Plan your engagement toast in advance. Keep it brief with a personalized message addressing the couple and acknowledging the parents. Use appropriate jokes, express gratitude to everyone, rehearse, don’t memorize, and close with a strong, memorable finish.
Table of Contents
1. Plan For Perfection
Planning ahead for your engagement toast will help you deliver a memorable toast celebrating the couple. Planning will also help reduce anxiety and ensure your message is clear and well-articulated.
Preparing your toast in advance involves understanding the audience and tailoring your message to their expectations. It also means rehearsing your message to avoid getting too emotional and stumbling over words.
2. Keep It Short
Keep your toast short and sweet to maintain the event’s energy and flow. A short toast will ensure that everyone gets a chance to celebrate the couple, not listen to long, boring speeches. Delivering your message in under two minutes shows you respect the audience.
A short speech is more memorable and impactful. It’s easy to genuinely express your admiration and love for the couple with a few words.
3. Share a Personal Story
The best speeches are the ones that take people on a journey. An engagement party toast with personal stories has more depth and emotion.
Share a heartfelt and entertaining story relevant to the occasion that will create a connection with the audience. Avoid stories that will embarrass the couple or are offensive to the audience. You can share how you met the couple and admire how they put each other first.
4. Show Your Personality
Showing your personality in your speech helps to connect with the audience. Let your natural style shine, whether that means using humor or sincerity. Avoid mimicking other people’s styles and being too formal and stiff.
The key to showing your personality is to be yourself. Show your personality through your tone and body language. If you’re funny, inject humor but avoid inappropriate jokes. Remember, you got the opportunity of giving a toast because the couple values you.
5. It’s About The Couple
An engagement party speech is about celebrating the couple, so your speech should focus on them as one. They’re starting a journey together, and your speech should reflect your support. Use inclusive language to make the newly engaged couple feel united.
Engagement speeches are celebrations of partnership, and your language should reflect that. Include a story to create a more personal and meaningful message.
6. Acknowledge The Parents
Acknowledging the parents can help to show them that you appreciate all they have done to support the couple’s relationship. It’s a chance to express gratitude for the countless hours spent on activities that helped to shape the couple’s lives.
It also sets a positive tone for the rest of the celebration. When everyone feels appreciated and included, it creates an atmosphere of joy and celebration that will be remembered for years.
7. Raise A Glass

When you raise a glass, you’re acknowledging the significance of the engagement and the commitment the couple makes to each other. It’s a way to honor their love and show your support for their future together.
Raise your glass at the end of your toast. Hold the glass at the base, raise it slightly, and sip your drink to create a celebratory atmosphere and show respect for the occasion.
8. About Humor
Using humor appropriately in your toast can help to lighten the mood and create a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. When using humor, less is often more. Remember, this is a celebration of love and commitment, not a time for stand-up comedy.
One way to use humor is to tell a funny story about the couple. Ensure the story is appropriate and won’t embarrass anyone. Avoid any stories that involve exes or past relationship drama.
You can also use humor by making fun of yourself. If public speaking makes you nervous, you can mention that. Self-deprecating humor can help defuse any tension or nervousness you might feel.
9. How To Speak
Speaking clearly and slowly helps to convey the emotion behind your words and make them more impactful. However, speaking too quickly or unclearly can hinder your audience’s ability to follow your message, leading to confusion.
By speaking slowly, you allow your audience to take in your words, allowing them to appreciate the significance of your message fully. Speaking clearly ensures your message is received as intended.
10. Show Gratitude
Expressing appreciation for the happy couple and their guests creates a positive and welcoming atmosphere that sets everyone at ease.
Showing gratitude reinforces the bond between the couple and their loved ones. The family members and close friends have taken time out of their busy schedules, brought gifts, and written heartfelt messages. By acknowledging this generosity and showing your gratitude, you strengthen the ties that bind everyone together.
11. Offer Advice
When you offer advice in an engagement party toast, you provide valuable guidance and support to the couple. Here are a few tips to help you offer helpful guidance without overstepping any boundaries:
- Keep it positive and encouraging: Avoid negative comments and focus on uplifting and encouraging words.
- Personalize: Share your own experiences and how they relate to the couple’s journey.
- Mind the audience: Keep your advice appropriate and considerate of everyone in attendance.
- Don’t make assumptions: Avoid assumptions about the couple’s relationship, future plans, or what they should do.
- Keep it brief: While offering advice is a thoughtful gesture, your toast should not turn into a lecture.
12. End On A High Note
How you close your dinner toast can make or break the entire experience for the happy couple and their guests.
You can end with a strong finish by incorporating a toast quote or meaningful anecdote that ties into the theme of your toast. You can also incorporate an appropriate joke or witty remark into your closing.
13. Practice Makes Perfect

Practicing your engagement party toast can help to reduce anxiety. Rehearsing your toast can help you feel more confident in your delivery and ensure your message is clear and well-delivered. You may have the perfect words in your head, but if you haven’t practiced saying them aloud, you may find that they don’t come out as you intended.
Pay attention to your tone of voice and body language as you practice. Are you speaking clearly and confidently? Are you making eye contact with your audience? If unsure, record yourself giving the toast on your phone or computer and review it. This can also help you give a continuing toast at the couple’s anniversary.