Making a Perfect Wedding Toast

Making a Perfect Wedding Toast

by Jayelle Finch

Sooner or later it had to happen, right? Your best bud would get married leaving you cruising in the single lane on your own. You played that scenario in your mind a few times before.

At the same time he asked you to be his best man, which includes making a wedding toast at the reception for about 375 people. Public speaking is your worst nightmare, but you can't let your buddy down so you said you'd do the job.

You feel honored to be asked but also so far out of your comfort zone that you can't even picture your old security blankie! But you're a take-charge kind of guy who always steps up to the mark. Where do you start when making a wedding toast?

Here are a few words to the wise to make your wedding toast top-notch.

- You can't get started too early. It's absolutely essential to do your homework if you want to give a successful wedding speech. Do your research. Search out books and articles on the web and in the local library on giving wedding toasts. Talk to other "best men" about their experiences.

- Learn to like butterflies. Make them fly in formation by embracing and harnessing the energy that fear produces. That extra burst of energy will enhance your wedding toast.

- Just as a Pulitzer novel doesn't just fly off the screen onto the best- seller list, accept that you will need to write and rewrite your wedding toast. Leave some time between writing and looking at it again. You will be surprised at how you will spot things you need to change. You will know when you have it just the way you want it.

- Use humor gently. Don't use off-color remarks, or embarrassing stories that are better told at a stag than at a reception where people of all ages and backgrounds will hear your wedding toast.

- Talk about your relationship with the groom, a youthful adventure or two, about how you just knew he had met his intended when you were first introduced. In your wedding toast, say what a wonderful guy he is, how you think his bride is a great match and how great a future you believe they have together. Speak from your heart.

- Be brief. Three to five minutes is long enough for a wedding toast.

- Mirror, mirror, who is the best prepared of all? Run through your wedding speech, gestures and all in front of a full-length mirror. Use a stopwatch.

- Grab the mike. Not literally! Try to find a few moments and stand exactly where you will be giving the wedding toast. It will help you feel more comfortable when you take the mike for real.

- Raise a glass. This is the actual toast of the wedding toast. Make eye contact with the bride and groom when you toast them. Lift your arm from the shoulder, toast with a full glass. This takes place at the very end of your wedding speech.

- Hug the groom and the bride at the conclusion of your wedding toast and then take your seat. Job well done!

About the Author:

Start your writing now, get some tips here. For help to start writing your wedding toast, click www.weddingtoasttips.com.

Trouble Finding A Black Wedding Dress?

Trouble Finding A Black Wedding Dress?

by Jannine Topolski

This is an optioned that is shunned by a large percentage of brides, for obvious reasons, however to others the black wedding dress it is the perfect option.

So if you are a bride that is not interested in convention and you are looking for a black dress then there are some specific sources that you need to know about and will want to pay a visit to.

A Look At The Wedding Wardrobe.

This would be an option that I would look into and the reasons are that they have a full range of dresses including the ever popular Xena. This super dress has a full beaded, boned bodice and a back that has a corset pully style.

Jet black Swarovski crystals and a silk bodice with a full length detachable train and front drape. This also comes in a number of other colors if it takes your fancy but was designed as a black dress.

Let's Not Forget Nordstroms.

This is another great option if you are looking for a black wedding dress, and they are definitely a recognizable name. They were first established in 1901, and today are considered as being one of the nation's leading fashion retailers, one which offers a wide variety of high-quality apparel, shoes and accessories for men, women and children at stores across the country.

They offer several different styles of black wedding dresses for you to choose from, and even offer links to other sites offering the same style of dresses on their website, so that if you can't find anything you like with them, at least you may have better luck with the options they supply you with.

Let's Not Forget.

Let's be honest there are some folks that are just not going to approve of your choice of black wedding dress. Does this really matter? No it does not because it is your wedding and it is something that you have to be happy with regardless of what they are thinking.

The color balck is not associated with death and pain in some cultures but more to do with protecting you from misfortune as it is said to deflect negative energy!

