Toastmasters: Worth Paying For





Planning a wedding is a cruel exercise in balancing expectation and budget.  

 Couples have to be realistic. At the very least, they have to make a wedding affordable whether the budget is £250 or £25,000. 

 Being realistic is no fun, though. 

 Realistic means saying no to the monogrammed wedding favours, the bucking bronco, the champagne balloon ride and the hag do in Bora Bora. 

 Flights of fancy are allowed, but, at some point, they're probably going to end up being backspaced right off your excel spreadsheet. 

 Perhaps you've thought the same about a toastmaster. 

 Sure, they're good to have on hand during the big day, but are they worth paying for?

 We think they are. 

 Firstly, a toastmaster does more than just introduce the speakers and usher the guests into the reception (although, that's invaluable enough). 

 They're the eyes and ears of the happy couple. They're the first port-of-call when there's a potential problem, an issue or a full-blown disaster on the cards.  

 Couples spend on average two years planning a wedding; they don't want to be micromanaging on the big day.

 They don't want to be harrassed, bothered or questioned by guests who don't know where they're sitting or vendors who are running late. 



Toastmasters will insist on arriving early, and well in advance of any guests to make sure everything is set-up correctly. 

 Think of the toastmaster as the canny butler in a BBC period drama: the one who keeps everything running smoothly even when the scullery maid is pregnant, even when there are rats in the master's bedroom and a body in the ballroom.

 They're the stage director, too, because, after all, weddings are pure theatre. Only instead of actors, you may as well be using cats. And it's the toastmaster's job to herd these cats from the ceremony to the reception, through the wedding breakfast and speeches and into the evening. 

 It's all about timing. The toastmaster will make sure the day flows as it should.  Toastmasters will introduce the speeches, direct the order of photography, and supervise the cake cutting.

 Is somebody getting a little rowdy? Toastmasters can shush with the best of them. 

 In their bright red coats, they're easily spotted. Making them a walking beacon for guests, vendors and the venue to seek out and bother with questions and problems. (We challenge anyone after a half-bottle of wine to try and spot the wedding planner).

 So yes, a toastmaster may seem like an added expense. You certainly don't have to have one, but they're definitely worth considering. 

 We'd sooner ditch the wedding favours than the toastmaster. 

 We have a toastmaster in the Pink Wedding Days directory that we know fulfils all of the above and more.  Peter Minney is a superb toastmaster, but don't take our word for it.

At the 2015 Guides for Brides, Peter was presented with Wedding Customer Service Award. In 2016 he won the prestigious Toastmaster of the Year Trophy and certificate from the Guild of International Professional Toastmasters – one of the highest honours in the industry.

He’s nationwide, too. And we’d recommend you visit either his Pink Wedding Days directory page, or visit his Twitter and Facebook pages.

Even if you're unsure, then we'd encourage you to get in touch. You might be pleasantly surprised at the number of roles a toastmaster will fill.






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