your toasters to 3-4 total. Usually, this would be the maid/matron of honor, best man, and the bride’s father. That will add up to 10-15 minutes worth of toasts, which is about as much as your average crowd can handle. If you have others who want to toast, we suggest using the rehearsal dinner as a venue for other family or wedding party members to get up and speak. Some couples actually do all of the toasts at the rehearsal dinner now, which is also a great way to do them!
Second, timing. If you’re having a served dinner, toasts are absolutely wonderful to have after the main course has been served. Everyone is seated already, and you have a captive audience while everyone finishes their meal. If you’re doing a buffet or stations, consider doing your toasts with the cake cutting. Either way, consider alcohol intake levels amongst your crowd before deciding to put toasts near the end of the night. Additionally, the longer your toasters have to wait, the more nervous they will be!
Third, topics. We love these two links that will help your toasters figure out the basics of a good toast and some do’s and don’ts for wedding toasts. The real keys to remember though:
1) keep it short
2) keep it family friendly (save the blackmail for another time)
Cheers!
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