{"id":20,"date":"2018-07-25T15:42:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T15:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/?p=20"},"modified":"2022-04-04T15:44:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T15:44:15","slug":"the-power-of-a-great-toast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/?p=20","title":{"rendered":"Delivering a Great Toast: Our Best Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In your entire life there are only a handful of times when all the family and friends you love most come together in one location to celebrate you. Your wedding is one of those times, and considering that we don\u2019t really have retirement parties anymore, and you won\u2019t be at your funeral (depending on how you look at it), this is really the only time. So, you can probably see why I think toasts are one of the best parts of a wedding.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while I definitely feel that way as a filmmaker who uses these toasts to drive the stories in our films, I also know that toasts are not always the guests\u2019 favorite part of a wedding. Why, you might ask? Well, to be totally honest, they\u2019re not always good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 7 years of filming weddings I\u2019ve seen incredible toasts that bring the guests to both fits of laughter and tears of emotions, and I\u2019ve seen toasts that leave guests looking around at each other like \u2018Did they just say that?!\u2019  So we decided it\u2019s time we put some of our wisdom down on paper in hopes it might help some of you future toasters out there. Or future listeners who want to be more analytical in their judgement of wedding toasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are our top 10 tips for writing and delivering a great toast:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. Plan it. <\/strong>I know, you\u2019re great at \u2018winging it\u2019. I\u2019ve heard this before, and you\u2019re probably not as great as you think. And if you really are<\/em> great at winging it, you\u2019ll be even better with a little bit of extra thought put in ahead of time. This an important moment for that couple- don\u2019t waste the opportunity to say something meaningful that will stick with them for years to come. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    1. Keep it relatively short. <\/strong>5-7 minutes is perfect. It doesn\u2019t need to be too short, but too long is problematic for several reasons. It can bore the other guests, who are typically waiting for the toasts to be over in order to eat, drink or dance. It can throw off the timeline, which the planner and couple have spent months meticulously designing. And, it can cut the party short. If toasts are supposed to last 20 minutes and they last an hour, that\u2019s 40 minutes the couple doesn\u2019t get to enjoy the dance floor at the end of the night. Be respectful, and cut yourself off at 7. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      1. Toast, don\u2019t roast. <\/strong>It\u2019s their wedding day. Funny stories are okay (though reference #4 before deciding which make the cut), but don\u2019t spend too much (or any) time tearing anyone down. The point of a toast is to share your favorite parts of them as individuals, and as a couple, with all the guests who are there.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        1. Use stories intentionally.<\/strong>  Develop your theme and your key points first and then select stories based on which best illustrate those points. Don\u2019t just tell the funniest, craziest, silliest stories you have because it\u2019ll make you laugh. Those stories usually don\u2019t go over very well, and they certainly don\u2019t strengthen the overall message. Hand in hand with this\u2026<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          1. Avoid inside jokes. <\/strong>I\u2019m sure if you are best friends with the couple you have lots of shared experiences and inside jokes. It\u2019s okay to tell stories (again, reference #4), but if everyone in the room except for you and them is going to look around confused, leave that one out. You don\u2019t want to alienate the audience mid-toast. They\u2019re easy to lose but hard to win back.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
            1. Speak to the individuals, but also them as a couple. <\/strong>If you are giving a toast you likely know one half of the couple better than the other half. Don\u2019t hesitate to share what you love most about the person you\u2019re closest with. In fact, that should probably be your focus. But it\u2019s always nice when you go from there to comment on them as a couple, or how you saw them change when they first met their significant other. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
              1. Avoid generalities, unless you can ground them in specific stories<\/strong>. There are lots of clich\u00e9s and quotes about love, and anyone can string them together to make a 5 minute speech. But it won\u2019t mean anything to the couple, and it certainly won\u2019t help the guests get to know the couple any better. Focus on their story as individuals and as a couple, and only use generalities if you can follow it up with a specific story about them. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                1. Don\u2019t talk about yourself too much<\/strong>. You\u2019re giving the toast, but the toast isn\u2019t about you. Keep the focus on the couple.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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                  1. Print it. <\/strong>Or use notecards. Call us old fashioned, but reading from a cellphone is problematic for several reasons. First, the print is often small and it can be hard to read, making the toast less natural and more scripted. Secondly, and this is a big one for us videographers, the light from the phone is going to cast a weird light on your face. The room is likely going to be a bit darker, and this contrasting bright light on your face isn\u2019t going to look good on camera (or in real life). <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                    1.  Practice. <\/strong>Even if you\u2019re planning to read from a paper, or reference notes, reading through it out loud, standing up in front of a mirror or a friend can make a big difference in your comfort level. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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                      written by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Janice Smith<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Owner, Storyteller, & Chief Dog Lover<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      In your entire life there are only a handful of times when all the family and friends you love most come together in one location to celebrate you. Your wedding is one of those times, and considering that we don\u2019t really have retirement parties anymore, and you won\u2019t be at your funeral (depending on how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weddings"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-04-04-at-10.00.28-AM-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Screen-Shot-2022-04-04-at-10.00.28-AM-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Janice Smith","author_link":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/?author=3"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigdoglittlebed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}