By Chris Morton
As you sit down to write a wedding speech you may feel roadblocked by how to structure your speech. Ideas may be flying around your head, but questions keep preventing you from putting them down on paper. Or you may just need that extra inspiration for your wedding toast. Here is some advice on how to put together your wedding speech or toast:
Structure
A wedding speech or toast is not that different from writing an essay. Every speech has a beginning, middle, and end, but it is quite shorter than those high school essays. The beginning opens up what you are going to say. Some people like to start off with a nice quote or anecdote. The middle is your meat and potatoes, so you want to put the bulk of your toast here, and the end sums it all up. Remember, though, to keep your toast positive and end it on an up-note. Give yourself enough time to really structure your wedding speech so that you come off as well-spoken and don't ramble on.
What to Write
Now that you know your structure, you can concentrate on your content. A great place to start your wedding toast is to introduce yourself and your role in the wedding or relationship to the couple. Remember, not everyone is going to know who you are. Then add something personal about the couple. You can share stories or just say something nice to wish the couple well. Keep it personal, but not too personal.
Where to Find Inspiration
Still suffering from writer's block? Try using some triggers to inspire you to create a simple wedding speech. You can use quotations or old pictures to trigger memories or special characteristics of the couple. If you save old letters and postcards they can help you remember some fun stories to share. Talk to friends and family to get ideas, or even discuss stories with the bride and groom.
General Advice
Even after you write your wedding toast, go over it again to make sure it is appropriate. Make sure you write it down legibly for reference at the wedding. You never know if you will freeze in front of the guests, so having it written down will help you give the speech easily. Also, keep the speech clean. There may be children or conservative people present, so telling dirty jokes or sordid stories should be saved for another time.
Being clean also applies to your appearance. Check yourself out in a mirror before you stand up to give a toast. Keep your speech short and to the point, but also let everyone know it is done by closing with "now raise your glasses to" or "to the bride and groom." |
