During the speech, several guests left the reception room, many of whom asked me to "do something" to end the toast. Not to mention the caterer whose next course was delayed due to the extended speech. Of course, there was nothing that I could do but sit and wait for the speech to come to an end. Which it did - eventually - and to a very rousing round of applause from the guests.
Now, the best man is the groom's cousin, he is in his very early 20's and this was the first wedding he had ever attended. And the newlyweds were extremely happy with the kind words he said, and all of the preparation it took. But, guests at a wedding do not expect to sit through such a long dedication during the reception and were not paying attention to the speech to enjoy it. The same type of situation also occurs when too many people give toasts to the bride & groom.
So what can be done to stop the long-speech-giver, or the fifth (or twentieth) person to take the mic and give a toast? Take these few simple steps to ward a potential drag on your reception:
- Designate up to 4 people to give a toast, and tell the DJ or Band leader not to let anyone else take the mic
- Speak with the people you have chosen to give toasts, and ask them to keep their speeches under 5 minutes - there are websites that can even help!
- Remind those that are giving speeches to speak clearly so that even Grandma Rose can understand them!
Until next time, happy planning...
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