How to give a toast at a wedding or bridal shower

Remember, everyone there wants you to win

Hi! Happy Friday!

My best friend Kristin is getting married in October(!), and last Saturday, her mom hosted a gorgeous bridal shower in their backyard on Long Island. I have the honor of being one of two bridesmaids, and we each decided to give a little toast at the bridal shower lunch to celebrate our girl.

Krissy <3

While I’ve never considered myself a confident public speaker, I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the process of writing, editing, practicing, and delivering this 3-minute toast. On my train ride back into the city on Saturday, my friend Amanda asked me if I liked public speaking. “Because you’re really good at it,” she said, very generously. I was flattered! It got me thinking about the specific things I did leading up to the toast that helped me feel prepared — even comfortable — to talk in front of 60 people. Here’s what I came up with.

1. Start with a moment and build a story around it. I had a memory (a moment, really) that I wanted to write this toast around. Once I had the memory in my head, the words took shape, explaining it for someone who wasn’t there. For me, stories are pretty easy to memorize because they follow a flow and arc that you can almost visualize in your mind as you’re speaking.

2. Write it out — so you don’t have to read it. I typed what I wanted to say into my Notes app and then edited the sentence structure so it wasn’t one long run-on. I knew I didn’t want to read it, but seeing it written out in a few sentences gave me another helpful visual for memorization.

3. Practice while walking around. I read a weird hack that stuck with me: While practicing a speech or toast, get your heart rate up. It simulates what will happen to your body when you’re standing in front of a crowd, so your body knows what to expect. I just did some jumping jacks and walked around my apartment while practicing the night before. I think it helped!

4. Remember, everyone wants you to win. An actor friend recently gave this advice about auditioning, but it also applies to public speaking: Remember, everyone in the room is on your team. They want you to win. I find that sentiment extremely comforting, and especially true at a wedding event! Lean into the love.

SAVED TABS

Okay, onto the saves of the week — good reads, recs, and a budding celebrity trend.

For your sweet tooth//

• These date bars look so good. Just dates, PB, chocolate, coconut oil, and peanuts.

  

  Don’t you want these in your freezer?

For your eyelashes //

• Skip the mascara and tint your lashes. Even my tubing mascara was leaving annoying black flecks under my eyes this week. I got tired of wiping it off, so I decided to tint my lashes at home. I use this kit from Amazon, which my favorite brow artist, Joey Healy, has used on my eyebrows. I don’t love applying the dye with a spoolie and getting right up near my eyes (I usually make my sister do it while my eyes are closed), but I do love that I won’t wear mascara for the next three weeks.

For your summer-into-fall closet //

• J.Crew’s ruffle tiered midi skirt in sweet meringue

  

  This styling is really good.

For anyone watching The Summer I Turned Pretty //

• Here’s a close-up of Belly’s vanity. I spy a Fresh cleanser, Byoma moisturizer, The Wet Brush, and a half-used pack of birth control pills…seems right. I caught a Glossier lipstick in episode two, the scene where Belly’s in the frat bathroom and overhears the conversation about Jeremiah hooking up in Cabo. Oof.

  

  lipstick ID

• Whoever’s doing the styling on this show is nailing it. On the press tour, Lola Tung wore exclusively vintage pieces from The RealReal. My guess? More celebs will start doing this, but they’ll call it “archive.”

To read //

• “A Case For Lunch.” This week, I allowed a work lunch to linger, and it filled my cup!

• 10 practical laundry tips. I’m constantly googling the temperature I should wash my whites in.

• “Gally Envy.” Two summers ago, I got an advanced copy of Glossy and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

• “How the Attention Economy Is Devouring Gen Z — and the Rest of Us”

To listen to //

• Fashion Neurosis with Julianne Moore. I don’t know how it took me so long to find this podcast, but it’s a very soothing interview format.

I’ll leave you with this very chic woman I spotted on the street during the rainstorm this afternoon.

Have the best weekend!

Love,
Megan