Posted By CAROLYN MCTIGHE, SPECIAL TO QMI AGENCY Posted 19 hours ago
When it comes to wedding toasts, picking who will speak on behalf of the bride and groom is as important a detail as picking out whether to serve chicken or beef during the reception.
Andrea Lown, creator of the online bridal website Smart- BrideBoutique.com,believes that you should only ask people that you trust to give a toast at your wedding and that it should never be limited to only one person.
"The person who gives the toast should be someone that the bride and groom both know very well," Lown says. "And the more the merrier (within reason). the key to multiple toasts is to keep them short and to the point. Disperse short speeches throughout the evening to keep the flow of the wedding moving."
When it comes to the actual speech itself, Lown encourages couples to take a hands-off approach.
Too much involvement by the bride and groom in the writing of the toast can be a little heavy handed and may result in the toast giver feeling uncomfortable and awkward.
Instead, Lown suggests that couples set out at the beginning the topics they don't want discussed and then leave the rest up to the person they've selected to give the speech.
"Having too much input can spoil the surprise," Lown says. "Enlist a friend or family member you trust to ensure the speakers have their toasts written in advance, and the content is suitable for your audience.
"Th is will also help to plan the order of the toasts in order to balance sentiment and humour at the appropriate moments. For example, sentimental speeches might be good during dinner, while humorous speakers may be better for just before the dancing."
When it comes to the toast giver and any pre-toast jitters they may have, Lown advises that they steer clear of the liquor bar until after their toast has been said. Drinking too much prior to your speech may result in loose lips and some very embarrassing moments you'll have to live down once you're sober.
"Although it might seem a like a good idea to consume a little liquid courage before your toast, it is almost always a disaster," says Lown. "Stick to non-alcoholic beverages, or limit your intake before your toast. better to celebrate your brilliant performance afterwards with a few drinks rather than have to drown your sorrows."
How to write a great wedding toast
Here's to the bride and groom
We are still months away from even thinking about sending out our wedding invitations, but that is not stopping me from ordering the invites already. After all, we selected which ones we wanted a while ago. so understandably, I cannot wait to have them in my eager little hands!
You remember my Save the Dates, right? Well, they are only a small morsel of goodness compared to the actual invitation. the invitation is heavenly. And yes, I reserve the right to swoon over them because they were not designed by me (...only in my dreams!) our talented Andrea designed them, and if she didn't live in New York, I would be giving her the most gigantic hug right now for creating something so spectacular.
If you have been following our Gwyneth Paige blog this week, you probably caught the photos of some of our invitations on Wednesday's post. of the select handful of Gwyneth Paige designs that were posted, you will see the Claire invitation. And she is the one. she is my invitation and is known as the "quilted beauty". When I saw her it was love at first site. Hop over to the post to see for yourself what I am talking about.
Stay tuned, there will be even better pictures of Claire to come. I cannot wait to show you ours when they arrive!
In any Event: Notes From the Future "mrs." - onto the Wedding ...