At the wedding banquet, the newlyweds toast to the guests who are present is a must in Chinese culture. This is one of the best ways for the newlyweds to thank their guests for attending their wedding. Therefore, the toasting ceremony should be taken seriously and politely. For those couples who are still confused about what to do for toasting, we believe this guideline for Chinese wedding dinner toasts would help you.
Toast Ceremony
1. Toasting on the stage
Normally, this session will be held before the banquet starts with both the newlyweds’ parents on the stage. If the bride is wearing gloves, take it off, stand together with the groom. When toasting, raise the wine glass with your outer hand at the same height as your face but do not cover your face. Besides that, the way you hold the glass should be careful as well in which the wine glass should be held by the handle and do not raise the little finger. While waiting to speak, you can use your other hand to support the bottom of the glass.
2. Toasting each table one by one
After toasting to everyone on the stage, the newlyweds should toast table by table and clink glasses with guests by touching each guest’s glass briefly. Take note that the wine glasses should preferably be lower than the guest glasses as respect them.
- The order of toasting
Start from the main table by toasting to the parents of both newlyweds to other elders, then to other tables to toast your relatives, your parent’s colleagues, your friends and so on. Make sure that you toast to all the guests at each table and cannot be rude to them.
- The etiquette of toasting
- When toasting, the couple should personally fill the wine glasses for the guests and hold them up with both hands to show respect.
- The newlyweds should hold their wine glasses firmly on the front chest.
- When drinking, hold the glass to your mouth, instead of putting your mouth close to the glass, because it looks impolite.
Tips For Toasting
1. Preparing fake wine
If you can’t hold one’s liquor well, it is advisable to prepare fake wine to prevent getting drunk. This is because you will need to toast at every table to each guest, if you get drunk, something may get out of control. However, keep in mind that you need to fill the wine glasses for the guests if there is no wine in their glasses. Thus, you should prepare the real wine as well.
2. The newlywed should toast together
The newlyweds should not be separate although both have their own relatives and friends. Nevertheless, because it is your wedding day, both must be together always, especially when toasting because that is the session to express your appreciation to the guests.
3. Get help from bridesmaid and groomsmen
The bridesmaid and groomsmen could help to keep the fake wine and real wine, and help to fill the wine glasses for the guests during toasting. Additionally, they could also help the newlyweds to drink the wine or even block wine.
4. Toast words
When you arrive at the guest table, you should first greet your relatives and friends, especially those who you haven’t seen in a while. Next, you should express your gratitude to the guests and lastly, bless them. At the same time, both the groom and bride could introduce their relatives and friends to each other during this session.
