Etiquette of Toasting Brides

Suggested bridal toasts include: ‘‘As unto the bow the cord is, so unto the man is woman. Though she draws him, yet she follows: unless each without the I other.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. —From the late 1950’s to early 1960’s, “Babycham was the first drink a woman could order in a bar without feeling a tart or a crone,” writes rock biographer Philip Norman. 

Toasting the Bride is Traditional

NEW YORK (UPI) — The first occasion for toasting the bride and bridegroom is at the engagement announcement party. Traditionally, say etiquette experts, it is the custom for the father of the bride to offer the toast, followed by a toast from the father of the bridegroom. 

The second important toasting occasion is at the bachelor dinner party given by the bridegroom for his ushers, best man and close friends. After the bridegroom offers a toast to his bride, the stems of the glasses are broken so they may never be used for a “less honorable purpose.” 

The next toasting comes the night before the wedding. At the rehearsal dinner, it is traditional for the father of the bride to make the first of the many toasts which are offered. The final toasting takes place at the couple’s wedding reception. 

Suggested bridal toasts include: ‘‘As unto the bow the cord is, so unto the man is woman. Though she draws him, yet she follows: unless each without the I other.”—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

“Let the bells ring for you; let the angels sing for you. Let the children dance for you and let us drink to you.”—Anonymous 

— From the Desert Sun, 1962

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia