What's your idea of the perfect act? Shall it be formal, flawless, dignified, sentimental, sweet, hilarious, outrageously funny, clever or wacky?

It is for you to decide of course, but I'm sure that the last thing you want to do is deliver a mortifying, boring, embarrassing, awful and idiotic speech, so unless you are a savvy speaker, you can make use of a good guideline in writing one.

Before you start making your outline, gather your material first:

1. Take the time to have a relaxed chat with the couple and learn about the highlights of their relationship. Good questions to ask would be: How did they meet? What are the most unforgettable moments they had together? What do they have in common and what are their differences? What makes each other angry? What makes them tick? Any funny line he or she said? Does one have any eccentricities that the other cannot live with? How did he propose? Was it sweet, magical or did he make a mess out of it? Be quick to recognize a classic story or a funny anecdote that you can use to liven up the occasion.

2. Talk to the couple's closest friends and loved ones. Why do they think they are a perfect match? How would they sum up the groom or the bride? How do they feel about the wedding? Ask them to volunteer information that's worth mentioning.

From the answers to those questions alone, (and I'm sure you can come up with more), you have enough material to write a 60 minute speech! Word of caution: you don't want to send your audience nodding off, so keep your speech up to a maximum of five to eight minutes.

So now for the outline of your speech:

Introduction:

If half of the audience doesn't know you, introduce yourself with only two (take note, only two!) phrases. One is your name, and the other is your relationship with the groom or bride. Then make a killer one-liner to engage the audience.

A formal speech may start with "We are so blessed to be part of this memorable event… (yawn). I'm not saying you can't go conventional, but hey, people don't get married every day, so you must give them something worth remembering, not something that comes out of yellowed invitation cards.

One best man rocked the audience with this line: "Every single man in this room tonight would agree with me that this is one of the saddest days of their life, but to every lady, this is just another day." This is a very good opening salvo if you and the groom are the best of friends.

Very crucial reminder: just be yourself. If you have a good sense of humor, go for jokes, but if you're not, then play it straight, but dare to be different. I'm sure you can come up with excellent one-liners if you know the bride and the groom well.

Body:

The body of a wedding toast speech varies in content, depending upon the mood you want to invoke.

You can start by making a romantic or emotional comment about the ceremony, such as "Bride (name), the way you looked at (groom's name) while he was saying his vow was so touching… I wish someone would look at me the way you looked at him earlier." By all means write down the best words you can find (you know how to use the Thesaurus, right?) to describe the wedding ceremony; the beauty of the bride; the virtues of the groom; the ambiance of the reception venue and the splendor of the audience. Use them appropriately as the occasion calls for it.

Make it a point to spice your speech up with funny but clean quips. One speaker read a long list of the virtues of the groom from a piece of paper and after reading a few words, pretended to strain his eyes to read the next word, held up his hands and said, "I'm sorry (groom's name), I just can't read your handwriting." This made the audience roar and roll with laughter.

This is the time for you to bring out that classic story or funny anecdote you have prepared and make it relevant for their future as husband and wife.

You may want to end it with a blessing or a good piece of witty advice – again, one or two sentences. Nobody wants to listen to a sermon!

Closing:

This is the moment. You need another meaningful line or two for this, something worth remembering. One speaker said while raising the glass, "Jean, for the world, you may mean just one person, but I'm sure that for Nickko, you mean the whole world. Here's to a love that's meant to last forever!"

If you play it well, you may go down in history with the most memorable wedding in the eyes of the couple and the audience.