ToastDoctor

Reception game

Wedding speech over/under, the printable game.

Before the toasts start, every guest circles their picks. Does the best man go past five minutes? Does anyone say “journey”? Someone will cry, but will it be during a speech? Whoever gets the most right wins.

Change the lines, add your own, put your names on it, and print as many cards as you need. Free, no sign-up, and it prints an answer sheet for whoever is keeping score.

The Card

Something with a number answer, so the closest guess can win a tie.

The Lines

14 on the card

Untick anything that doesn’t fit your wedding. Set the numbers so each one feels like a coin flip, and use a half (2.5, 3.5) for counts so nothing lands exactly on the line.

  • speeches
  • minutes
  • minutes
  • times
  • mentions
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No
  • Yes or No

Your Own Lines

Up to 4. Keep them about the speeches, not the people. “The father of the bride mentions golf” is fair game. Anything about an ex is not.

Preview

The Wedding

Over / Under: The Speeches

Circle one answer on every line before the first toast. Most right wins.

  1. 1Number of Speeches, Start to Finish3.5 speechesOverUnder
  2. 2Length of the Best Man’s Speech5 minutesOverUnder
  3. 3Length of the Longest Speech6 minutesOverUnder
  4. 4Times a Speaker Says “Honestly” or “Literally”2.5 timesOverUnder
  5. 5Mentions of the Bachelor or Bachelorette Party1.5 mentionsOverUnder
  6. 6Someone Uses the Word “Journey”YesNo
  7. 7Someone Cries During a Speech (Happy Tears Count)YesNo
  8. 8A Speaker Says “For Those of You Who Don’t Know Me”YesNo
  9. 9Someone Reads Their Speech off a PhoneYesNo
  10. 10The Mic Squeals or Cuts OutYesNo
  11. 11A Song Lyric Gets QuotedYesNo
  12. 12The Story of the Couple’s First Date Gets ToldYesNo
  13. 13The Last Toast Is Done Before Dessert Comes OutYesNo
  14. 14A Speaker Thanks the CaterersYesNo

Tie-Breaker. Total minutes of speeches, all of them added up. Your guess:

Name

Made free at toastdoctor.com

Print

Two cards to a sheet, so that’s 10 sheetsplus one emcee answer sheet at the end. Print on US Letter at 100% scale (not “fit to page”), then cut along the dashed line. One card per guest, or one per table, up to 60. Your settings stay in this browser.

How to Play

  1. Make the cards. Set the lines above, print, and cut each sheet in half along the dashed line. One card per guest works best. One per table works too, if you want each table arguing over its picks.
  2. Hand them out. Tuck a card under each place card, set them beside the menus, or leave a stack on every table and have the emcee mention it during dinner. Put pens out as well. Wedding guests never have pens.
  3. Lock the picks. Once the first speaker stands up, no more changes. The emcee keeps the answer sheet, times each speech, and ticks things off as they happen.
  4. Read the answers. After the last toast, the emcee goes down the list. Guests mark their own cards, the top score brings theirs up, and the tie-breaker settles any draw.

Prize Ideas

  • A bottle of whatever the head table is drinking
  • The table centerpiece to take home
  • First in line for dessert, or the first slice of cake after the couple
  • One song request the DJ has to play
  • A dance with the couple, if the couple is up for it

Pair it with Wedding Speech Bingo. Over/under is all picks before the toasts, and bingo keeps everyone listening during them, so they work well on the same night.

Tips for Couples

Warn Your Speakers, or Don’t

Tell the speakers about the game and the best man might finally keep it under five minutes, which helps everybody. Keep it quiet and the picks are more honest, and the room gets a small thrill every time someone says “literally”. Either way is fine. What you want to avoid is a speaker finding out halfway through that the room has picks on whether they cry. If you think they would mind, tell them.

Set the Lines for Your Crowd

The defaults are guesses for an average wedding. If your best man is famously long-winded, push his line to eight minutes. If only two people are speaking, untick the speech count. A good line is one where the table actually splits. Not sure how many speeches to expect or in what order? Our guide to wedding speech order has the usual running order and timings.

Give the Emcee the Answer Sheet Early

It prints as the last page. Whoever has it needs a phone stopwatch and a pen, and ideally a seat with a clear view of the microphone. The DJ is a good choice. So is the one cousin who enjoys being in charge.

Questions

How many lines should the card have?

Ten to fourteen is about right. Enough that the scores spread out, few enough that guests finish before the salads arrive. The card holds up to eighteen, and it gets snug past fourteen.

Who keeps score?

The emcee, the DJ, or one organized friend with a stopwatch on their phone. They fill in the answer sheet as the speeches happen, then read the answers out once the last glass goes up. Guests mark their own cards. It is a wedding, so honesty is assumed.

What if a speech lands exactly on the line?

Nobody gets that point. That is why the counts use halves, like 2.5 or 3.5. For the minutes, time to the second. A speech that stops at exactly 5:00 is rare, and if it happens the emcee gets to enjoy announcing it.

Will the speakers feel put on the spot?

Not if the lines stay about the speeches and not the people giving them: how long, how many times someone says “honestly”, whether the mic squeals. Leave out anything you would hate to see printed about a friend. If a speaker is nervous already, tell them about the game ahead of time so it is a joke they are in on.

Can we use it at a rehearsal dinner or an engagement party?

Yes. Untick the lines that don’t fit, like the one about dessert, and add your own. Up to four custom lines go on every card, and the emcee sheet updates to match.

Giving one of the speeches yourself? Run it through the free speech check before anyone starts timing you.