Be true to yourself and wear what you consider to be right for you on the special day.

About the Author:

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Local Wedding Planners

Local Wedding Planners

by Amy Nutt

Often, young couples will quickly find out that popping the question may indeed be the easiest part of getting married. And while we all can't have a wedding planner like the one played by Martin Short in the "Father of the Bride" films, some help will probably be necessary in order to have a successful and somewhat-less-stressful ceremony and an eminently enjoyable after-party. A local wedding guide or directory can go a long way towards simplifying the enormous task facing an amateur wedding planner. Most people will only have to plan two weddings in their lifetime at the most: their own and, God willing, that of their children. Even for a simple event, a whole slew of details must be sorted out to ensure the day goes smoothly and everyone has fun. Wedding guides will help the wedding planner consolidate the tasks of coordinating the clothing of all the different parties involved, from the flower girls and ushers, to the groomsmen and bridesmaids, to the bride's mother, to the bride herself. Moreover, very specific arrangements must be made to enable everyone to get fitted for and pick up their garments before the big day arrives. A local wedding guide will provide a directory of all the businesses in a region that service wedding parties so you can compare price and styles.

Not only will a wedding guide help in finding the services you need to make your dream wedding a reality, most will provide a wedding planner where you can enter all the important names and numbers, keep track of who is wearing what, monitor the total cost the whole event, and outline a detailed schedule for the wedding day itself. Most people use a daily planner to manage their daily task and to ensure they stick to a schedule. It seems only natural that a detailed wedding planner should be kept to manage the tasks and schedule for what will be for many, the most important day of their lives. Not only will a wedding planner help to keep track of all the tasks to be done, appointments to go to and rentals to make before the big day, it will also help to maintain a budget. Those few with the luxury of a big budget will think this is less important, but then again, those with a large budget will probably just hire a professional wedding planner to take care of the details. For the rest of us, we want to know just how much the special day will cost us. It is best to decide what is really important to you and not get lost in the details. A wedding guide can assist you to find out what exactly your various options are and making sure you get the things that are important and forego the extras that will really make no difference either way. In addition, most wedding guides suggest some form of wedding insurance, as the cost for rescheduling can often postpone a wedding several months or even a year.

With so much riding on good preparations, it is folly for an amateur wedding planner to proceed in a helter-skelter fashion. A local wedding guide has all the latest industry advice as well as common conventions you may not have been aware of. Remember, this is, hopefully, a once in a lifetime event for the two people involved. Good planning can be the difference between disaster and the realization of a dream. Consolidating your wedding planning will reduce your stress level and increase your ability to enjoy yourself.

About the Author:

Finding a local wedding guide can greatly assist in your wedding planning efforts. Toronto Weddings is your online source for Toronto wedding photographers, Toronto wedding bands and everything else you will need for your wedding!

Making a Perfect Wedding Toast

Making a Perfect Wedding Toast

by Jayelle Finch

Over a beer last night, your best friend told you his wonderful news; he will be getting married to the girl of his dreams in a few months' time. You never thought you'd live long enough to see that happen, for him to take the plunge and settle down.

The idea of being a best man is very appealing. There's nothing you would rather do for your best bud on his wedding day than dazzle wedding guests with a superb wedding toast and share heartfelt sentiments, but public speaking and you, well those words were never meant to be in the same sentence.

You feel honored to be asked but also so far out of your comfort zone that you can't even picture your old security blankie! But you're a take-charge kind of guy who always steps up to the mark. Where do you start when making a wedding toast?

Learn from these suggestions on how to make an excellent wedding toast.

* The key to success is starting early and being totally prepared. Do your research by talking with others who have given wedding toasts and check out web sources and library books too. Don't go with "off-the-cuff" remarks. They simply won't cut it when the time comes, trust me!

* Face the fear and use it. It's only energy after all! When making a wedding toast, it can be very valuable to have extra energy at hand that you can use to captivate your audience and make your wedding toast memorable. A speech without the energy of performance anxiety is lacklustre and totally lacking in passion.

