How to Find the Perfect Speech and Words for a Toast at a Wedding

Holding a glass while you deliver a toast can prevent fidgeting and distractions.

The wedding toast grants the best man, maid of honor and bride and groom the opportunity to thank guests for attending the wedding. Toasts are created from a variety of sources and even the nervous need not fear getting tongue-tied when it comes to delivering the speech. If you are in the wedding party, clear your speech ideas with the bride and groom before you deliver your toast. Avoid stories which may hurt or embarrass anyone.

Instructions

1. Consider your style before you write your speech. Do you want to deliver a serious toast or a humorous toast? Ask the bride and groom about their preferences before you begin.

2. Thank the bride and groom for asking you to be in the wedding party at the beginning of your speech. Thank guests for attending. Introduce yourself and explain your relationship to the bride and groom. The bride and groom can also thank guests for attending in their introduction.

3. Write down a list of possible speech ideas. If you are the member of the marrying couple, you may write down how you met your spouse, what it was like when you started dating or how the marriage proposal happened. Did you once emerge from the bathroom with toilet paper on your shoe and your spouse teased you about it? Humorous anecdotes like these can also be included in your speech. Select one or two of these for your speech.

4. Write down stories that demonstrate your relationship to one or both members of the married couple if you are in the wedding party. Did the groom help you through a trying emotional time, or did the bride take you out after you were stood-up on a date? Did you once play a humorous practical joke on the groom? Choose one or two of these ideas for your speech.

5. Browse through quotes on love (see References). You may also draw lyrics from songs that handle the subject of love. Avoid lyrics that relate to heartbreak or other negative emotions relating to love. Select one of these quotes and weave it into your speech, such as saying, "As Plato once said, 'At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.' "

6. Offer words of wisdom or advice to the marrying couple if you are in the wedding party. Your advice can be serious or humorous, such as advising the groom to turn the volume on the television up when he is home to survive dealing with his wife. Serious wisdom may include always working problems out calmly or remembering that even though there may be obstacles in a marriage, problems can be overcome.

7. Toast to the couple by saying, "To [bride's name] and [groom's name]" at the end of the Maid of Honor's speech.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice your speech over and over again. If you continually miss a certain word or phrase, delete it and rewrite it.

• Keep your speech to a maximum of a few minutes. Do not ramble.

• Clear all speech ideas with the bride and groom first.

References

• The Knot: Wedding Toast Tips: Leave Wedding Guests Speechless
• The Knot: Wedding Toast Tips: 30 Inspiring Quotes
• The Knot: Tips for Maid of Honor Speeches