Wedding Toast - Help

[Homer]

I'm going to a wedding on Sunday and am the best man. I'm supposed to write a toast and have no idea what the format is supposed to be. I would just say whatever I feel like saying, but my friend has suddenly become completely anal-retentive and probably wants a classic sounding toast. So please, help me out (and keep in mind that I hate public speaking, so the shorter, the better). Thanks.

[jaxUp]

I've been friends with groom for a long time and think he deserves to be happy. I'm glad he found such a great partner and I know that Bride truly makes him happy. I wish you bost the best of luck, blah blah.

something along those lines.

edit: obviously the wording sucks, but this is definitely the type I would do as it's short and to the point.

[The_Clubrep]

Are you going to inject any humour into it...? What is the audience like ? Young / Old etc ??

[butters]

Here's to honor...gettin' on her and stayin' on her.

[Ortho]

Your job here is to deflect attention to the bride and groom, not to call it to yourself. If you do that, don't make any terrible attempts at truth/humour, etc., and keep it pretty short, you will be fine. Jaxup's line is perfect, imo.

[Homer]

[ QUOTE ]
I've been friends with groom for a long time and think he deserves to be happy. I'm glad he found such a great partner and I know that Bride truly makes him happy. I wish you bost the best of luck, blah blah.

something along those lines.

edit: obviously the wording sucks, but this is definitely the type I would do as it's short and to the point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, this is exactly along the lines I've what I'm looking for. If I was more slick, I'd interject some humor, but I'd probably just end up offending someone.

[Avatar of Wine]

"Good to see Frank's dad, I haven't seen him in like . . . 8 years . . . "

[markum9]

Yeah, just make sure you talk about both the bride and the groom, even if you don't know the bride so well. It's tacky if you just talk about one. Make it short, and add a personal touch or two and that's all you need.

Also, light humor is fine, crude jokes are not. I was at a wedding where the best man said that when the bride & groom first started dating, they never saw Christy (the bride obv). So they thought "Christy" was just code for the groom's left hand. The grandparents didn't appreciate that so much.

If they have a rehearsal dinner and you're toasting at that, that's where you can throw some jokes in.

[MaxPower]

Say what an honor it is to be the best man.

Talk about some personal recollections that show what kind of peope they are and what they mean to you. Hopefully it is a funny story that doesn't embarass them. Say something nice about the parents if you know them.

Don't forget the schmaltzy ending where you talk about how much they mean to you and then ask everyone to raise their glasses and join you in a toast to the couple.

[alfman]

In my college days, I worked as a banquet waiter for a couple years. Heard lots of best man toast. Don't worry, most of the best men were nervous and managed to get through it. One witty ending I remember went something like this..."I have a little advice for the couple. Don't lie, cheat or drink to much. However, if you do lie, lie in each others arms. If you do cheat, cheat death. And, if you do drink to much, do it with all of us. Here. Here. (raise glass, pound beverage, breathe because it's over with)".