What You Need To Know About Wedding Toasts

Wedding toasts are one of the most important aspects of your wedding day when it comes to videography. Between the couple, the speaker, video, lighting, and audio, it's a dynamic event that needs full coverage. Here are a few things you should know about the toasts.

Think about whether you want to do the toasts before or after dinner service. There are benefits to both, but doing toasts before dinner ensures your photo/video team is ready and allows you to go right into dancing once dinner is finished. If you choose to do them during or after dinner, make sure the DJ knows not to start without the photo/video team present as they will also be eating dinner at this time.

Toasts will require the most equipment out of all the events of your day. I usually have 2-3 cameras, an audio recorder, and light stands ready for speeches. That means I'll need time to set up and break down those elements. If you plan to do dances right after speeches, we'll need to build in a minute for me to clear the dance floor before the DJ can open it up.

Before the toasts begin, I like to check in with the speakers about where they intend to stand and move. It's best if the speaker does not pace across the room as I'll need to have a camera on them for the entire time. If the speaker can stand near the couple, it's beneficial for both the videographer and photographer since they can get all three people in one frame. If two people are giving a speech at the same time, make sure to tell your team ahead of time to make sure they're both covered by video & audio.

The best toasts are a mix of anecdotes, humor, and sentimentality. Giving your speakers a time limit or general guideline can be beneficial if you know they are someone who tends to run on. To make sure your guests stay engaged, I encourage that speeches be no more than five minutes each, with no more than four total speakers.

If you've hired a videographer, toasts can be a super important part of your film. They aid us in telling a story and fully capturing the love and support on your wedding day. The better the speeches, the better the film!