Standing in front of friends and relatives speaking your wedding toast can be a nerve-wrenching experience. You worry that you will stammer and stutter, or worse get so nervous that everyone will be able to hear the shakiness in your voice. Preparation is the key to relieving yourself of some of this nervousness. As far as what you say, that is a bit trickier. In a mixed crowd (namely one that includes your parents and in-laws), you know that your wedding toast needs to meet a certain standard. There are no rules to follow to create a memorable wedding toast, but as long as your wedding toast includes humor, sentiment, and is an enjoyable length and pace, it will go over well with your guests.

All Jokes Aside It's true that humor can break the ice and help you to feel more at ease about presenting your wedding toast, however, don't just throw out jokes. Is there a story about you and your significant other that has a humorous ending? These go over much better than what you might find in a joke book. If you decide to tell a personal story, check with your significant other to make sure it is acceptable. One thing that can definitely ruin a wedding toast is the look of embarrassment or anger on your mate's face. Tell Them How You Feel Showing public sentiment is typically more difficult for men. So just by adding a bit of emotion to a wedding toast will go over well for the groom.

You don't have to make it very deep. Just a few words that show your guests how you feel about your mate are sufficient. Mystery is a good element to couple with emotion when giving your toast. By hinting at something that is only known to you and your mate also makes the toast romantic.

Keep it Moving You know how you're talking to someone and you have the urge to finish their statements for them because they take the round about way to say something? Don't do this with your wedding toast. This is the fastest way to lose your guests and to slow down the reception. It is a good idea to practice your toast several times. Memorize it if that helps. Keep it Short A wedding toast is a speech, but a SHORT one.

You don't want to put people to sleep or worse, have people leaving the ceremony. Practice the toast beforehand and make sure that it is no longer than a few minutes.

S. Stammberger is the owner of Great Wedding. All you need to know about Wedding Planning in one place.