Stylish Toasts for Every Occasion
“A toast to that!” Not white bread, of course, but a toast. There are toasts for every occasion, for beer or wine. A fine custom – but often done incorrectly. There are strict etiquette rules for toasting. Only the host or the most senior person at the table is allowed to pronounce the first toast. In addition, you can only toast with wine, champagne, or sparkling wine (exception: beer at folk festivals). But not with long drink glasses or cups. It is even avoided at business lunches. It is more elegant to lift the glass, nod, and toast. We’ll show you the most important tips and etiquette rules as well as some great toasts for every occasion.
How Do You Raise A Toast?
There are no fixed rules for toasting. However, there are a few conventions that distinguish the layman from the expert. You should note the following when toasting:
- Wine glasses are always handled by the stem or in the lower third. Otherwise, they won’t sound.
- Never collide glasses at the top. That is the weakest point, the predetermined breaking point.
- The best thing to do is to hold the glasses at an angle of 10 degrees and hit them with a gentle * thing * on the stomach.
What Do You Say When Toasting?
Toasts of the type “pestle!”, “Priest!”, “Prostate!” Or “knock the shit!” Are taboo on formal occasions. In this way, good friends can toast to each other in a private setting. But it’s not festive or solemn. Even harmless toasts like “cheers!” Or “health!” Are frowned upon according to etiquette. Reason: “Prost” comes from Vulgar Latin and from “Prosit”. This means in a general way: “May it use it.” This makes raising the glass a mutual business. Not stylish and inappropriate for (family) celebrations.
Toasts For Every Occasion
Below you will find some stylish toasts for every occasion. Whether in a relaxed, familiar, or serious setting – with these toasts there is something for every celebration.
Short and Sweet Toasts
If you want to say something big, you only need a few words. Short and funny toasts bring a lot to the point and are suitable for toasting as well as a substitute for lengthy speeches. Some of the short toasts are casual, others more serious. There is something for every occasion and taste:
- “For the benefit!”
- “To us!”
- “Well-being!”
- “To the best of luck!”
- “In one go!”
- “To love!”
- “To life!”
- “To the host!”
- “Pestle!”
- “Priest!”
- “Prostate!”
- “Born to be wide!”
- “The wiser one tips over.”
- “Move the puddle.”
- “Don’t chat for a long time, head back.”
Toasts for Business Occasions
Not all of the toasts above are suitable for formal occasions and business contacts. At such meetings, there is also drinking and toasting. The toasts are much more serious. It is important to adhere to the etiquette rules. In business, the highest-ranking person always raises the glass first – or the host, then the guest of honor. A simple “For good!” Or “Auf uns!” Is enough as a short toast. You can also praise and motivate the performance of employees. For example like this:
- “Thank you for coming and I wish everyone an inspiring evening.”
- “I would like to use this occasion to thank you for the successful cooperation so far and to toast a bright future.”
- “To further good cooperation!”
- “As Hermann Hesse said: You have to try the impossible to achieve the possible ?! We did it. To us!”
- “Dear colleagues, thank you for the excellent work, great achievements, and successes. You are a top team! For the benefit!”
- “That will be done! With this in mind: Let’s toast to success! “
- “Maybe there are better times, but this is ours. “
Birthday Toasts
What an occasion! A good friend or colleague is celebrating a birthday. This is of course toasted – with beer, wine, or other beverages. And of course, anyone who raises a glass to a friend or colleague should always have a good toast ready. For example one of these:
- “If you love partying and unity, you also have a drink from time to time.”
- “Once the reputation has been ruined, it drinks freely.”
- “Take the glass and drink the wine, everyone here should be happy!”
- “Let the full glasses ring out here to bring a” goodbye “to your friend: Pour the glasses full again – and drink to your friend’s health!”
- “When happy birthday beckons, you can have a drink. There is truth in wine, custom tells us, so hold on and do it! “
- “Eat what is cooked, drink what is clear, speak what is true.” (Martin Luther)
- “Everything is fleeting, only thirst remains for life.”
- “Of course, I don’t know whether I’ll live tomorrow: But if I live tomorrow, that I’ll drink tomorrow, I know for sure.” (Gotthold Ephraim Lessing)
- “If you are full, lie down, drink again after sleep.”
- “It’s nice when we see the friends coming. It is also nice if you stay and pass the time with us. But when they finally leave, it’s also really nice. “
Wedding Toasts
It is one of the most beautiful occasions in life when two lovers tie the knot. Usually, numerous speeches are given at the wedding and beautiful sayings are knocked out. Also toasts. At the wedding, alcohol often flows into the evening so that it becomes a “lavish party”. The most beautiful toasts for the wedding:
- “Water makes you wise, wine makes you funny. That’s why we drink both to be both. “
- “We’ll never drink together that young again!”
- “Drinking is the laughter of the gods. To the couple! “
- “If you like love and unity, you also have a little something to drink.”
- “A good drink goes with a good bite.”
- “Those who eat properly should also drink well.”
- “A person who only drinks water has a secret that he must hide from his kind.” (Charles Baudelaire)
- “Beware of those who only drink water and remember the next day what others said the night before.” (Greek proverb)
- “Strong drinks make your legs weak.”
- “Drink enough, now we drink!”
- “Anyone who dances just has no money to drink.”
- “Always be happy and never angry, it will extend your lifespan.”
- “Ergo bibamus!” (Latin: “So let’s drink!”)
- “Great love stories start with champagne and end with herbal tea.”
Tips for the Toast
The above toasts are not yet a so-called “toast”. More like its completion. Anyone who is asked to “say a toast” will give a short dinner speech or “laudation”. It has to be positive, as personal and amusing as possible (but not embarrassing for anyone), and brief. A toast should never last longer than two minutes, better shorter. Topics for toasts are for example:
- Family: wish you lots of joy and health.
- Friends: Wish you continued friendship and many hours together.
- Colleagues: Look forward to mutual success and thank you for your cooperation.
- Wine connoisseur: look forward to the next bottle.
In a pinch, a toast can also be a short toast in the literal sense of the word. A one-line or two-line. The main thing is that you smile – and afterward, everyone sees each other lifting glasses and clinking glasses.
