How to Write a Wedding Toast: Outline Included

If your checking out this article, chances are you have been asked to give a toast at someones wedding in the near future. This can be a rather daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. With these few simple guidelines  you will be ready and well prepared to give the wedding speech of a lifetime!

When most people sit down to write one of two things happens. Either you can’t think of anything to say and are struck with a terrible case of writers block OR you are filled with a bunch of mumbo jumbo that seems very disorganized and out of place.

If your stuck with writers block here are a few questions to help you write your speech:

1. What is your first memory of this friend or some of your best memories? Why are these your favorite?
2. What do you love about your friend? why is this important to you?
3. How does the way your friend is / or the way they treat other people show you that they will be a good husband or wife?
4. What are the key qualities your friend possesses? how do you see those qualities creating a strong marriage
5. What makes this couple special and unique? How do you see them together and what are your favorite memories of the two of them
6. When did you know that this was a relationship that was going to last?

Hopefully these questions will give you something to write about. If all else fails look up some famous quotes about love and marriage and use them to start or finish your speech. Quotes always have a way of brining out inspiration.

If your filled with way too many thoughts here are a few suggestions to get yourself organized:

1. What do you want your speech to say? By this I mean what is the overall theme. Is it that your friends are made for each other? that your friend is the best friend anyone could ask for, or that they are going to make the perfect husband? What message do you want to get across? Once decided on a theme you should be able to pull specific memories that prove that theme.
2. Write down your favorite memories: which ones are the best? which ones will other people enjoy hearing? and which ones are appropriate enough that your friend wont want to kill you for sharing. (by that I mean you probably don’t want to mention that one drunken night, the ex, or that really stupid thing they did in college)
3. Discuss your thoughts with someone else. Sometimes it helps to process with someone else, this will help you decide what information others will enjoy as well as help you narrow down what information and memories to use.

If you are really struggling feel free to look at my wedding toast outlines. One outline is blank so you can use it for your own writing and another outline is filled in with the outline from my sisters wedding so that you can use that as an example of a wedding speech. The outline is at the end of this post.

1.Write it out–

a tip to any good speech is to outline your speech on note cards or a sheet of paper. However, on your note cards it is important to NOT write out the entire speech. You simply want to write out key words that will help you to recall what you want to say.

Example: Homecoming dance,  coffee cups, or engaged happy face

Instead of: “Doug asked Hannah to the homecoming dance there they had such a good time that they decided to start dating”, ” Hannah and Doug are so in sync that whey sometimes when they are sitting at the table together reading a book or the news paper they both pick up their coffee cups at the same time”, “When Doug Proposed to Hannah I knew he was the one because I have never seen my sisters face be so happy in my entire life”.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice- 

Once your speech has been written out, it is important to practice it many times and in different ways. First, start out reading your speech to yourself so that you get a feel for it. Next, begin to practice your speech out loud. You can do this in a mirror, walking around your room, or just standing or sitting still somewhere. I recommend practicing your speech standing at least a few times because that is what you are going to have to do when  you ultimately give the toast. Finally, Find a small group of people to practice in front of. You don’t want a huge group of people that are going to the wedding to listen to the same speech over and over again, but two or three friends or family that know the couple may be nice. Plus you can always practice on people that don’t know the bride or groom too!

3. Time your speech- 

According to many wedding toast websites the perfect wedding toast time is 6-8 minutes. However, don’t get all worked up if you can’t come up with that many things to say. Sometimes short and sweet can be nice so lets say make your speech 3-8 minutes. But in all honesty, try not to go over the 8 minute limit. No matter how many good things you have to say, people are eventually going to want to get onto the food, dancing, and drinking.

1. Be Confident- 

Everyone gets nervous but its natural and can even be used to your advantage! So don’t worry about a thing, you’ve written a great speech and rehearsed it numerous times. You got this!! Take a deep breathe and go out there and nail that speech.

2. Speak loud- 

Make sure you are loud enough for everyone to hear. Most places may give you a mike now days but not everyone does. So just make sure that your speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. Don’t just stand there and scream your speech out though.

3. Speak Clear and Slow–

Sometimes when people get nervous they tend to rush through the things they are saying. Take a deep breath and remember to speak slowly (normally slow not overly slow) and calmly so that people can understand what you are saying. Tip: Pause at each at the end of each sentence and try to keep a nice flow.

4. Don’t drink too much before hand- Sometimes when people get nervous they get a little something to calm them down. Its okay to have a drink but make sure you don’t have too many before the toast. You don’t want to be all tipsy and overly bawling your eyes out over that one time your friend was nice to you or forget what you were saying. ( a few tears are alright, it can happen to anyone its a emotional moment)

So there you have it folks! All the tips you need to write the perfect speech. Now get out there and rock it! I believe in you.