February 26, 1986
»
&®
A Very Special Wedding/3
By GREGG HOWARD
Copley News Service
Here’s to the groom with a bride so
fair, and here’s to the bride with a groom
SO rare.
People have been marking memorable
occasions with toasts to health and happi-
ness for about as long as they’ve been
celebrating the occasions themselves.
Toasting is a tradition - a tradition in
which champagne is the usual beverage
and the most difficult part is deciding
what to say.
“We receive many inquiries at the
winery about what are the most appropri-
ate toasts,” said Gary Heck, president of
California’s Korbel Champagne Cellars.
“I suppose people just assume that since
we make champagne, we must know
something about proposing toasts, as
well.”
Basically, the best toasts are simple
and come from the heart. The proper
way to extend a toast is to stand and
o.
5
'gogte’e
Watches
Diamonds
Jewelry Crystal
China Clocks
Wedding Bands
NEWEST STYLES
IN WEDDING
PHOTOGRAPHY
Created By Ron Petro
By Appointment
RON PETRO |
PHOTOGRAPHY,
696-3428
A
X Fhe ;
Fireplace Restaurant
§ Creative Catering Co.
We cater your wedding in our
restaurant (up to 75 people). Or i
in any other location (number
1 unlimited)
E Call Our Catering Manager for i
Menu Packages & Prices. $
i 836-9662 i
CAICRCY WIC S
© Lady Dynasty 2
504 Luzerne St., Scranton
34-BRIDE Or 342-7433 5
Bridal Appointments :
«Available At Q
Your Convenience &
Bridesmaid
QO) Bridal
3 Mother-Of-The-Bride Cocktail
announce loud enough for all to hear that
you'd like to propose a toast to the bride
and groom. Make sure everyone has a
full glass with which to toast, Heck said.
Then, turn toward the bride and groom,
raise your glass and proceed with your
message of warm wishes. You also can
elaborate with a short anecdote or appro-
priate quotation. Whatever your words,
remember that toasting is an opportunity
to say something special about people
you love.
For being such a touching tradition,
toasting has unusual beginnings. Heck
told the following history of how the word
“toast” came into being.
The toast began as just that - a piece of
dry toast or a crouton added to a drink as
an extra fillip of flavor. By the mid-17th
century, any type of food placed in a
drink was referred to as a toast.
~ Toast came to its present meaning in
1709, when an admirer of a celebrated
beauty, who was soaking in a British
reSort bath, said that although he didn’t
care for the liquor of the bath, he’d be
pleased to have its toast. The lady then
became the “toast of the town.”
After that time, toasting became
increasingly popular. The toastmaster
became a necessary personality at offi-
cial functions and banquets, books on
toasting were written, and many newspa-
pers ran columns with an astonishing
array of toasts to almost any occasion.
Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine some
occasions - such as weddings - without a
groom has become an integral part of the
wedding festivities.
Aside from the reception, where the
best man traditionally offers the first
toast to the bride and groom, there are
many other events associated with wed-
dings that call for toasting. The father of
the bride traditionally toasts his daughter
nd future son-in-law at the engagement
party, and the best man toasts the bride
and groom at the rehearsal dinner.