The Wedding Toast, A Groom’s Guide

November 7th, 2009

The Wedding Toast, A Groom’s Guide

Weddings are much, much more than just walking down the aisle and saying “I do.” The groom’s responsibilities at the wedding are not over after the vows. There is one more wedding tradition that all grooms must endure, the wedding toast. Wedding toast can be tough for grooms that finding public speaking difficult, but there are tips toward creating a great wedding toast. It always helps to display some originality and humor as well as a sense of romance. These three speech elements are, in fact, critical to the overall success of a groom’s wedding toast.

On most occasions, the groom’s toast is one that largely focuses on thanking family and friends for their contributions and time. Of course, any groom worth his salt will want to thank his wife as well. Usually the groom’s speech comes after the father of the bride’s speech. Hopefully, the father of bride has said some nice or even great things about you, which should make the transition to your speech a bit easier.

Keep in mind that the groom’s speech really needs to focus on expressing gratitude to all those people that made your wedding a success. One way to make sure you are appropriately and effectively thanking all those who need to be thanked is to consider who contributed the most to your wedding. When writing your groom’s toast, think about any contributions that were funny or particularly funny or stood out in some other way. These contributions may very well make for great stories. Of course, timing, as always, is everything. With this in mind, your speech should not exceed five minutes. There are going to be many speeches and toast at your wedding, and the last thing you want is for people to remember your wedding as a boring one.

Of course, try not to leave anyone out of your speech. Wedding mistakes of this nature can often wound ego, but no pressure.

The Guests. Some of your guests likely traveled just to see you get married. Keep this in mind when you are thanking people for their time. Also many of your guests have given you some pretty nice gifts, so why not thank them?

The Guests. Of course, you should thank your guest. In theory, your guests have spent a little bit of money on your wedding gifts, so there is so reason to be thankful towards them. Briefly thank them for spending their time with you on your wedding day, and make special note of any guests who have traveled a long distance to be at your wedding.

Thank Those Who Made Special Contributions. With all the commotion and occasional chaos that is a wedding, it is often easy to forget to thank all sorts of guests. Try and not forget anyone who lent an extra hand to make sure your wedding was a well-planned and fun event for all involved. This group often includes wedding planners, bridesmaids and groomsmen. More than likely some of these contributions would make great stories in your speech.

The Bride. If you forget to thank your bride, you are in a lot of trouble. Obviously thanking your bride should be a “no-brainer.” Feel free to express your love of her and tell her how beautiful she is on her wedding day. Make sure that you look into her eyes when addressing her, and end the toast with her.

Basic Tips:

-Be yourself. Don’t put on an act.

-Keep a cheat sheet on hand and don’t be afraid to look at it.

-Make a cheat sheet and keep in on hand.

-Write out your speech and practice reading it out loud, over and over.

Milton Kelly is a writer who prides himself on offering would-be grooms the best advice on everything from etiquette to groomsmen gifts.