Beauty, Charm & Style

With summer weddings filling my social calendar, I began to wonder one day about those toasts and the tradition of clinking glasses. Who knows where that traditional started, but clinking glasses is festive, fun, and adds to the enjoyment of the celebration.

If clinking is done at a large table, then only clink with persons sitting immediately on your left and right, but not those sitting across from you. However, you would acknowledge those sitting across by raising your glass to them.

Clinking of glasses after a toast can be done in a variety of manners depending on the country, culture, and level of formality. The following are a few tips for being suave as you clink those champagne flutes.

1. A glass is like a flower, and you don’t want to crush its petals, so hold the stem.
2. Raise the glass to eye level at the time of the toast.
3. Gently clink the glasses together.
4. Make eye contact and bottoms up!