The best man traditionally offers the first toast at a wedding. His toast can offer a thought provoking look at married life, honor his friendship with the groom or reveal intimate and often embarrassing details of the couple's courtship. The traditional toast is simply a short speech given verbally but best men are free to try other approaches to the toast such as a slideshow or a video presentation. The best man could also choose to give a verbal toast with a few new twists.

The traditional best man's toast is a verbal speech that is given early in the reception. Although it is unoriginal, this type of toast is widely accepted and popular. If the best man is married himself, he may want to take this opportunity to offer the couple some sage advice for enjoying a happy and peaceful marriage. He may also wish to simply state why he admires the bride and the groom and offer his best wishes. Still another popular option for this traditional version of a best man's toast is to regale the guests with a slew of stories from the groom's wilder days. This, however, is not recommended at a wedding attended by mostly conservative guests as this can be embarrassing to both the couple and the guests.

A slideshow is on increasingly popular way for the best man to toast the new couple. You could take the opportunity to display various pictures of the bride and groom separately and as a couple. One option is to interview both parents prior to the wedding and ask them to contribute pictures of their child from when they were a baby until now. You would ask the parents a series of questions about the bride or grooms childhood, adolescence and adult life. Then you could take the pictures and arrange them in a slideshow presentation that you could narrate with information gleaned from your interviews. This type of toast is especially popular with the older generation in attendance at the wedding because many of them knew the bride or groom as children and will enjoy reminiscing about those times through the pictures and stories.

It is wise to try choosing a sport that all of your guests will be able to participate in especially if you plan to include very young or very old guests. In this situation playing a game of football may not be the best idea but taking everyone to play a round of golf might be an activity that all of the guest can enjoy.

Still another activity that translates well into a bachelor party idea is getting a group of friends together to try an adrenaline pumping, activity geared for thrill seekers such as sky diving or white water rafting. The exhilaration gained from these activities coupled with the fear factor makes them a perfect activity for bonding with your friends. These daredevil activities will cause you and your friends to bond during the excitement leading up to the event as well as the thrill of accomplishing a new activity. While these types of activities are great for male bonding, it is important to remember that they are risky activities and there is the danger that you might be hurt during these activities. If this is your bachelor party idea of choice you might want to consider holding your bachelor party well in advance of your wedding to avoid last minute injuries that delay the wedding.

Another original toast idea is the idea of memory boxes. The best man could talk to the parents of the bride and groom ahead of time and obtain a few objects from their pasts such a photos, childhood security blankets and special gifts from loved ones. The bet man would put each of these items into one of the boxes and leave the other one empty. When it comes time for the toast the best man could present the couple with the filled box. He would then open the box and explain the story behind each of the memory items. When he is done with the first box, he could present the couple with the second box and explain that this box is for the couple to fill up with keepsakes of the memories that they will share together.

The debauchery of stereotypical bachelor parties is not the only way to enjoy a fun-filled bachelor party that gives you the opportunity to bond with your friends. Camping trips, sporting activities, extreme adventures and even co-ed bachelor parties are redefining the traditional bachelor party. These bachelor party ideas not only serve to keep the groom out of trouble but also offer the opportunity to enjoy a new adventure.