Question: do wedding guests like speeches or dancing the most? It all depends on balance. No one likes endless wedding toasts when they could be dancing up a storm to some great wedding entertainment (provided by us!).
We’re reacting to a piece at BuzzFeed on tacky weddings people had attended. One person wrote:
“I recently attended a wedding where it felt like the guests were held hostage during endless speeches and toasts. We heard from the father of the groom, the best man, the maid of honor, an aunt, two friends, a sister, and the mother of the bride.
Then, when I finally thought we were done, the bride took the mic and went through each table to individually thank each 100+ guest by name, sang happy birthday to her grandma, etc. Then the groom did the same thing! People were talking over them at that point, or got up and went out to the bar. It was never-ending and took up half the reception.”
That famous arbiter of wedding etiquette, Miss Manners, recommends four MAX. They include:
- Best man, who traditionally delivers a formal toast.
- The maid/matron of honor is increasingly part of the toasting line-up.
- One or two parents.
Here’s the thing: many, many people lose track of time when someone sticks a mic in their hands. That’s time your guests could be having fun on the dance floor and at the photo booth. A half a dozen toasters can easily soak up an hour that could’ve been spent on the dance floor.
Wedding toasts ARE a wonderful tradition. If you are planning a wedding, consider carefully how many people you actually want to give toasts at your wedding. We think two or three is just fine. Relegate others to the rehearsal dinner when time is a little more flexible.
At your Cookeville wedding, impress upon toasters to LIMIT their toast to three minutes. That’s plenty of time, because no one likes endless wedding toasts. However, guests DO like endless fun. That’s where Scott Stevens Entertainment comes in. We know how to maximize your guests’ fun while MCing wedding toasts with impeccable flair. Check us out.
Be glad you’re not a celebrity. They’ve got it tough as you will soon see. But when they get married, celebrity weddings can teach you three valuable lessons. Celebrity Weddings Lesson #1: No need for a destination wedding Take Jeff Bezos. The second richest person in the world, with a net worth of $203…
The recent wedding movie, “You’re Cordially Invited,” put the Bee Gees back in the spotlight with its use of the 1983 hit song, “Islands in the Stream.” A lot of younger readers of this wedding blog may not be aware of the enormous popularity of this band, and the power of Bee Gees love…
Actors Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon have a new wedding movie coming out called, “You’re Cordially Invited.” Will Ferrell’s wedding no-no’s were revealed on his promotional tour for the movie (above). Ferrell claimed that if he could have things his way, he’d ban cash bars. Hmmm … we think many readers of this blog may…
Amazon’s 100 Greatest Wedding Songs contains many of the usual songs you’d expect at a Cookeville wedding. “At Last” by Etta James tops the list followed by Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Number fourteen on the list is an interesting song, because the composer himself didn’t like the song. Billy Joel’s “Just the Way…
Social media churns out juicy wedding controversies on a weekly basis. This blog ran across two recent stories that point to larger question than just wedding etiquette questions. The question is: what is the purpose of a wedding? Is it an excuse to have a party? No. Is it an excuse to raise money for…
Let’s say your brother is getting married three months ahead of you. Let’s say his fiancé (your future sister-in-law) is rich, and let’s say you’re not. It’s kind of hard not to succumb to wedding envy when you’re concerned the two weddings are going to be compared. That’s the dilemma a young bride-to-be presents to…
One of the greatest speeches in American history, the Gettysburg Address (re-enacted in the video above), took but two minutes to deliver. And yet a recent bride writing to an advice columnist mentioned that her future in-laws gave a 20 minute wedding ‘speech,’ a real no-no. Even Martin Luther King’s iconic “I Have a Dream”…
Every state has a favorite music genre. So does every generation. And so does every couple. What’s yours? Wedding celebrations are defined by their music, and your favorite genre influences the entire theme of your wedding. We ran across an interesting map (above) which shows which music genres are most popular on a state-by-state basis.…
Discussions on how to give a wedding toast typically focus on younger couples in their twenties or early thirties. Young love is especially passionate, often reflected in the toasts themselves. But what about a wedding toast for an older couple? Is there anything different about them? To be clear, passion isn’t strictly the domain of…
Netflix released another wedding-themed movie, Mother of the Bride, starring Brooke Shields. It follows right on the heals of Irish Wish, starring Lindsay Lohan, released just a few months earlier. Although wedding movies can be endlessly fun, Mother of the Bride was haltingly boring. The premise: Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) springs on her mom, Lana, (portrayed…