The Perfect Timing: When To Give Your Wedding Toast

The perfect length of a wedding toast is between three to five minutes, according to most sources. However, if each toast is three minutes long, the entire speech portion of your wedding will be less than twenty minutes long.

Time your speech

A wedding toast should be meaningful but not drawn out. Keep it to no longer than three minutes and make sure to have a beginning, middle, and end. Practice makes perfect, so rehearse your message in advance in front of a group of friends.

The average person speaks about 150 words per minute, so most people are not professional speakers and should probably give a wedding toast for no more than 5 minutes. 500 words are about 3.5 speaking minutes, so keep the wedding speech to 500 words so that if they go over a little bit, they will still be under 5 minutes.

According to The Knot, the entire speech portion of your wedding should be less than twenty minutes long.

A toast should last no longer than three minutes. Stand; lift your glass by the stem and say, “I’d like to propose a toast.” Pause to allow guests to shift their attention toward you and give them time to lift their glasses. When you start speaking, lower your glass to about waist height.

Ideally, a toast should last between three to five minutes, anything shorter may feel incomplete, and anything longer risks losing the audience’s attention.

Keep it short

A wedding toast should be meaningful but not drawn out. Make sure to have a beginning, middle, and end within the given time frame. Ideally, a toast should last between three to five minutes, according to Akinseye. Anything shorter may feel incomplete, and anything longer risks losing the audience’s attention.

According to The Knot, the entire speech portion of your wedding should be less than twenty minutes long. If you're not a professional speaker, you should probably give a wedding toast for no more than five minutes. 500 words are about 3.5 speaking minutes. I advise people to keep the wedding speech to 500 words so that if they go over a little bit, they will still be under 5 minutes.

A toast should last no longer than three minutes. Stand; lift your glass by the stem and say, “I’d like to propose a toast.” Pause to allow guests to shift their attention toward you and give them time to lift their glasses. When you start speaking, lower your glass to about waist height. Practice makes perfect. Rehearse your message in advance in front of a group of friends.

If you're the only bridesmaid and you've been friends for 10+ years, your toast can be a bit longer than three minutes. Just make sure it's under four minutes.

Practice

A wedding toast should be meaningful but not drawn out. Keep the toast to a maximum of three minutes to avoid losing the audience's attention. The average person speaks at 150 words per minute, so 500 words will take about 3.5 minutes to deliver.

Make sure to have a beginning, middle and end to your toast. Stand, lift your glass by the stem and say, "I'd like to propose a toast". Pause to allow guests to shift their attention towards you and give them time to lift their glasses. When you start speaking, lower your glass to about waist height.

Rehearse

A wedding toast should be meaningful but not drawn out. Keep it brief and last no longer than three minutes. Practice makes perfect, so rehearse your message in advance in front of a group of friends.

The average person speaks about 150 words per minute, so most people are not professional speakers and should probably give a wedding toast for no more than five minutes. 500 words are about 3.5 speaking minutes, so keep the wedding speech to 500 words so that if you go over a little bit, you will still be under five minutes.

The entire speech portion of your wedding should be less than twenty minutes long. Make sure to have a beginning, middle, and end within the given time frame. A toast should last between three to five minutes, anything shorter may feel incomplete, and anything longer risks losing the audience’s attention.

Stand; lift your glass by the stem and say, “I’d like to propose a toast.” Pause to allow guests to shift their attention toward you and give them time to lift their glasses. When you start speaking, lower your glass to about waist height.

Keep it under 5 minutes

A wedding toast should be meaningful but not drawn out. Keep it under 5 minutes and ideally, it should last between three to five minutes. Anything shorter may feel incomplete, and anything longer risks losing the audience’s attention.

The average person speaks about 150 words per minute, so most people are not professional speakers and should probably give a wedding toast for no more than 5 minutes. 500 words are about 3.5 speaking minutes, so advise people to keep the wedding speech to 500 words so that if they go over a little bit, they will still be under 5 minutes.

Be brief and keep the entire speech portion of your wedding less than 20 minutes long. A toast should last no longer than three minutes. Stand; lift your glass by the stem and say, “I’d like to propose a toast.” Pause to allow guests to shift their attention toward you and give them time to lift their glasses. When you start speaking, lower your glass to about waist height. Practice makes perfect. Rehearse your message in advance in front of a group of friends.

Frequently asked questions