The Etiquette of Wedding Toasts
There have been many studies that have been carried out in the last few decades questioning the different fears that people carry. And in conclusion it can be seen that the number 1 fear that people have is of public speaking, after that coming in a number 2 is the fear of death. To me that sounds very strange, because most people would rather be dead in the casket rather than giving the Eulogy. Seriously this is not right.
Seriously by tradition there is no rule that suggests that a maid of honor speeches has to give any kind of speech or toast on the big wedding day so if you happen to be one of those people that would rather be dead than give a speech in public, well its your lucky day because you just don’t have to. There is no one way that people do wedding’s these days so who knows you may be one of the lucky maid of honor’s which are not asked to say anything in front of the guests at the wedding. But would you rather not try to overcome your fear of public speaking and do yourself proud on the big wedding day? After all it is mainly for the bride who is your best friend!
A lot of people these days take the opportunity to give their weddings speeches at the rehearsal dinner instead of at the main wedding, so it may be the case that you are among those families that choose to hold their celebrations in this manner. More and more families are opting to choose the option of holding a wedding celebration that isn’t strict when it comes to tradition. If however you are among those that are planning to go the more traditional route then you are going to find that your speech or toast will come directly after the best man’s speech/toast.
To make sure that there is no confusion and to allow enough time for you to prepare adequately you must make sure that you ask the bride early on, whether or not there will be toasts made at the wedding and whether or not she would like you to make one. If the answer is yes then follow the tips below to make your toast the hit of the wedding:
1. When To Toast
When it comes to tradition the best man speech and of course your speech will happen during dinner when everyone is seated at the wedding reception. Of course if you happen to be in a less traditional format then you are going to find that you will be giving your speech when the guests are standing eating the buffet. You will do your toast once everyone has helped themselves to a serving. But make sure that you don’t leave it too late as you will want to do it before the majority of the guests begin to leave. The wedding speeches begin with the best man so to make sure that you are ready for the speech work with him so that you are both able to get up and on time!
2. How To Toast
Before you even get up to toast make sure that you have a cup of water to hand! Trust me this is the most obvious thing but when you’re up there all nervous about giving the toast you are likely to forget. A great way to break the ice and start of your toast is to give your thanks to the couple and their parents for putting together such an amazing event. After this give the guests a couple of good stories that share the memory of you and the bride… this is going to get you more comfortable and relaxed. After this, wish them all the best and sit down.
3. What Not To Toast About
Now its often times the case in which you are going to find that the best man will include a couple of rude jokes about the groom in his speech, but this definitely doesn’t mean that you should follow the same approach. In fact its something that I would advise against. He might have been okay to look like the fool but you don’t want to share anything that may embarrass the couple in anyway. Please for goodness sake try to focus the speech on how much you cherish the love that the couple have for each other, and how you and all the guests wish them all the best on their future lives together.
Seriously I bet that you’ve all seen those movies where the best man and the maid of honor give speeches that are just filled with anger and hate, not the speech they intended to give but out of stress and frustration they needed to vent and the speech just happened to be the first place that they were able to do this. Don’t do this as it will just embarrass the wedding couple and yourself to levels you just would not understand at the time. This wedding day is about the couple getting married and not about you so please stop and think before you do anything rash.