When the celebration comes, it all comes down to the couple. Every moment of the celebration should focus on them.

Wedding speeches and toasts can be difficult, but anniversary toasts are even harder. After all, at a wedding you can always capitalize on the excitement of the moment to inspire you. All you really have to do is congratulate the bride and groom and say something clever or cute. You can be sure that people will applaud. On an important anniversary year - such as the 10th, 20th, or 50th anniversary, You need to come up with something better. You really have to capture the spirit of the event.

When one of my friends was having his 20th anniversary party, I was definitely in a state of panic. Although I had already found good anniversary presents, I had no idea what I would say. He was one of my best friends, and had been for several years, so I knew that I had to make the perfect anniversary toast. Nonetheless, as the deadline approached I was getting nothing. All of the anniversary speeches that I tried to write seemed clichéd somehow. I really did care for both of them a great deal, and wanted to show that with my words, but I am a lousy public speaker.

In desperation, I search the web for anniversary toasts. There were quite a few and they got me started, but I couldn't put on those personal touches that completed them. Then suddenly, I hit on a solution. I used one of those anniversary toasts as a template and pretended that I was writing a speech for someone else to give. The difference might sound trivial to you, but for me it made all the difference. Suddenly, I wasn't stuck on the anniversary toast anymore. I knew exactly what to write. I even had an entertaining anecdote to throw in, loosening up the crowd with laughter before I delivered my heartfelt congratulations. All in all, it seemed to be a masterpiece.

There was something about being prepared that made it easier to give the speech. I thought that, even after preparing anniversary toasts, it would be hard to speak in front of all those people. A nice dinner and a few glasses of wine, however, make it much easier. Everyone was in a very warm, generous mood. Somehow, because it was friends and family, I felt free to speak my mind and open myself up. The anniversary speech went off without a hitch. Everyone there seemed to love it.