Canadian Wedding Toasts: Cheers, Speeches, and Customs

Who speaks, and when

• A master of ceremonies, usually a friend or relative, introduces each speaker and keeps the program moving. This role is more common than in the United States.
• The order follows the American pattern: parents, best man, maid of honor, the couple. In Quebec, the témoins and the parents may speak, often in French and English.
• Toasts come after dinner, and a social, or a stag and doe, may have raised money for the wedding months before.

How long

Three to five minutes each. The MC will tell you your slot and may give you a gentle time limit.

What you’ll see

• The social or stag and doe: a fundraising party before the wedding with tickets, raffles, and a cash bar, common in the prairies and Ontario.
• Quebec weddings often include the French custom of a slideshow or sketch by friends, and 'santé' alongside 'cheers.'
• A late-night snack, often poutine, pizza, or a food truck, after the dancing has started.
• The money dance and glass clinking appear in many communities, depending on the families' backgrounds.
• Multicultural weddings are the norm in the big cities, and the program often blends two traditions.

If you’re the guest from somewhere else

• If you want to speak, ask the MC in advance. Spontaneous speeches throw off the schedule.
• In Quebec, a line of French goes a long way, even if the rest is in English.
• Stay for the late-night food. It is the best part of many Canadian weddings.

A toast you could give

Short, warm, specific to the couple, and ending on the phrase. Swap in your own names and your own detail; the shape is what matters.

Emma shoveled my driveway for a whole winter when my back went, and told me it was because she liked the exercise. Liam, she will lie to you kindly for the rest of your life. Cheers, et santé. To the bride and groom!