How to Give a Wedding Toast

Pinwhirls Pinwheel Wedding: Photo Courtesy Customer Emily O.

Whether you'll be giving a toast at the rehearsal dinner or the wedding reception, it's important to avoid those cringe-worthy speeches you always see in bad wedding comedies. The whole point of the wedding toast is to honor the bride and groom.

How to Give a Wedding Toast

Try these tips, and you should be able to deliver lovely and short speech while avoiding any awkward or embarrassing moments.

1. Celebrate the couple. You might think that sharing jokes from the past is a great way to entertain the crowd, but it's too easy to stray into dangerous territory. Humor makes for a great toast. Youthful indiscretions you shared with the groom in high school or college, however? Those are not fodder for a wedding toast. Go for short anecdotes about fun times you shared with the couple while they were dating.


2. Don't deliver your toast toasted. Aside from the difficulty you may have with slurred words after a few too many glasses of champagne, giving a speech under the influence is never advisable. Saying the wrong thing at a wedding toast can ruin friendships for a life time. If you plan to indulge, wait until after the speech is done.


3. Keep it short and sweet. The toast is not an opportunity for you to steal the spotlight or take over the celebration. A good rule of thumb is two or three minutes for a toast. Anything over five minutes is usually considered unnecessarily long.


4. Remember the other guests at the wedding. The wedding toast is not your opportunity to establish yourself as the couple's favorite. Don't go there.


5. Get help from friends and family. Friends and family of the bride and groom are usually full of great stories that can become a part of your wedding toast. If nerves have got the better of you, ask for some help. You can also run ideas by other guests if you're not confident about the toast you have prepared.