by Sharon Naylor (see more from this expert)

When you take the microphone to make a toast at a wedding, all eyes are on you and everything you say becomes immortalized in the wedding video, not to mention in the minds of everyone there. Not too much pressure, right? We'd like to remind you of the top 5 etiquette mistakes that are all-too-often made with wedding toasts, because we don't want you to be that person who brought the wedding to a screeching halt. You know that you shouldn't toast while drunk. Here are the other top Don'ts:

1. Don't talk forever. Long and rambling toasts have no place at a wedding, and when you pass 'annoying,' you get to 'self-centered.' Everyone there will think you just want to hear yourself talk. So keep your toasts to the 2-minute range, and know ahead of time that you can make toasts at other pre-wedding parties like showers and bachelor or bachelorette parties, etc. For the Big Day, a toast should be short, sweet and sentimental (and a little bit funny if you are).

2. Telling inappropriate stories. Yes, we all know the bride and groom have a past, but it's supremely bad form to bring it up either directly or in code now. The bride will know what you're talking about when you mention that wild Spring Break. Keep the focus on the here and now. The raunchy stuff has no place at a wedding.

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