How do you determine who speaks at the wedding reception and when? This depends on whether you are going to have a traditional reception or something that is a little more current. Traditionally, wedding toasts are not performed by the bride or other females. However, today many women want to speak at the wedding reception along with the men. The information in this article will deal with traditional wedding toast etiquette.

The most important thing to remember is that all wedding toasts should not be offensive to either the bride's family or the groom's family. Something that may be funny to one family may seem to be offensive and in poor taste to another family. Therefore it is good etiquette to make certain that the toasts are tasteful to both families. The speaker should also think about how formal the reception is. If the reception is very formal and black tie, the toast should be formal. A reception at a local bar or restaurant may be the proper place for more humorous stories. Be sure that the bride and groom prior to the wedding to be sure of what they are expecting as far as wedding toasts.

So who is the first to speak at a wedding reception? At a traditional reception, the best man usually goes first. Etiquette suggests that for a best man toast, he should tell a few stories about the bride and groom. Remember, this needs to be clean so that no one is offended by the toast. The best man should say a thank you to the parents of the bride and groom for helping them get to this special day. This is a special day for the bride so the bride should be toasted by the best man at the end of his speech.

After the best man gives a toast, proper wedding etiquette calls for the groom to go next. The groom should thank both sets of parents, the guests, his bride, and the bridesmaids. The groom should comment on the beauty of the bridesmaids and thank them for all of their help. When the groom toasts his bride, he may want to include the story of how they met with a little humor and sweet teasing. Appropriate etiquette would never have the groom tease the bride so that she is embarrassed or talk about the bridesmaids so much that he makes his new bride jealous.

Lastly, the bride's father should say a few words. Etiquette suggests that he welcome the guests to the celebration. He can talk about the memories he has of his daughter before he gives a toast to the happy couple. He then announces that the festivities can now commence. Light teasing is acceptable but again, it should never embarrass the bride.

It is perfectly acceptable if other relatives or close friends want to speak at the wedding. The etiquette for wedding toasts is changing quickly. Brides can toast their new husband and her parents. This was never done in the traditional wedding etiquette. Plan for whatever is best for your family and friends.