Wedding Toasts
The day can be a memorable one or it can be a disaster. A wedding has a way of taking on a life of its own and wedding toasts can add to this in many ways. Wedding toasts can range from being forced wit, blunders, blabber and knocking knees to lots of well meaning fun and good will showered on the bridal couple and sometimes including the family and guests. Wedding toasts can add negative vibes to an already disaster of a day, or they can make everyone feel warm inside and want to show their love to the bride and groom.
The direction a wedding takes depends on many factors: How formal the wedding is, is the main one. If you have a formal wedding, you usually have pretty tight control of the goings-on and you can keep the wedding toasts flowing pretty well. There will be guests who are prepared to give their wedding toasts and will do so without incident. But, if your wedding is on the informal side, and the reins are not pulled in as tight as in a formal situation, then anything can happen.......including your good old Uncle George from your father's side getting a little waterlogged and grabbing the microphone and giving his views on life and marriage and sex. It's times like this with wedding toasts that can make or break a social situation.
But there is a bright side to this picture: wedding toasts can be the one sunny spot in the land of boring speeches. Because anyone can give wedding toasts on the spur of the moment, and some are moved to do so by overwhelming emotion and too many sips of champagne; then wedding toasts can be light, and happy, and wonderful little bits of fun provided by the family members and guests who are close to the family, just because they love the couple so much, and are so happy for them, that they just are bursting and have to let it out. So, in that regard, wedding toasts can be the most memorable part of the whole wedding.
So, if you feel compelled to put in your two cents by giving wedding toasts, then just remember a few simple rules: Keep it short.........there will usually be others feeling like you do who want to toast also; and Be careful what you say and how you say it. Being rude and uncouth is never acceptable in wedding toasts, and going all out to embarrass someone, especially the bridal couple, is a definite faux pas. Don't use dirty jokes or demeaning language because wedding etiquette does not stand for that.
Wedding toasts should impart what you feel in a lighthearted and fun way, and not make anyone feel down or embarrassed in any way. Just show your heartfelt feelings as best you can while keeping the wedding toasts short, and to the point. And when you are through giving the wedding toasts, then you must actually toast the couple...........raise your glass while speaking, and then drink from it when you are done speaking. You'd be amazed how many people let their nerves direct their brains, and they get so wrapped up in the wedding toasts, that they forget to do the actual toast and drink from the glass.
Just keep your wits about you while giving wedding toasts, remember to drink the bubbly when finished speaking, and you will be just fine.