It’s Wedding Season – Tips for an Epic Toast to the Bride and Groom

The toast: At wedding receptions, it’s the chance for a heartfelt, sometimes jocular, and sometimes spectacular, tribute. It’s the vital link between the formality of the wedding and the casual camaraderie among the guests. It’s a quieting down in the midst of marital merriment when a singular voice takes the stage inviting everyone to raise a glass in shared celebration of bride and groom – and love everlasting.

It is what I look forward to most, more enticing even than the shrimp plate and more riveting than the no-holds-barred dancing of the electric slide.

I even look forward to wedding toasts in movies. I both laughed and winced in Bridesmaids when Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne awkwardly battled through their toast in desperation for Maya Rudolph’s affections. And, in Wedding Crashers I cringed and then silently cheered when Rachel McAdams found her heart and delivered a toast that she got just right, “You know, someone once told me that true love is the soul’s recognition of its counterpoint in another.”

However the toast is delivered; it is an anticipated highlight and often a forever memory. Which is why you want to get it right. I’ll never forget my mother and father’s emotional toasts at our wedding. My ears can still conjure my dad extolling the virtues of my new mate, “You have only to meet Rob to know that he is a real ‘mensch,’ – an admirable, human being.” And, my mom’s appropriate use of Broadway lyrics (me being a Broadway baby, and all) and the song “Married,” from Cabaret to showcase the wonder of togetherness, “How the world can change, it can change like that – due to one little word, ‘married.’”

Think about your favorite toasts. They are probably the ones that came from the heart, made you laugh or smile, were charming, sentimental and spoke truth to the newly wed couple. Or maybe you love the toasts when the best man tells an embarrassing but endearing story about the groom being less than husbandly, or the maid-of-honor tells some heartfelt or even sappy story that leaves everyone in tears.   Or visa versa.

All this adds up to why wedding toasts and speeches have such a nerve-wracking reputation. Knowing what to say about your sibling, or a great friend and new spouse can leave even the best of public speakers a bit overwhelmed.

My best advice? Don’t wing it. There is nothing taboo about rehearsing your speech ahead of time. Like everything in life, being prepared helps – a lot. What’s more, when you’re not prepared filler words can creep into your otherwise beautiful prose filling those emotional and nervous pauses and watering down your speech and distracting your audience.

LikeSo to the rescue!  Open the LikeSo app and swipe right to get to the Goal screen.  For Type of Goal, select “Toast.”  Then, from the drop-down menu, select your Target Date, Length of Event and set Daily Reminders. LikeSo will give you a Target Speech Conditioning Score and allow you to track your progress over the day/week/month/year.  Now, choose “FreeStyle” mode and deliver your performance. LikeSo captures all of your words noting how many fillers you used and which ones, delivering a real-time Articulate Score (A+ to Uh Oh!). LikeSo even allows you to save your results. The more you practice, the less those “like,” “ya knows,” “okays,” “rights,” “totallys,” and “sos” will pepper your speech. And, LikeSo will also tell you your pace – don’t rush this moment. It is a special one.

Here are eleven tips to help you deliver a wedding toast that the bride and groom will cherish:

1. Practice ahead of time with LikeSo (#sayitlikeso!)

2. Start off strong with a heartfelt welcome

3. Thank the hosts and show your gratitude.

4. Introduce yourself and your relationship to the bride and groom

5. Stay classy and sober.

6. Be sincere and speak from your heart.

7. Tell stories. Share some insightful moments and tell stories about the bride and groom. This is your chance to really deliver something memorable, and maybe worthy of a chuckle or two.

8. Use props. Used sparingly, props (e.g. memorabilia) are always a good thing!

9. Celebrate their love by offering a sentimental or funny quote or lyric that will resonate with the newly wedded couple.

10. Be brief.

11. Raise a glass. Don’t forget that this is a toast and give everyone a chance to share a “clink” in celebration.