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How To Deliver a Wedding Toast

How To Deliver a Wedding Toast

by | Nov 23, 2021 | Communication, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Wedding Toasts

Courtney Reisman + Kevin Haines get married!

Yay!!! Our daughter is now married to our son-in-law. That has a nice ring to it.

Last week I blogged about components of a good wedding toast.

Now I want to share good wedding toast examples and delivery options.

Two best ways to deliver your toast

  1. You can read your speech using paper or your phone/tablet. This approach works well and you won’t have any worries about forgetting your comments or what comes next. My husband, Jim, used this method.
  2. You can share your message by speaking extemporaneously. You’ve written down your remarks and you’ve practiced out loud in advance, and you give your toast without notes. I used this approach.

Wedding Toast Examples

Karen’s Toast to Courtney + Kevin

About 2 months ago Courtney, Kevin and I sat right over there, at this beautiful Hickory Street Annex wedding venue, going over wedding details with Michelle – who manages this venue. She asked, “Do you have a rough idea of the number of people attending?” Courtney replied, “Yes, almost everyone has already sent in their reply cards.” Michelle, wide eyed, responded, “YOU HAVE GOOD GUESTS.”

I laughed and commented back, “I love what you just said. We do have good guests.”

Jimmy and I stand here on this very special evening – looking at YOU, “our good guests”. May I say how blessed we are to share this moment with you.

You are family that are also our friends. Which makes us incredibly lucky.

You are friends that feel like family. Which makes us incredibly fortunate.

And we welcome our new family – Nancy & Rick, Mark & Jacque, the Haines’ wedding guests & C + K’s friends.

Jimmy and I thank all of you for sharing in our immense joy.

Please lift your glass for two toasts!

First – Please toast each other because it takes a village! AND

Second – Please toast our beautiful and happy daughter & son-in-law: Courtney and Kevin. May you have a happy and healthy life together. L’Chaim, to life!

Jim’s Toast to the bridal couple

Karen and I want to thank everyone for coming to help us celebrate Courtney and Kevin’s wedding.

It seems like only yesterday that my little “Sweetpea”, as I call Courtney, was just a happy kid crawling around like a spider on all 4’s.

She has evolved into an independent thinker, accomplished ICU nurse, and a great daughter to us, sister to Brett and friend to many.

When she first described Kevin to us, she did so with a smile in her voice.

We soon met Kevin, when he and Courtney joined us at the Ranch one weekend. He arrived with a bottle of my favorite Gin – and we bonded over our mutual love of Gin AND Courtney!! How brave of him to meet us at the ranch. I have guns.

Kidding aside, Kevin’s easy demeanor, intelligent conversations, and big smile & laugh, won us over immediately.

Together they are like a physics equation. Their sum total greater than their individual parts.

We are delighted to join families with Nancy and Rick Haines – Kevin’s parents & Mark, his brother, and his wife Jacque and their children Elizabeth, Christopher and Meridith.

We look forward to sharing many more special family events in the future.

Please raise your glasses to toast the newlyweds – Courtney and Kevin!!!  L’chaim!!  To Life!!

🥂 Call us to work on writing and delivering your wedding toasts! 🥂

Happy Thanksgiving to our blog readers in the US. I’m thankful for your support of Speak For Yourself® programs & coaching; and I thank you for sharing in the joy of our daughter’s wedding ❤️.

 

Author: Karen Cortell Reisman is Founder of Speak For Yourself®, a communication consulting firm, and the author of 2 books on how to communicate. She lives in Dallas, Texas and loves the idea of finally being a Mother-In-Law!

Did you know we offer a free 20-minute communication consultation?

© 2021 Karen Cortell Reisman, All rights reserved

How To Write & Present a Wedding Toast

How To Write & Present a Wedding Toast

by | Nov 16, 2021 | Communication, Presentation, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Wedding Toasts

Courtney Reisman + Kevin Haines get engaged

You have knocked on our door many times over the years with this exact question, “How do I do a wedding toast?” You follow this question with, “Help!”

Right now – lots of postponed weddings are happening and many toasts are being given to joyful brides/grooms.

In fact, our daughter is getting married to a great guy on Saturday… so this topic is top of mind!

Components of a good wedding toast

  • Honor the couple getting married.
  • Include a nod to the parents and family(s) of the couple.
  • Share a personal anecdote about the couple using dialogue. Give the story some flavor.
  • Provide some sage wisdom (optional)*.
  • Keep it short.

*Sage wisdom – If you do it, be minimal! Is the couple really listening to you at this moment? That said, you will give the couple a copy of your remarks (if you wrote them down) and they can enjoy your insights at a later date.

Delivering your toast

Do you read your remarks … or memorize your comments … or wing it?

You have one more 4th choice – outline your comments and speak extemporaneously (prepared and presented conversationally without notes).

We promote the 4th option and the 1st.

  • Why it is ok to read your wedding toast/speech: You are emotional. It is your child, or your best friend, or even your parent who is getting married. You are not the hired entertainer. Go ahead and read it. You’ll stay on track. BUT… please read “from your heart”. Try to look up on your first and last sentences and provide eye contact in-between as well.
  • Or go with Option #4 – You’ve written something on paper but you’re giving your toast without notes. For this approach practice out loud ahead of time. Get the flow and order of thoughts clearly in your head so that you talk to your guests with confidence and heartfelt emotion.
  • Please don’t wing it. These speeches can be good, but can fall short of what you really want to say and long on tangents.

My toast to you: “Please raise your coffee cup or Yeti. Here’s to you – our great blog readers. Thanks for your support of our work and for sharing in the joy of Courtney and Kevin’s upcoming wedding!”

Next week: I’ll share our wedding toasts. 🥂

Karen Cortell Reisman book on sellingKaren Cortell Reisman Speech BookAuthor: Karen Cortell Reisman is Founder of Speak For Yourself®, a communication consulting firm, and the author of 2 books on how to communicate. She lives in Dallas, Texas and can’t wait to embrace this future Son-In-Law into her family.

Did you know we offer a free 20-minute communication consultation?

© 2021 Karen Cortell Reisman, All rights reserved

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