Your Special Wedding Toasts [Hardcover]

Sharon Naylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Your Special Wedding Toasts provides everything needed to help all the toast-givers rise to the occasion. It offers new ideas not only for the best man and father of the bride, but for everyone from the maid of honor to guests, and shows how to craft the toast, how to practice it and pitfalls to avoid, such as toasting only the bride or groom as opposed to the couple.

This helpful guide includes a brainstorming questionnaire to help collect and organize thoughts and stories, popular and inspiring quotes, examples of successful real-life toasts, plus a collection of original wedding toasts tailored to such special situations as second weddings, outdoor or destination weddings and even post-elopement parties.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sharon Naylor is the author of 23 wedding planning books. She is the wedding Q&A specialist at NJWedding.com and a regular contributor to the top bridal magazines, including Bridal Guide, Bride Again, and Bride's. She is also a wedding content contributor to Bed Bath & Beyond. Sharon has written for Shape, Health, Self, Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan and dozens of additional national magazines. She is a member of the highly prestigious International Special Events Society, The Association of Bridal Consultants, and The American Society of Journalists and Authors, and she has won top honor awards from Writer's Digest magazine and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She currently lives in Madison, New Jersey.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from Part 1: The Basics of a Great Toast

Chapter 1: Where it all Began
Even the experts can't quite pinpoint when and where in time and culture the practice of raising one's glass with words of well-wishing began.

Earliest man may have used ceremonial drinks as offerings to the gods of weather and hunting. The ancient Greeks and Romans would lift their goblets and speak to the gods, hoping to gain favor. The Romans' practice of moistening stale bread in their wine may have left the wine glass with the title "toast." There is also a legend of two revelers accidentally spilling some of their libation into each other's glasses, then drinking to good health. And finally the 17th century British were the leaders in toasting to the women beginning with the Queen.

There you have it...the various, diverse explanations on the origin of the toast. It's only natural that so much of early wedding lore was built around superstitions and gaining the favor and protection of the gods or good spirits. Those who wished the couple good fortune only naturally lifted their glasses and sealed their wishes with a sip.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402202687
• ISBN-13: 978-1402202681
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Naylor is the author of over 35 wedding planning books and as a noted wedding expert has appeared on top television programs including I Do! With the Knot, Get Married With Colin Cowie, Good Morning America, Primetime, Lifetime, ABC News, and many more. She has also been featured in InStyle Weddings, Modern Bride, Brides, Wedding Channel, The Wall Street Journal, Bridal Guide, Southern Bride, New York Bride, New Jersey Bride, and as the resident wedding Q&A expert and spotlight blogger at iVillage.

Sharon has always advised brides and grooms to prepare for the marriage, not just the wedding, and all of her books focus not just on planning details like designing a wedding cake or choosing a gown, but on the *relationships* that build between the couple and their in-laws, the relationships that may change between the couple and their single friends, and the relationships a couple can create between themselves and their wedding vendors. Weddings may be stressful to plan, but they don't have to create stress in your life. Sharon Naylor's 20+ years in the wedding industry have exposed her to so many different personality types trying to work together, she knows the kinds of clashes that can happen and she advises against every type of planning or communication mistake. The goal is, of course, a beautiful and personalized wedding day, but Sharon Naylor wants you to *enjoy* the process with the positive people you know, always taking the time to think about what's going *well* instead of what's still left to do or what's disappointing.

Sharon Naylor says she gravitated to wedding world because it's comprised of all of her favorite things: travel, gourmet food, floral design, fashion, photography, dance...and most importantly the gathering of far-flung friends and family to celebrate a happy occasion.

A recent newlywed, she lives in Morristown NJ with her husband Joe and she is currently the wedding spokesperson for several high-profile corporate brands.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My toast is going to be GREAT thanks to this book, March 12, 2007

By 

Joanna B. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Special Wedding Toasts (Hardcover)

As the mother of the bride, I was quite nervous about making a toast at the wedding. But after reading this book, I now know my toast is going to be TERRIFIC. I found so many great quotes and poetry to inspire me, and I loved the tips on actually delivering the toast to a room full of people. I know that my daughter is going to love what I have to say to her, and I'm not nervous at all anymore. This is a GREAT book for anyone who will be speaking at a wedding, or at a rehearsal dinner, whatever the need for a well-written and well-delivered toast. I'm recommending this to all of my friends!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small book, great value!, September 26, 2007

By 

Ian Shackleford (Ironwood, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Special Wedding Toasts (Hardcover)

I was 35 and had never delivered a formal toast before being best man in a wedding in September 2007. I paid only $1.99 for this book but it would have been well-worth the cover price. The book is a simple how-to guide for writing a toast.

The book is 118 pages long, the pages are small, and for a basic toast you only need to read about half of the book. The second half of the book is for special situations (toasts for children, second weddings, post-elopement celebrations, etc.).

The best part was the Toast Questionnaire in Chapter 3. Answering those twelve questions got me started and provided the raw material that became a successful toast two weeks later.

I also purchased and read Wedding Toasts Made Easy by Tom Halibeck, and I recommend that book too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Value - Saved the Day, June 24, 2009

By 

k-d-p (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Special Wedding Toasts (Hardcover)

I was asked to handle the toast for an old friend who had moved and was marrying someone I barely knew. Both persons had been previously married for many years. This book not only supplied a beautiful toast (that had an uncanny relation to the ceremony itself), it also provided excellent suggestions for making introductory remarks before the toast that allowed me to both honor the couple and to incorporate the fact that I did not know the groom all that well. The situation was actually a little extra tense for me since there was some "unease" among the groom's offspring about the role they were willing to play in the festivities. Sharon Naylor's book gave me the material and the coaching to handle the situation with confidence. It must have worked because I received a number of compliments afterward. Thank you, Sharon!