Celebration
How to Give a Wedding Toast
For the best man, the maid of honor and the father of the bride — how long to speak, what to say, what never to say, and how to land the ending.
The section
Celebration
The reception, hour by hour: the toasts, the menu, the cake, the dancing and the photographs that outlast everything else.
Celebration · The Music Library
Reception Music, Moment by Moment
Celebration · The Music Library
Choosing Your First Dance Song
More in Celebration
Celebration · Photography
Wedding Content Creators: What They Do and What They Cost
The phone-in-hand newcomer at the wedding is not a replacement for the photographer. Here is what a content creator actually delivers, what couples are paying, and how to make both work on the day.
Celebration · Favors
Wedding Favors: What Guests Keep, and Ideas from Real Couples
Most favors are left on the table. The ones that aren’t are edible, useful, or personal — plus a quarter-century of ideas sent in by Today’s Weddings readers.
Celebration · Real Weddings, 1999
Bouquet Gallery
Bouquets from real weddings, described by the brides who carried them — the blooms, the foliage and how each one was tied.
Celebration · People
Hiring a Photographer, and the Shot List
How to judge a portfolio, what the contract has to say, and the shots that are gone forever if nobody asked for them.
Celebration · The Day
Ordering the Wedding Cake
How big, how much, what it is made of, and the questions to ask a baker before you put down a deposit.
Celebration · The Day
The Reception, Hour by Hour
What happens when, why the order matters more than the clock, and the three moments that decide whether the room stays.
Celebration · Real Weddings, 1999
Wedding Cake Gallery
Cakes from real weddings in the late 1990s, described by the couples who cut them — tiers, flavors, frosting and flowers.
From the archive
The whole archive →Advice and essays first published on Today’s Weddings between 1999 and 2019, kept as they were written.