Wedding Toast – A Best Man’s point of view
A wedding toast is usually a short speech (often only a few couple of sentences), given by somebody close to either of the wedding couple’s families wishing the newly married couple a happy married life. A wedding toast is offered in honor of the bride and the groom. All the other guests then raise the glass and drink to show their support.
In most Western countries, before or after a meal (traditionally paid for by the bride’s family, though rarer now), toasts are made by the wedding party wishing the couple well. Traditionally, the speaking parties include the bride’s father, groom, the best man (who usually slips in a few good-natured jokes at the couple’s expense) and the maid of honor.
Source: Wikipedia
Customarily the best man, the maid of honor and the parents of the bride as well as the groom will say something over the course of events. However, close friends, the bride and groom themselves or anyone who has something to say is welcome to make a toast.
It goes without saying that best man toasts are a very significant element of the wedding reception. The best man is expected to give a speech which is humorous and cheerful rather than a solemn one like, for instance, the father of the bride speech. The best man speech generally concludes offering a toast to the groom and the bride. A best man wedding toast can, in fact, make the wedding reception graceful or ruin it completely. No wonder the best man speech or toast is considered as the most important wedding toast.
Suggested reading – Here’s an excellent article related to Wedding Toast.
Creating the Perfect Wedding Toast
How to create a beautiful wedding toast that is formal yet fun and interesting.
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Wedding Speech Order and the Best Man Speech
Before deciding on the order of the wedding speeches in a wedding ceremony it is important to know that who are going to give their speeches. The Father of the Bride Speech and the Best Man Speech are a certainty in all Christian weddings across the continents. Apart from them the Groom, the Bride and the Maid of Honors give their respective speeches in most weddings. Though people like Father of the Groom, mother of the Groom or Bride also sometimes are seen and heard to deliver their speeches, the 5 most prominent wedding speakers are –
1. The Father of the Bride
2. The Groom
3. The Bride
4. The Best Man
5. Maid of Honors
So, what should be the perfect order for the best man to give his best man speech? It’s more or less like the order of the list above. The father of the bride comes first followed by the groom. If the bride decides to give her speech, she is next. And then comes the best man’s turn to deliver his best man speech. A best man speech is often followed by the Maid of Honor speech.
If you notice carefully you will realize the best man speech is more or less in the middle of the list. The best man has to complement the speakers who delivered their speeches prior to him as well as make the stage ready for the next speaker such that the mood of the wedding ceremony doesn’t get spoiled. No wonder, the best man speech is the most interesting and pivotal among all wedding speeches.
