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.
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.
One of the key goals you should have in writing your speech is to not leave anyone out. Weddings can be political affairs and forgetting to thank a key person can come back to haunt you.
The Parents. Early in your speech it is essential that you thank your bride’s parents. This is most certainly the case if they have paid for the wedding. Make sure that you thank them for their support and for accepting you as a part of their family. Even you if hate them and the feeling is mutual, make sure that you acknowledge them early in the speech.
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.
The Bride. Of course, you should thank your bride and tell her how much you love her. Everyone expects it and people will feel horrible if you forget.
Some Other Tips:
-Whatever you do, don’t try and be someone else. No one wants to see your Steve Martin impression.
-Don’t act like someone you are not.
-Make a detailed list of all of those who must be thanked.
-Make a cheat sheet and keep in on hand.
-Write out your speech and practice reading it out loud, over and over.
Milton Kelly offers etiquette suggestions on topics including weddings, proper manners and groomsmen gifts.
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