Bride's Wedding Toast

As the bride, you are not necessarily expected to deliver a wedding toast. The groom needs to deliver a Rehearsal Dinner Toast; however, there is no consensus on the bride or groom giving a wedding toast. This is your day and your opportunity to adulate your new spouse, thank your family and welcome your new family. Take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prepare for and execute a great wedding toast.

Giving a wedding toast is a time-honored tradition, but can bring on considerable apprehension and public speaking anxiety (stage fright) associated with delivering an effective toast. Not only does the audience expect a heartfelt statement, but also a little comic relief. To add to wedding toast public speaking anxiety, you're presenting to a very diverse audience (from Grandma June to Uncle Ricky), each with different expectations. Don't fret. With preparation, our tips for overcoming public speaking anxiety and an appropriate herbal supplement application, you'll be able to write and execute your wedding toast in style and overcome your public speaking anxiety. Here are some things to consider:

What you should do:

  • Prepare for your wedding toast far in advance of your speech. Jotting something down on a napkin immediately before you present will only make you look unprepared. This approach will likely result in considerable stage fright.
  • Prepare notes or an outline. Presumably you are not a professional public speaker; no one is expecting to see Barack Obama. Prepare wedding toast notes that state your introduction and transition sentences verbatim (but don'tread them verbatim). Outline your key topics.
  • Welcome the guests and thank them for coming.
  • Express your enthusiasm for joining your groom's family and thank them for welcoming you.
  • Compliment and thank your mother and new mother-in-law for their hard work preparing for the wedding.
  • Recognize special guests in your wedding toast. For example, recognize grandparents that were able to attend. In addition, if you or your groom's parents are divorced and remarried, make sure to mention these special relationships in your wedding toast.
  • Recognize special individuals who could not attend because of death, disability or otherwise.
  • Once you have the formalities out of the way, bring all of your focus back to your new spouse. What attracted you to him? What makes him unique? What do you appreciate about him that may not be obvious to others? Your wedding toast is your opportunity to express how you feel about your spouse.
  • A great wedding toast should last five to seven minutes. Most people speak at a rate of roughly 150 words per minute, so plan accordingly. In addition, remember that your stage fright may cause you to speak at a more rapid rate than normal.
  • Remember, you're giving a wedding toast; don't forget to toast with a glass!
  • Toast to your new spouse. If you are presenting together, toast to your wedding party, guests or family.

What you can do:

  • If present, mention and thank the person who may have introduced you. In addition, this may be a great segue into a story about how you met.
  • Some couples choose to introduce other members of the wedding party during their wedding toast. You may want to split this responsibility with your spouse. He can introduce the members of his wedding party and vice versa. Keep in mind that this is commonly done at the rehearsal dinner, but you may consider a cliff- notes version for your wedding guests who were not present at the dinner. How is each member of the wedding party connected to you or your spouse?
  • Tell a joke. This is the most risk you can take in giving a wedding toast. Timing is everything when you're telling a joke. As a result, your public speaking anxiety/ fear of public speaking may really throw off your timing. In addition, remember your audience. A wedding toast may be the only time in your life you are presenting to two-year-olds and 90-year-olds at the same time. Your joke may bring your friends to their knees in hysterics, but may offend other members of your audience.
  • Tell a funny story. Again, your fear of public speaking may really hamper you efforts. However, telling a funny and endearing story about your relationship with the groom can be a very effective wedding toast technique.

What you should never do (not an exhaustive list):

  • Embarrass your new spouse.
  • Give the wedding toast intoxicated. Your wedding toast will be more effective sober. An intoxicated ramble will not be forgotten by your guests or your new spouse.
  • Focus your wedding toast on everything except your new spouse.

Joanne Wilgren, Staff Writer ( wilgren.Joanne@bravina.com)

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Brides Toast

How - whom should I toast?

Posted by Nicole Hallman

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