“I’m sorry I wrote such a long letter. I did not have the time to write a short one.”
-Abraham Lincoln
In the past year, I have worked with four fathers of the bride and/or groom to cull down the millions of ideas running through their head. They need a 2-minute toast and have more than 2 hours of material.
We started by laying out the basic structure of a toast:
· Welcome
· Vignette about daughter/son
· Vignette about early days with new spouse
· Vignette about couple
· Good luck to the couple
Then, I lower the boom: You have to say it all in about 400 words.
[crickets…]
[PROTEST]
“Yes, we can – together!”
You would be amazed what you can say in 2-3 minutes (around 400-500 words), when you focus.
If you’ve been called upon to write a toast, what was the hardest part?