5 Tips for Writing an Amazing Wedding Toast
How to Write a Wedding Speech
If you’re stuck while trying to figure out how to write a good wedding speech, it might be a good idea to start by talking to the bride or groom and people close to them. Get some stories about the two as children and during the start of their relationship. Make sure to consider all points of view when writing, that way you’re able to connect with the happy couple and those in attendance. Once you’ve figured out an idea of what you’re going to say, here are 5 tips to make sure the speech you’re giving is an awesome wedding toast.
1. Keep Your Speech Under 5 Minutes
If you’ve sat through any toast or speech that lasts more than a couple minutes, you know how daunting it can be as a guest. It’s a pretty good bet that you’ll lose your audience after about five minutes, so a good tip for wedding speeches is to stick to that time frame to avoid boring those in attendance.
Before the wedding day, it wouldn’t hurt to read your speech out loud to yourself or a friend. Time yourself or have someone run a timer while you give the speech to make sure you’re in the right time frame. Any longer than five or six minutes indicates that it’ll probably be too long and you should cut parts you feel aren’t that important.
2. Don’t Tell Any Inside Jokes
While it may seem like inside jokes are the perfect material for an awesome wedding toast, think about how many people will understand the stories or punchlines you deliver. It’s likely that just the bride or groom and a couple of their friends, and everyone knows how annoying it can be when your friends keep telling an inside joke you don’t understand.
When deciding how to start a wedding toast, think about anecdotes that tell the audience about the couple and speak to their relationship together. A funny or cute story that’s able to show everyone in attendance how well the two parties work together or funny bits that led to their marriage will always pull at heartstrings.
3. Talk About the Couple
Make sure the speech you’re giving is only about the couple, not anybody else. While it’s ok to include yourself or others as a third party in the stories you’re telling, keep everything centered around the couple. A wedding toast shouldn’t be a platform for you to talk about yourself or how great your relationship is with either one of them. This is your time to talk about how their marriage is the start of something great and wish them well as they tackle everything together.
To make sure your maid of honor or best man speech is the best it can be and focuses on the right subject, read it aloud to someone beforehand. Check with your parents, siblings, or a close friend to see if they have any suggestions on how to make the toast better and focus on the couple more.
4. Keep the Audience in Mind
There are likely going to be parents, grandparents, and children at the wedding and some may not appreciate foul language or crude jokes in the wedding toast. While writing, consider who will be in attendance and create something that they will find heartwarming and valuable. It’s ok to want to make people laugh, but make sure it’s with the right content.
If you’re wondering how to write a good wedding speech for these people, it’s always best to err on the side of caution and keep it PG. You’d hate to be the person who shouted a bunch of expletives during your toast to make the bride’s grandma upset.
5. End With a One-Liner to Indicate the Toast is Over
Once you’ve finished your speech, you want to lead a toast to the happy couple. The best way to do this is to end with a one-liner so everyone knows it’s time to raise their glasses and toast. Your ending doesn’t have to be cheesy or traditional (unless you’d like it to be that way) and you can get creative to ensure your wedding toast is as awesome as it gets.
Are you stuck trying to find a one-liner to close your wedding speech? Here are a couple of examples:
- Down the hatch, to a striking match!
- It doesn’t matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect, as long as they’re perfect for each other. (Good Will Hunting)
- To love, laughter, and happily ever after!
- May you live each day like your last, and each night like your first.
All-in-all, to have the perfect wedding speech all you need to do is speak from your heart. As long as you show your genuine happiness for the couple, there’s no way your toast will flop.
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