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.

1. 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.
2. Keep it about the Bride and Groom and not you.  No one cares about you, and everyone is there for the Bride and Groom.
3. Tell the Bride how beautiful she looks and/or the Groom how handsome he is.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Write it down unless you are a walking computer.  Even if you have a photographic memory, you will inevitably forget something.
8. Consider that everyone is either thirsty, hungry, or needs to get to the bathroom.  Keep that in mind.
9. Talk to everyone and not just the Bride and Groom.
10. Speak loudly and into the mic.
11. Don’t be cliche.
12. Practice.
13. 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.

Northern Michigan Wedding Photographer Paul Retherford