And now we come to the last great component in Wedding Priestess’s fail-safe wedding toast plan: Practice. If you never knew why bathroom mirrors were invented, this is it. Take your notes, let your date or spouse know you’ll be in the studio for a while, walk into the bathroom and close the door.  Here’s what you do.

• Say/Read your toast out loud.
• Practice the individual sections. Make sure you have the segues down.
• Rewrite what doesn’t work.
• Learn it well enough that you only need to glance at the page (unless you’re really nervous).
• If you’re the nervous type, be truthful and disarming about it. People love it if you tell them what’s going on for you.
• Practice letting yourself be honest enough that your emotions show through.

Tip: Then day of, tuck your notes into your tux pocket or evening bag, fluff up, take a deep breath in, let it out and knock ’em dead with your wit, compassion and beauty. Start your friends off right!