Best Man Tips

We have assumed up to this point that the speeches will come after the meal. This is not always the case. For example, if the reception is more informal, with a buffet rather than a sit-down meal, the speeches may come before the food (and after the cutting of the cake). There is no particular necessity for this, nor any great advantage to it, but that is the way the arrangements are sometimes made.

The drawback is, of course, that some of the wedding party and the guests may be getting a bit peckish after the ceremony, depending on when they last ate, and may therefore not be quite so inclined to sit back (or perhaps stand, as at some buffet meals) and enjoy the speeches as they would be if they had already had something to eat. Speech-makers in such a situation would be well advised to keep their speeches fairly short and to the point.

Of course, another option would be to have the speeches while people are eating. Let them at least make a start on the buffet before the speeches begin, even if the buffet continues during and after the speeches. This is perhaps not to be recommended, though: eating doesn't always go well with speaking or listening.

Another situation in which speeches and toasts are sometimes made before the meal is when there is only a small wedding party who are enjoying food together in a restaurant after the wedding ceremony. There may be fewer speeches or there may be no speeches at all, but simply a short toast to the bride and groom. In such a case, the toast could easily be proposed while everyone is enjoying a drink before the meal, though it could be equally well left till after the meal. (Whatever you decide to do, make sure you don't disturb other people while you are doing it.)