How Long Should a Wedding Toast Be?
How long should a wedding speech be? I get this question from every couple. There is a very easy answer to how long a wedding toast should be:
500 words.
Advice complete. Post over.
Okay, okay. I’ll elaborate since every single couple asks me how long a wedding toast should be. The average person speaks about 150 words per minute. Most people are not professional speakers and should probably give a wedding toast for no more than 5 minutes. 500 words are about 3.5 speaking minutes. I advise people to keep the wedding speech to 500 words so that if they go over a little bit, they will still be under 5 minutes.
More Wedding Toast Advice
Prepare your wedding speech in advance. Don’t wing it. And practice reading it out loud before the wedding day. Be ready to hold that mic right up to your lips.
Don’t read your wedding toast from a phone. The phone will reflect blue light on your face in photos.
Don’t say “for those who don’t know me.” Just introduce yourself, if you think it’s necessary, and move along.
Congratulate the newlyweds, thank the parents/hosts, and tell the women how beautiful they all look.
Skip embarrassing stories and inside jokes – especially if they only involved half of the couple. Stick to endearing but flattering anecdotes. Wrap the funny in emotions.
Have a solid closing line for your wedding speech. Borrow from noted writers and poets if needed.
Wedding Toast Template:
- Greeting and self-introduction
- Thank the hosts for a wonderful celebration
- Funny, attention-grabbing but sincere and clean opening line
- Great anecdote about the bride/groom (related to #3)
- Reason why the bride/groom is awesome (related to #4)
- Reason why the bride/groom’s partner is awesome, and why they’re a great pair
- Great anecdote about them as a couple (related to #6)
- Congratulations to the couple with a beautiful quotation, and/or well wishes
- Toast to the newlywed couple’s future
How to Write a Wedding Toast:
Don’t Chat-GPT it. Everyone will be able to tell. But there is transformative AI out there that will help you write a wedding speech: Provenance. My clients love it, and I’ve tried it myself – the output is phenomenal. It even tells you how long it will take to read! The couple’s wedding planner will LOVE you.
Looking for more wedding-related advice? I have tons on this blog: tips on hotel room blocks, what should my wedding insurance policy cover, how many wedding guests fit at a table, and how to write your wedding ceremony from scratch.
