Most of us like weddings and a big part of weddings is often to give a toast. The groom’s wedding toast is an absolute must. It doesn’t matter how shy you might be, the groom’s wedding toast is crucial to a wedding. But not to worry, there are a few easy tips that can help any groom make a great wedding toast. One of the first places to start is to make sure that your speech is displaying your romantic side, as well as a sense of humor and originality.
In general a groom’s toast should focus on thanking family and friends, and of course, letting everyone know how much he loves his new wife. Traditionally, the groom’s speech comes after the father of the bride’s speech. This, of course, means that a great groom’s wedding toast will affirm all the wonderful remarks made by your father-in-law moments earlier. If your father-in-law didn’t have anything good to say about you, well that is a different problem altogether.
Above all else, remember to thank people for being at your wedding. If you do this, you truly have won much of the battle. Your groom’s speech needs to focus on thanking all of those people who helped make your wedding possible. It’s a good idea to write down who those people are as it will help you write your speech. Once you have written down who helped make your wedding possible look and see if there are any funny or heart-warming short stories about those individuals and their contribution to your wedding. Find those stories and you have a big chunk of your speech. Now, just keep in mind that a good groom’s speech should probably not exceed five minutes. Why only five minutes? Because there will be many other speeches at your wedding as well.
The Parents. Thank your bride’s parents. Repeatedly. Whether they love you, hate you, or pretend to like you, thank them repeatedly. This is especially true if they picked up the tab for your wedding.
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?
Thank Those Who Lent An Extra Hand. A special thanks to individuals such as your best man or bridesmaids is always a good idea. More than likely were instrumental in making certain that your wedding was a success.
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.
-Whatever you do, don’t try and be someone else. No one wants to see your Steve Martin impression.
-Absolutely thank everyone!
-Make a list of key people to thank.
-It’s a great idea to make a “cheat sheet” of your speech and keep it handy.
-Write your speech at least a week in advance and practice it out loud!
Milton Kelly lives in Virginia where he writes from his home office on topics important to the modern man such as wedding toasts, grooming and groomsmen gifts.
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