Most of us like weddings and a big part of weddings is often to give a toast. The groom’s wedding toast is an absolute must. It doesn’t matter how shy you might be, the groom’s wedding toast is crucial to a wedding. But not to worry, there are a few easy tips that can help any groom make a great wedding toast. One of the first places to start is to make sure that your speech is displaying your romantic side, as well as a sense of humor and originality.

On most occasions, the groom’s toast is one that largely focuses on thanking family and friends for their contributions and time. Of course, any groom worth his salt will want to thank his wife as well. Usually the groom’s speech comes after the father of the bride’s speech. Hopefully, the father of bride has said some nice or even great things about you, which should make the transition to your speech a bit easier.

Above all else, remember to thank people for being at your wedding. If you do this, you truly have won much of the battle. Your groom’s speech needs to focus on thanking all of those people who helped make your wedding possible. It’s a good idea to write down who those people are as it will help you write your speech. Once you have written down who helped make your wedding possible look and see if there are any funny or heart-warming short stories about those individuals and their contribution to your wedding. Find those stories and you have a big chunk of your speech. Now, just keep in mind that a good groom’s speech should probably not exceed five minutes. Why only five minutes? Because there will be many other speeches at your wedding as well.

The Parents. Thank your bride’s parents. Repeatedly. Whether they love you, hate you, or pretend to like you, thank them repeatedly. This is especially true if they picked up the tab for your wedding.

The Guests. Some of your guests likely traveled just to see you get married. Keep this in mind when you are thanking people for their time. Also many of your guests have given you some pretty nice gifts, so why not thank them?

All of Your Guest. Sometimes guests have to travel a considerable distance to be at your wedding. Make sure you acknowledge guests who have traveled to join you on this special day. Another obvious reason to thank your guests is that, hopefully, they have given you some pretty nice gifts.

The Bride. Of course, you should thank your bride and tell her how much you love her. Everyone expects it and people will feel horrible if you forget.

The Bride. Only a mad man would not thank their bride. Don’t forget to tell her how much you love her.

-Whatever you do, don’t try and be someone else. No one wants to see your Steve Martin impression.

-Absolutely thank everyone!

-Keep a cheat sheet on hand and don’t be afraid to look at it.

-It’s a great idea to make a “cheat sheet” of your speech and keep it handy.

-Write out your speech and practice reading it out loud, over and over.

Milton Kelly is a writer who prides himself on offering would-be grooms the best advice on everything from etiquette to groomsmen gifts.