Giving a Toast
Sep
12
I found this article in the June 11th Newsweek. I wanted to share it because I know how difficult it can be to write a meaningful and touching speech. I’ve heard many Maid of Honor toasts that have made me tear up and they do all seem to have these rules in common!
WEDDING CHEERS
If the prospect of giving a maid-of-honor speech makes you want to run as fast as your dyed-to-match satin pumps can carry you, take heart: Vance Van Patten, author of “Ten Minutes to the Speech” and executive director of the Producers Guild of America, says using his “Four-H” rule will get you through the toast unscathed.
Start from the heart, expressing admiration and love for the bride and groom. Season the speech with lots of humor, using funny stories you get from the couple’s family members. “If you don’t get a really good version of how the couple met, you failed,” says Van Patten. Expose your own and the couple’s humility by expressing how honored you are to be giving the speech and how lucky they are to have found each other. Finally, end with haste. A wedding speech should last between three and five minutes. Start early and practice telling the stories so you don’t have to use notes. And above all, leave the bride alone. “For a wedding, a bride is sacrosanct,” Van Patten says. “Never embarrass the bride.” –Stephanie Schaerr