Speech Tip: Toasted! Watch how you drink at a wedding. Here are some sobering thoughts: Drinks are common at weddings. Even at the historic Wedding in Cana (Gospel of John), alcohol was expected to be part of the celebration. However, avoid getting pickled before your speech. You are there to honor the bride or groom. Getting sauced will limit your ability to be articulate. You might mumble, forget your physical poise, and even, skip crucial lines.
At the time, you might think you are brilliant. The opposite will be evident on the video. It is ill-advised getting schnockered at a wedding in general, but, if you must, put off being fermented until after you speak.
Be Sober.
Have a drink later if you like, but if you took the time to prepare your thoughts, make sure you are capable of telling them. What could be more awkward than instead of telling your best friend, “I treasure those days playing in the school yard,” you say, “Do yoush remember … member that whatchamacallit where we would, um, swing?
This should go without saying, but we’ve all been to that wedding in which that aunt found the open bar and got schnockered, then found the microphone. The hardest ones to experience are when the blitzed attendee is one of the speakers. Maybe the father of the bride is sauced. The maid of honor is drunk. Grandma is sloshed. Grandpa is stewed. The best man is feeling no pain. And Mom? She’s wasted. It’s not clear if her only medicinal help was alcohol, but she’ll be lucky to stand at the mic.
Have a drink. Or two. But be sober when you speak.
It likewise should go without saying that if you have two, seriously consider handing the keys to someone wiser and capable of driving. Or call a cab. The story needs to be about the two love birds, not how you got a well-deserved ticket on the way home. Don’t be that guy. If alcohol is causing trouble in your life, please visit Alcoholics Anonymous. Here’s how to find help through AA.
image: The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese, 1563
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