#134 Write The Best Toast Ever with Beth Sherman

Writing a toast or a wedding speech - or your VOWS can be daunting. You want to be personal yet universal. You want to be yourself, and also write something profound and relatable. You want to be honest and funny and touching, but you don’t want to cry all over yourself when you say your vows, or give your toast. The pressure is on! This episode is all about the toasts/vows/speeches. It’s about how to put pen to paper, to edit and curate, and to stand up and proudly speak your words to a room full of people. Big Takeaways Can we just take a second to appreciate that Beth has written for Ellen and the White House Correspondents Dinner?! What. So awesome. A couple basic rules from Beth: A wedding toast should be about 2-5 minutes long. You want to entertain everybody in the room - you want them to have a good time. Help everyone remember why they are there. It’ a toast, not a roast. Rehearse a few times! And remember - a laugh is what brings people in, but you don’t have to keep people laughing the whole time. Lastly - come from a place of love. (One more ‘rule’ - don’t get drunk before you give the toast.) Let the people toast! Our take: if someone you love wants to stand up and give you a toast on your wedding day...let them. There are so few times in life that people stand up and verbally shower each other with love. And you should take when you can get it. Beth has a list of questions that she uses to draw out information when she is working with a client to write a toast. She needs to get a sense of the person writing the toast, and she needs a sense of the couple being toasts, and how the three people are tied together. And the basic structure is the introduction, the meat of the speech, and then the actual toast. Remember that the introduction is important so that no one listening - maybe someone that doesn’t know you - feels left behind. If you’re asking someone to give a toast at your wedding - tell them that it can be 1-2 minutes long! A guideline will help someone that might feel a little nervous about it some confidence to say yes. If you’re giving a toast at a wedding - be sincere. That’s Beth’s #1 ‘best practice’ tenant. Tell your story and the humor will come out organically. Sit down and jot down some notes without a structure. These notes will eventually become your toast, but when you are just starting out, don’t worry about the final product. When giving your toast - introduce yourself and acknowledge everyone. How does everyone there know the couple? Who are you? How do you know the couple? What do you remember about when your friend told you about the new girlfriend…(his now wife)? Links we referenced https://takecareof.com http://www.bethsherman.com The Big Wedding Planning Podcast is... Hosted and produced by Michelle Martinez. Edited by Veronica Gruba Music by Steph Altman of Mophonics On Instagram @thebigweddingplanningpodcast and be sure to use #planthatwedding when posting, so you can get our attention! Inviting you to become part of our Facebook Group! Join us and our amazing members. Just search for The Big Wedding Planning Podcast Community on Facebook. Easy to get in touch with. Email us at [email protected] or Call and leave a message at 415-723-1625 and you might hear your voice on an episode On Patreon. Become a member and with as little as $6.99 per month, you get 2 exclusive, ad-free episodes, + Zoom Happy Hour with Michelle and fellow patrons every month! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices