How to do a best man toast and maid of honor toast
I have listened to well over a thousands best man toasts and maid of honor toasts at Weddings. Most of them could have been a bit more polished. Some of them should have never happened. A few of them were brilliant.
Here are my suggestions for making a best man toast and maid of honor toast at a Wedding for the Bride and Groom as a Best man or Maid/Matron of honor.
- Keep it short. Definitely less than 5 minutes and preferably less than 3 minutes. Your audience zones out right about the time you introduce yourself.
- Keep it about the Bride and Groom and not you. No one cares about you, and everyone is there for the Bride and Groom.
- Tell the Bride how beautiful she looks and/or the Groom how handsome he is.
- Thank the people who are paying for the party and compliment them on it. It doesn’t matter if it is the most redneck Wedding in the World, compliment them.
- Have at least three compliments for both the Bride and the Groom. I know it is tempting to roast the Bride and Groom but keep it complimentary, not embarrassing. Remember it is their day.
- If you tell a story, be sure that it is relevant and complimentary to the Bride and Groom. No one wants to hear about your beer bonging in college.
- Write it down unless you are a walking computer. Even if you have a photographic memory, you will inevitably forget something.
- Consider that everyone is either thirsty, hungry, or needs to get to the bathroom. Keep that in mind.
- Talk to everyone and not just the Bride and Groom.
- Speak loudly and into the mic.
- Don’t be cliche.
- Practice.
- Be yourself.
This is my list of things to consider when writing your best man or maid of honor toast for a Wedding. This is just a small list that I could expand a lot, but keep it simple, or as my teacher used to say, “keep it simple, stupid.”
Have fun, don’t stress out about it, and get up and make everyone proud.