Irish Wedding Toasts
People have finally become aware of the beauty and timeless elegance of the Irish wedding toasts, and they in turn are becoming more and more included in a traditional wedding whether the couple is Irish or not.
A very popular beginning line of Irish wedding toasts is “Sl”inte” (meaning “good health” and pronounced “Slawn-tche”) and Irish wedding toasts are being used so often these days, that it is not unusual to hear the guests replying with the same salute even though they are not Irish.
Here's some examples of good Irish wedding toasts: “May the light of friendship guide your paths together, may the laughter of children grace the halls of your home, and may the joy of living for one another, trip a smile from your lips, a twinkle from your eye.”
And this one: “May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies, quick to make friends. But rich or poor, slow or quick, may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.”
Here's another good example of Irish wedding toasts: “May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more. And may nothing but happiness come through your door.”
Here's one that is a little bit of a twist on one of the more common Irish wedding toasts: “In your life I hope you do four things: lie, steal, cheat, and drink. When you lie, do it to save a friend, when you steal, steal someone's heart. When you cheat, cheat death; and when you drink, drink with me.”
To set the record straight, here is the original version of that toast: “There are four things in life that you must never do: lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love; If you must steal, steal away from bad company; If you must cheat, cheat death; And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away.”
With all the wonderful Irish wedding toasts that are out there, this very traditional toast is one of the very best: the bride and groom give the toast and then the guests answer it. Here is what the bridal couple toast: “Friends and relatives so fond and dear, 'tis our greatest pleasure to have you here. When many years this day has passed, fondest memories will always last. So we drink a cup of this Irish mead, and ask God's blessing in your hour of need.”
And the guests' response to this most traditional of Irish wedding toasts is: “On this special day, our wish to you, the goodness of the old, and the best of the new. May God bless you both who drink this mead, may it always fill your every need.”