Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Wedding Toasts

Whether you’re planning a big wedding to share your special day with a wide circle of loved ones or catering for a more intimate affair, do your best to bat off unwanted opinions and suggestions and stay true to what matters the most. A wedding is the reflection of your love story, so make it unique and unforgettable and don’t skimp on any of the details. Thinking strategically about your venue, floor plan, timeline, and other details would be best. Weddings are a day to raise a glass of bubbly, and while the role of champagne varies greatly depending on cultural traditions and personal preferences, one moment gets its time to shine will always be the toast. 

There are so many wedding traditions you can’t go without, and the toast is one of them. Raising a glass and drinking to someone’s health is a custom that traces its roots back to the Greek and Roman culture, where it was used to honor the gods. It continues to symbolize goodwill and camaraderie. The toast provides an opportunity for the best man to poke fun at the groom, for the bridesmaid to get nostalgic about stuff from the past, and for the newlywed’s parents to send feelings of love and best wishes. Choosing who gets to speak on the big day is an important decision that can shape the tone and feel of the wedding. 

There Are No Strict Rules About Who Can Give A Toast 

The wedding toast is a one-of-a-kind situation where bursting into tears is perfectly acceptable. Authenticity trumps perfection. The order goes as follows: the bride’s father, groom, best man, and other toasts. It’s common for both partners to speak, but sometimes only one does. At the wedding reception, it’s typically the best man and the bridesmaid who propose a toast, usually near the end of the dinner, but you get to decide when the toast should begin. Whether you go the more traditional route or not, try not to have too many speakers when deciding who says what and when because it can go on for too long. 

Some bridal parties choose to turn the bridesmaid’s speech into a big occasion and prepare songs or videos that include all the maids of honor and ushers. Early customs continue to have an influence today, so while the nuptials have evolved many times independently, bridesmaid dresses are still chosen to complement the wedding’s overall look and feel. However, it can be challenging to choose bridesmaids for your best friends. A formal wedding can have a half dozen (or more) maids of honor, but a casual wedding can have just one bridesmaid. Don’t fret if the number of ushers vastly outweighs the number of bridesmaids. Of course, the final decision rests with you. 

Selecting The Right Toasting Drink Involves Considering Quality, Flavor Profile, And Prestige 

Worldwide, cultures celebrate meaningful events with toasts, which typically involve liberation, heartfelt words, and, most importantly, the clinking of glasses. If you opt to go the traditional route, it’s recommended to serve champagne, whether you’re providing every guest with a toast or pouring out glasses at cocktail hour. Champagne is refreshing as the bubbles help release the aromas of the wine, making it more enjoyable to drink. Production, from grape growing to winemaking, is a tightly regulated process, but not at the expense of individual creativity, which means that cellar masters have the liberty to make the most of nature’s bounty. 

Most couples choose to serve wine on the big day. With a glass or two of the region’s cheerful wines, you can show hospitality and enhance the culinary experience of guests, potentially heightening flavors, textures, and qualities in the food. Also, wine enhances social bonding. Some wines are matured at low temperatures in wood or steel tanks or sometimes in the bottle. In truly exceptional years of commemoration, vintage wine is released, made from the grapes grown in that year. If you have wine-savvy guests, you can be sure your friends and family will tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine. Some people can correctly identify what they’re tasting. 

All Couples Should Offer Non-Alcoholic Wedding Drinks On The Big Day 

Just because you want a champagne toast doesn’t mean you have to serve champagne. Offering non-alcoholic drinks shows your support for your loved ones when it comes to their health goals, so ensure that all guests feel welcome and have a good time. Some drinks are complex enough to sip and so delicious that you’ll want to have some in your cooler. For example, you can serve a non-alcoholic version of a signature cocktail with an extra savory oomph compared to the original. Whatever you choose is the right decision, but have plenty of juices, tea, coffee, and sparkling water. 

An ever-increasing number of couples are having guests toast with the glass in hand, which can be anything from fruit-infused water to sparkling cider. Instead of designating a specific beverage, you can let your guests toast with whatever they like to drink. This way, you can make your wedding all the more personal and let your friends and family have a say in the organization, even if it’s your day. Your guests love you and will be the most engaged in a ceremony that is inclusive, so make them a priority at your nuptials. 

You Can Opt For Multiple Toasts Or One Speech At The End 

Most speeches have one toast, which provides an effective punctuation mark at the end of the oration, but some speeches can include two or three toasts. At the end of the day, the couple decides the number of toasts given at the wedding. The big day is about celebrating you, and your preferences take priority, but it’s not a good idea to have more than four or five toasts. Irrespective of who is giving the toast, the speech should be brief, between two to three minutes; it’s long enough to get the point across and short enough to allow for the other festivities.