Photo: Universal Pictures/Courtesy of Neal Peters Collection
Wedding toasts: Whether you love them or you hate them, they’re pretty much inevitable. Planning who is speaking at your wedding is a great way to control what you’ll get, but some more talkative guests can be persistent mic hounds. So how can you keep those unwanted toasts to a minimum? Here are a few tips from our experts.
Whether you’ve gotten requests from additional guests who may want to make a toast, know the rest of your bridesmaids want to grab the mic, or have an uncle who gets chatty when he’s had a couple glasses of wine, figuring out how to prevent people from adding to the list of scheduled toasts at your wedding can be a challenge.
One option is to set aside a separate time for people to speak, most likely at your rehearsal dinner. Open up the mic or, if the thought of an hour and a half of toasts gives you hives, create a list of who will be speaking to keep things under control. Make sure everyone knows who is toasting at the rehearsal dinner versus at the wedding so they can be prepared in advance. Happy to have a free-for-all? After the traditional speeches have been made (by the hosts, as well as the couple, followed by anyone you might have specifically asked to speak the night before the wedding), let guests know that if anyone else would like to make a toast, the microphone will be open for the rest of the evening. Just make sure you’ve got someone stationed nearby with a video camera to capture the fun!
Worried someone will snag the microphone during the band’s break? Let your band or DJ, as well as your wedding planner and other venue staff, know that unsolicited speeches are a no-go so they can keep an eye on the mic (or even turn it off until they’re ready to play again). They can help intercept anyone who might want to make a toast, so you don’t have to worry at all.