Irish wedding toasts are well known for their wit and wry humor, their sense of history and tradition. For instance, the Irish don’t sign off the toast with cheers but with “Slainte”, the Irish for “to your health”. This makes the Irish toasts so more traditional and binding.

The great thing about Irish toasts is that they keep it simple. They stick to the basics, and speak naturally. There is no bravado and drama in their toasts but sincere, heartfelt greetings and wishes.

There are some who have a natural flair for speaking, and don’t need any prompting or preparation to propose a toast. But there are many others who have to work hard to prepare their speech. They have to weave some anecdotes, some stories to make the speech interesting. Finally, they have to make sure that they deliver the speech properly.

Some of the popular Irish toasts are:

“May there be a generation of children on the children of your children.”
“Health and long life to you, land without rent to you, a child every year to you, and death in Old Ireland.”

“May the roof above you never fall in,
And those gathered beneath it never fall out.”

“Here’s to health, peace and prosperity. May the flower of love never be nipped by the frost of disappointment, nor shadow of grief fall among your family and friends.”

“May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.”

“May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies and quick to make friends. And may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.”

The best toasts are proposed by those who take their jobs seriously. They spend considerable time rehearsing their speeches. They even pay attention to such minor things as to how to hold the glass, and when to propose the toast. Ideally, the toast should be proposed when the champagne is being served, and everyone’s glass is full.

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