The Six-Beat Toast, from Lantern Row Press
Your memories. A wedding speech that sounds like you.
You know the person. You have the stories. Give one of them a shape with six beats, guided worksheets and practical rehearsal tools. Start with a free speech for your role, or get the workbook and build your own.
5 titles, PDF and EPUB95 pagesPersonal-use license$17 once, no subscription
Real pages, not a blank template
Open it and start writing. The book does the structure for you.
- Ten worksheets, including six beat worksheetsFill the beat worksheets in order and the draft takes shape. The planning and review pages help you choose, cut and rehearse.
- Three finished speeches includedRead the included examples alongside the workbook. Want a larger role-specific library? The separate $37 Speech Vault has twenty-seven complete speeches.
- Built to be read aloudEvery speech and every example was cut by the ear. Print the worksheets, read the chapters on your phone, keep the cue cards in your pocket.
Filmed, not written
See the beats, acted
Each clip is one beat from the book, said out loud by the person who has to give that speech, played out like it happened at the reception. Tap a clip to play it, or read the full speech behind it.
Read one first, free
Nine finished wedding speeches, one for every role
Each page gives you a complete speech you can read aloud tonight, then marks where each of the six beats starts. Pick the seat you are sitting in.
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Best ManFor the friend who has been asked to speak and has three jokes, one real story, and no idea which order they go in. About 4 minutes aloud.
Maid of HonorFor the sister or best friend who knows the bride better than anyone in the room and is terrified that will not come across. About 4 minutes aloud.
Father of the BrideFor the father who has thirty years of material and one glass of water shaking in his hand. About 4 minutes aloud.
Mother of the BrideFor the mother who was not sure she would be asked to speak, and now has four days. About 4 minutes aloud.
Father of the GroomFor the father who was told he does not have to speak, and knows he should. About 4 minutes aloud.
Mother of the GroomFor the mother who has been handed the hardest brief in the wedding party: love him, welcome her, do not cry, four minutes. About 4 minutes aloud.
SiblingFor the brother or sister who was asked last, at the rehearsal dinner, and has never given a speech in their life. About 4 minutes aloud.
WelcomeFor the officiant, host, emcee, or friend with a microphone who has to say something first and must not say too much. About 1 minutes aloud.
The CoupleFor the couple who has a list of thirty names and a room that will remember none of them unless something is attached. About 4 minutes aloud.
The method
Six beats in a fixed order. Fill the boxes, the boxes become the speech.
Most speech advice tells you to be yourself, speak from the heart, and keep it short. That is true and it is useless. It describes the finished thing without telling you how to build it.
This book does the opposite. It gives you six beats in a fixed order, a worksheet for each one, and a worked example from a best man, a maid of honor, and a parent. You fill in six boxes. The boxes become the speech.
Set aside an hour. Bring one memory of the person you are speaking about. That is the whole list of things you need.
- 1OpenInside a specific moment. No name, no thanks.
- 2ClaimOne true sentence that could only be about them.
- 3StoryOne scene that proves the claim.
- 4TurnThe same quality, arriving for the other one.
- 5BlessingA wish the room can picture.
- 6LiftInstruction first, names last and loudest.
Start from the time you actually have
How soon is the wedding?
There is no false deadline here. The useful urgency is the date already on your invitation. Choose the smallest next action that fits it.
- Within 48 hoursOpen the Sprint, choose one memory, draft once, read it aloud, and stop adding stories.
- Within two weeksComplete the beat worksheets, leave the draft overnight, then run the Autopsy and prepare your cards.
- Further awayWrite down one memory now and put one focused writing hour in the calendar while the details are easy to find.
Get the book
Everything you need to stand up on the day, for $17
$17one payment, 5 titles, PDF and EPUB
What appears after successful payment
- The Six-Beat ToastThe book. 12 chapters, 95 pages, 10 worksheets that carry your speech from a blank page to a finished draft. 6 of them are one per beat, so you fill them in order instead of guessing.
The One-Hour Speech SprintincludedThe whole method as a one-sitting checklist. Open this first and you write in the order that works.
The Cue Card KitincludedPrintable cards you cut out and grip at the top table, so the speech is in your hand without turning into a script.
The Speech Autopsyincluded22 checks. Run your draft through them and you find the dead line before the room does.
Three Finished Speechesincluded3 complete speeches: best man, maid of honor, parent. Same 6 beats, so you see the method work before you trust it with yours.
Why a method instead of a generated script?A script can give you sentences, but it cannot know which small detail makes the room recognise your person. The workbook supplies the order, prompts and checks. You supply the memory that makes the words believable.
Your workbook and four bonus titles open on your download page right after payment, and the link is emailed to you. Download the files and print the worksheets you need.
Not for you if you want no structure at all. The book is 6 beats in a fixed order, and it does not bend.
Checkout
Pay securely by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link through Stripe. Your download opens the moment payment clears.
Continue to checkout - $17The base price is $17 USD. Stripe shows any required sales tax and the final amount before payment. Digital delivery is final sale except where the refund and delivery terms say otherwise.
Before you buy
Questions people ask first
Will this write the speech for me?
No, and that is the point. A generated speech sounds generated, and you cannot reuse it. This gives you 6 beats in a fixed order, 10 worksheets, and 3 finished speeches to model, with 9 more free on this site. The words are yours, which is why the room believes them.
How long should I set aside?
Start with one focused hour and use the Sprint to keep moving. Complete the six beat worksheets in order, then read the draft aloud once. If it needs another pass, keep the order and cut before you add.
Which role is it for?
Best man, maid of honor, father or mother of the bride or groom, sibling, the couple, and whoever has to welcome the room. This site has one free example for each role. The separate Speech Vault contains three complete examples per role.
What do I actually receive?
Five titles, each as a PDF and an EPUB, on your download page right after successful payment, with the link emailed to you. Print the worksheets. Read the chapters on your phone. The cue cards are laid out to be cut and carried.
I already have a draft. Is this still useful?
Yes. Chapter four, scene not summary, gives you a practical way to strengthen a vague section. Run the draft through the six beat worksheets and you can see which part of the structure is missing or doing too much.
Can I get a refund?
The files are digital and delivered in full after successful payment, so sales are final except duplicate charges, delivery failures we cannot remedy, and rights that apply by law. The details are on the refunds and delivery page.
Set aside one hour. Bring one memory.
The book carries the rest. Instant download, yours to keep.
About Lantern Row Press
Lantern Row Press
Lantern Row Press publishes short, practical guides for the handful of days that people spend months worrying about. Weddings, funerals, first speeches, hard conversations.
Every guide is built the same way. One method, in a fixed order, with a worksheet at every step, and a worked example for each of the roles you might actually be standing in. Nothing in a Lantern Row guide is theory. If it does not survive being read out loud, it does not go in.
Questions before you buy: Payment and download help. The example speeches on this site are invented for illustration and do not describe real people or events.