What Is Entailed In Setting Up And Giving A Champagne Toast
A wedding is steeped in tradition; no matter what part of the world you happen to be in; there are certain traditions that just go with the ceremony and that’s all there is to it. People expect it, they wait in anticipation for it to happen, and they miss it when it is left out—–I’m speaking in generalities about traditions, and a champagne toast at a wedding is one such occurrence.
Usually the formality of the wedding celebration will determine the particulars of the giving of the toast and how many toasts there will be. The father of the bride by tradition, will give the first champagne toast and then other members of the family and selected friends can stand up and do the same. This takes place during the reception quite often after dinner has been served and consumed, but before the dessert has been served. In some instances, the toasting is done before the dinner starts.
When planning the champagne toast part of the wedding, it is imperative to take into consideration the fact that many people today do not like champagne at all and will not drink it, so why waste all that money when a suitable substitute could be used—-such as sparkling grape juice or sparkling apple juice. And another thing is that the religious overtones of the ceremony may not allow the drinking of alcohol, so you would need to use something else for your toast besides champagne. In the entire scope of the universe, I don’t think it matters too much to the assembled guests whether they are toasting the couple with apple juice or champagne or sparkling water for that matter. The important thing is the meaning of the champagne toast, not what you are toasting with; and a lot of money is saved in the process that could be used more effectively elsewhere.
If the couple insists on having champagne for the toast, they could have the champagne just for the two of them and serve something else less expensive or different for the rest of the guests. There are so many gorgeous glasses and flutes that are made and decorated just for the wedding ceremony and the champagne toast, that it wouldn’t be a real hardship to have the couple have their own special glasses and then have something more generic with possibly a sweet wine or the sparkling grape juice for the guests. Seems such a shame to go to all the expense of bottles and bottles of champagne and special glasses for the guests, to have so much of the drink go untouched.
For the champagne toast itself, remember to keep it short and sweet. Don’t go yammering on about yourself and happenings that mean little to the gathered folks in front of you. Make it personal for the bridal couple, insert little jokes if you are good at it (if not, forget it), tell a funny story about the couple (keep it clean), tell them how much you appreciate them and being a part of their lives and celebration, and above all—–be brief, down to earth, sober!, and sincere. Make sure you end the champagne toast with a salute to the couple—like Cheers! –or Prosit! –whatever works—-so the folks listening to you know that the toast is over; raise your glass to the couple and the guests will follow suit, and then remember to drink from your glass. The guests will follow your lead and do the same.
Something everyone should think about when planning a wedding is the champagne toast and what it will cost, since most couples and most guests expect the toasting to happen. The cost for this toast can be prohibitive for some couples unless you go a more inexpensive route and use something other than champagne. The following information should give you a small idea of what the cost of a champagne toast could run you. If you want to keep the costs down, you can go with an inexpensive bottle of champagne for about $5/bottle and your cost per person would run about $1.50/person. A little more expensive route would be champagne that runs about $14/bottle and with the cost of renting the flutes to drink it from, the cost would be approximately $3/person. For those of you who want nothing but the best for your wedding, you could go with a champagne that comes in at about $40/bottle and with crystal flutes for the guests, the amount per person would be about $7. Take into cost consideration also that the caterer, if he is in charge of the toast and serving the champagne, will charge you approximately $1/bottle uncorking fee for every bottle opened.
Making sure that the wedding will be just as perfect as you imagined it to be when you first started planning it, will take dedication to sticking to the plans and staying within your agreed upon budget. There are many costs to figure upon, and the champagne toast is just one of them, but when all is said and done, it is an important factor to many people and should be planned carefully so the memories it creates will be positive ones.
