A wedding speech is a story, a personal reflection, or even an anecdote. A wedding toast is the actual blessing where guests are asked to raise their glasses in celebration of the honored couple.
In the UK, most people raise a toast at the end of their wedding speech. In America, the wedding speeches are commonly known as toasts, but in the UK the term refers almost exclusively to a few lines at the end of the speech when the guests raise their glass and drink to the newlyweds.
One of the duties involved in giving the perfect best man speech is to give a best man speech toast to the newlyweds – you'll have to ask everyone to raise their glasses and drink to the happy couple and their future together.
Toasts serve to unify the group, acknowledge a person or event, mark a special occasion, or simply to encourage the consumption of alcohol. These can range from serious to silly but are normally words that point out something that is commonly known.
Keep It Short
As Dickson notes above, toasts can involve just a single word; indeed, in ancient times, it was common to simply raise a glass “To health!” You don't have to keep your toasts quite that pithy, but they should always be short — about 30-60 seconds, erring on the shorter side versus the longer.
"May the most you wish for be the least you get." "May good fortune precede you, love walk with you, and good friends follow you." "May your home be a place where friends meet, family gathers and love grows." "May the roof above us never fall in, and may we, as friends, never fall out."
“The best length for a toast is about three minutes,” Polansky says. “It's enough time to say what you need to say, but short enough that you'll still have everyone's attention when you ask them to raise their glasses to toast the happy couple.”
*Do not toast yourself. If you are being toasted, just sit there, and afterward, say thank you. Don't even put your hand on your glass, much less drink. *Do not clink glasses, especially if there are more than four people involved.
Usually, toasts end with some kind of wish for the future, such as “May you live for as long as you want, and never want for as long as you live!” If you find yourself at a lot of formal dinners, it can be wise to memorize a go-to toast or two, whether heartfelt (“May your house always be too small to hold all our ...
Start by announcing who or what you're toasting—the person, group, organization, or occasion—and the reason for the gathering. Give the audience context by letting them know why you're making the toast: your relationship, connection, or a little about yourself.
A toast speech is a type of tribute speech meant to honor someone. Your goal as a speaker should be to make that person feel special and to allow others in the room to be included in the celebration.
Rise to the occasion
The person delivering the toast stands (the exception: a small, informal occasion). Everyone else—include the person being toasted—remains seated, unless the toaster instructs everyone to do otherwise—“Please stand and raise your glass to the happy couple…”
Special occasion speeches are given to commemorate someone or something. Types of special occasion speeches include speeches of introduction, presentation, acceptance, dedication, and farewell; eulogies, toasts, roasts, and inspirational speeches.
The category of speeches that you are most likely to have to give is ceremonial speeches. Ceremonial speaking, originally called epideictic oratory, includes graduation speeches, wedding speeches, eulogy speeches, after-dinner speeches, award speeches, toast speeches, and tribute speeches.
Toasts are given to acknowledge and honor someone on a special occasion (e.g., wedding, birthday, retirement). Roasts are speeches designed to both praise and good-naturedly insult a person being honored. Eulogies are given during funerals and memorial services.
Bread vs Toast
They found that in both preparations, toasting bread resulted in lower blood glucose values. But at the same time, consuming toast (especially darker toast) can lead to higher exposure to acrylamide.
Toppings and Seasonings
Sometimes it can just be properly seasoning with salt (try this on sweet toasts!) or pepper (or both). To give some heft to your toasts try things like sprouts or radishes or roasted vegetables, like zucchini, mushrooms, or eggplant, splashes of good-quality olive oil and flaky sea salt.
How do you end a wedding toast? You end your toast by asking everyone to raise their glasses and saying a charming, funny or meaningful sentiment out loud for everyone to echo – you'd usually end it with 'to the bride and groom/happy couple/newlyweds' or use their names, and the wedding party would say it back to you.
✓ A 20-minute speech would be 2500 – 3000 words (word count function on computer) or about 8-10 typed pages, double spaced. ✓ Speaking for less time is better than speaking for a long time. ✓ Speaking slow is better than speaking fast.
Aim for 20 to 40 minutes duration and you'll keep your audience happy. Not too short, and not too long. When you need some great public speaking tips you are always free to browse our series of tips, podcasts and videos.