Around the world

Wedding toasts around the world

Every wedding has a moment where glasses go up. What people say, who says it, and how long they take differs more than you’d think. In Denmark a toastmaster runs ten speeches. In Spain one shouted phrase does the work of all of them. In Georgia the toastmaster is an art form and there are twenty toasts before dessert.

Each page below has the toast phrase with pronunciation, who traditionally speaks and in what order, how long, the customs you’ll see, what to know if you’re the guest from somewhere else, and a short toast you could give. Traditions vary by region and family, so read these as what you’ll often find, not rules.