the wedding toast

The origins of toasting can be traced back to ancient societies in the form of raising their cup as a drink offering to their god(s), but there’s also evidence that the ancient Greeks drank to each other’s health, which can be seen in The Odyssey when Ulysses raises a glass to Achilles.

Toasting at weddings then, dates as far back as the sixth Century B.C. When there was a gathering, the Greeks would pour the wine from a common pitcher. The host (the bride’s father) would drink from his glass first to prove to his guests that there was no poison placed into the wine. In these fraught times, the Greeks would spike the drinks of their enemies to ensure silence and even use to prevent a messy divorce! The warring neighbors often ended in a truce that brought the leaders’ children together in marriage. And a banquet celebration. And this is where the tradition of the wedding toast began. The actual term “toast” comes from the Roman practice of dropping a piece of burnt bread into the wine. This was done to temper some of the bad wines the Romans sometimes had to drink. One of the first written accounts originated back in the 16th century, in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor when the character Falstaff says “Go fetch me a quart of sack; put a toast in’t." Over the next centuries the term toasting gradually incorporated the honoring of people. The person being honored often received the piece of toast. Not only was this an honor, it was also used to make the bread edible and also soak up the acidity of the wine. By the 17th and 18th centuries the practice was so popular that Toastmasters were employed to ensure that the toasting didn’t become too excessive!

Your assignment is to write a wedding toast for a real or fictional couple. We have reviewed some examples and discussed some of the strengths and weaknesses common to the form. Use the following as an outline:

• Express gratitude to those in attendance
• Give context: how do you know the bride & groom? This phase of the speech is likely to include anecdotes or other observations about the groom, the bride, or the couple.
• Focus on the couple: Make some observations about them--why are they perfect for each other? When did that realization dawn on you (or on them)? What do you recall about the origins of the relationship?
• Advice/hopes for the future
• Remember to tell people to raise their glasses to the bride and groom, and to offer a pithy comment in doing so!

Some general guidelines and suggestions:

• Humor is great, but it needs to be thoughtful & judicious. Remember your audience, and the occasion! Avoid, for example, any comments about sex, politics, religion, or any reference to exes!
• A poignant tone is common and effective (though it may be hard to manufacture in the fictional context of room 109.
• Feel free to include quotes, poetry, song lyrics, or any other stolen language that might lend a nice flourish.

How long should the speech be? I would shoot for the three minutes or less time frame. Minimum time: one minute. We will present speeches starting... Monday? Tuesday?