The Toast

Continuing on with our tips and Secrets that make an ordinary wedding extraordinary: The Toast or Welcome speech.

 Whether you toast before or after your dinner does not really matter. What does matter is that it is done with style. I have seen moments where the parents have gotten up and welcomed everyone and followed it up with the most emotional speech or the funniest stories, which is more effective than any ice breaker idea any DJ has ever come up with. I’ve also seen some toasts where everyone has just winced. Tom Haibeck (www.weddingtoasts.com) is a public speaker and a Toast Master and has written a book, Wedding Toasts Made Easy, chock full of great information, but here are some g tips to start with:

·         Keep it Simple: Less is more. 3-5 minutes is good. Speeches that ramble lose the crowd

·         Make it personal: A story about how you met the Bride or Groom, or a story about growing up makes it personable

·         A Little humor: is a good thing. I once had a Maid of Honor do a song to the tune of Piano Man with lyrics pertaining specifically to the couple. It brought down the house.

·         BUT: keep the embarrassing stories at home. This is not the time to ‘punk’ someone. Inside jokes are also a no-no. It makes your audience feel uninvolved and it will lose their attention.

·         Don’t forget the toast!: Many times I’ve heard great speeches without ever being concluded by saying “Now, let’s raise our glass for the new Mr. and Mrs. . . .”

·         And finally: HOLD THE MICROPHONE UP TO YOUR CHIN! Some of the greatest toasts or funniest punch lines were never heard because the speaker was holding the mic at their chest – or lower. Or they were waving their arms around while holding the microphone. Your belly button cannot talk. The closer the microphone is to your chin, the better we can hear you.

Feel free to share this with your Maid of Honor or Best Man J.

Until next time,

~ Mike ~