* Allow for several drafts. We're not talking beer here, but rewrites of your speech. Don't expect to nail it right off the bat. Write the wedding speech, let it sit for a few days and look at it again with fresh eyes. Then make some changes. Repeat this process until you feel comfortable with the results.

* A bit of laughter, some smiles, these are what you are aiming for when you use humor in a wedding speech. Never tell intimate stories, use crude language or off-color jokes. Never!

* Take a stroll down memory lane. Recount how you met the groom, about a shared experience or two. Say what a super guy he is. In your wedding toast, compliment his choice of bride and comment about the wonderful future you believe they will have together. Today's the day you can wear your heart on your sleeve.

* Short and sweet. Don't be tempted to go longer than five minutes max for your wedding toast.

* Mirror, mirror, who is the best prepared of all? Run through your wedding speech, gestures and all in front of a full-length mirror. Use a stopwatch.

* Take five. Try to grab a few moments in the exact place where you will be giving your wedding speech to get a feel for the mike and the room from that vantage point.

* Lift a full glass for the toast. Raise your arm from the shoulder and lock eyes with the bride and groom when you toast them at the end of your wedding speech.

* Move to the bride and groom and hug them when your wedding toast is complete. Then it's back to your seat amidst well-earned applause.

About the Author:

Start your writing now, with some tips here. For help to start writing your wedding toast, click www.weddingtoasttips.com.

Surviving Outdoor Tournaments

Surviving Outdoor Tournaments

by James Harrington

All parents need to be commended when they give up their time and energies to sit through their children's sports tournaments. I had good reason to think about this earlier this month when my daughter's softball team had a tournament. The temperatures sored near 90 and the dust rolled in (hadn't had any rain in awhile). I reflected back a how good natured my own parents were when sitting through sports tournaments that my brother and I participated in.

At the kick off of all these tournaments, the kids are totally excited and there is almost a 'fair' attitude. And why should it be otherwise? Brightly colored t-shirts or sometimes full uniforms dot the landscape. And while it may drain your wallet, the cash you put out for hot dogs and soda pop seems to be part of the experience.

You can save a lot of dough over the years by bringing your own food and drink. All you need is an inexpensive cooler for the drinks, cheese sticks, fruit and other items you want to keep cool. Then a tote bag or backpack can house the dry foods like pretzels and peanuts and popcorn. Sometimes your kid's team is eliminated early in the tournament but if you have provisioned well, make a party out of the occasion and celebrate the day.

My tip #3 is that you don't always know what the weather will be at the end of the day so be prepared for just about anything. I don't know how it is where you live but our weather folks aren't all that accurate more than an hour or two out. So pack for all occasions. Some items I include in the 2nd backpack I take is sunscreen, hats, a long sleeved shirt or two and wet wipes. Sometimes if I think it will be hot, I'll even pack one of those mini fans that runs off of batteries.

Even in the most exciting tournaments, there is often a bit of down-time in between games, and siblings that are forced to spend the day at the ball park can get bored really easily. You guessed it, the fourth tip is to be sure to bring along stuff for everyone to do. MP3 players, travel games, magazines, even a deck of cards can help everyone chill out a bit and enjoy some free moments. Another idea for keeping siblings entertained is to download score sheets and give them the job of keeping score during the games.

At the day's end - even if victorious, your kids will tired and dirty and you'll fare no better. Plan ahead so the kids get fed quickly and cleaned. One tactic we use is to pick up some of our favorite food like pizza on the way home. Then I tell my kids that they can't have any pizza until they've cleaned up - that makes the cleaning go fast! Once my children are clean and fed I can relax. Whether it's soaking in a bubble bath or a quick shower and reading a favorite book or watching a classic movie, it's my reward to me as a parent!

About the Author:

The right accessories makes sitting outdoors pleasant. I love personalized tote bag. For me the next outdoor event is a wedding. Find great discount groomsmen presents at EyeCandyGift.com