Tips For Writing A Bridal Wedding Toast
Traditionally the best man and maid of honor give speeches during the reception with a heartfelt and often funny wedding toast. But, why can’t the bride, or in any case both partners, give separate wedding toasts at their reception? If a joint speech is what you decide on or if you are relaying the speaking duties to your partner because you’re not much of a public speaker, that’s okay. But, both the bride or groom and their partner should get the chance to share a few words with their guests. Just like writing your vows, writing a wedding toast can be difficult. You want to keep it simple, but also find a way to be emotional and entertaining. If you’re struggling to come up with your wedding toast, we’ve listed a few tips below that will help you navigate your thoughts!
Use It to Say Your Thank You’s
First and foremost use your toast as a way to thank your guests for taking the time to attend your wedding. Especially if you’ve chosen a destination wedding, you’ll want to make sure that your guests know how much you appreciate them showing up for you on your big day and what that means to you and your partner. You can also include a special shoutout to your side of the family and bridal party, mentioning how they’ve helped you along your wedding journey.
Photography by Jessie Wyman & Christina Anne
Photography by Emily Boudreau
Tell A Crafted Story
Winging it is never the way to go. You want to make sure you write your wedding toast ahead of time and think about what it is you want to say. You can crack a few jokes or tell a funny story if that’s your personality, but don’t include too many that it seems forced. If you want to give a more sentimental toast you can talk about your love and what you’re looking forward to now that you’re a married couple. But, whether you go for heartfelt or hilarious, craft a wedding toast that flows and puts a personal stamp on a speech that could easily turn into a lengthy list of thank you’s.
Keep It Brief
It can be tempting to write a toast that goes on forever, but you don’t want to bore your guests, especially if you’re not the first to give a speech. You want to keep your speech to about three minutes, no more than five, this way you can say what you want while still keeping the attention of your guests. Keep your anecdotal stories to about one or two if they’re short and instead of thanking people individually try to keep it as broad as possible.
Photography by Esther Rohr
Photography by Allie Miller
Practice and Jot Down Notes
Perfectly delivered speeches with no practice or mess-ups only really happen in movies. You don’t have to spend as much time practicing your toast as you would your vows, but you want to at least say your speech out loud once or twice. You want it to seem natural and not overly rehearsed, but still put together. You can jot down some notes or major cues of your toast on some cards to keep with you in the event you forget anything. But, it’s not important that you memorize your toast, you can read or paraphrase it straight from a notebook.
Share this with a bride who is preparing their wedding toast. Still in the process of planning your wedding? Browse our collection of made-to-measure wedding gowns that were all curated for the modern bride!
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