Wedding toasts are a traditional part of any reception. The wedding toast gives members of the wedding party and guests the opportunity to wish the couple well. But, just what is the origin of the wedding toast? Well, the origin of the wedding toast presents us with a few different theories; here are a couple of the most popular.

Most people believe that the origin of the wedding toast comes from traditional religious benedictions. These benedictions are believed to be the origin of the wedding toast because they are a sort of blessing, which is also considered part of the wedding toasts origin as well.

Another interesting point related to the conceptual origin of the wedding toast is how it came to be called a wedding "toast". It is said that many years ago in France, a piece of bread was placed at the bottom of the bride and groom's drinking glasses, and a sort of race was held to see who could drink to the bottom of the glass first. It was said that the person who reached the "toast" first would be the ruler of the new household.

Regardless of the origin of the wedding toast, it is an important tradition in most weddings today. You don't need to know the origin of the wedding toast to understand that the couple will treasure the kind words spoken by their guests for many years.

So, the next time you plan to attend a wedding, remember the origin of the wedding toast, and prepare your own blessing for the new couple. At most receptions, the guests are given the opportunity to toast the couple once the members of the wedding party have completed their toasts. And, now, while you're making your toast, you can explain the origin of the wedding toast to the couple, too!

You might benefit from the following suggestions:

A wedding reception is usually a gathering of people who don't know each other very well. Many of the guests have probably never had the opportunity to meet each other before the ceremony. Although the guest have all have one thing in common - a desire to have fun and wish the bride and groom joy starting there new life - things can be a little awkward at first. Using humor in the wedding toast is a good way to break the ice and help people to relax and enjoy themselves. Once your audience is laughing along with you, you'll probably find it easier to make your speech as well.

Humor in a wedding toast can range from visual gags to gentle teasing of the bride and groom, to telling jokes and puns depending on the speaker's style. For example,a suggestion for using visual humor in a wedding toast might be to mention how weddings always make you cry - and then pulling a magician's never ending handkerchief from your pocket to wipe your eyes.

A joke that could be used to add humor to a wedding toast might be something like, "To our wives and lovers - may they never meet!" Anecdotes of the good times you shared with the bride or groom are always a fun way to inject humor into the toast. Self-depreciating humor can also help lighten the mood.

Mixing good humor into a wedding toast, along with good helping of sentiment and best wishes for the bride and groom is sure recipe for giving a speech that will be a big hit at the reception.