The inspiration for The Toast™ came from a very personal place – my daughter Molly’s wedding. But what started as a simple idea for a unique wedding gift quickly blossomed into something much bigger. Here’s the full story of how a father’s love and passion for technology came together to create a platform that’s transforming the way we celebrate life’s special moments.
My Daughter’s Wedding Sparks an Idea
My daughter Molly got engaged in 2021 and they decided right away to hold off the date until the end of 2022 so everyone could come. She found a beautiful place locally in Virginia for an October outdoor wedding. Molly met her fiancé at a Game Night meetup in New Mexico where she got her first job out of college and after a few years he agreed to move back to the East Coast with her as she started teaching in Washington DC.
So northern Virginia venue was local to them but everyone else was scattered across the US. We are from New York, and much of our immediate family is in Florida. The groom’s family is in Texas, NY, and North Carolina. So technically this is going to be a destination wedding.
With everyone in various locations and the pandemic the past two years the families haven’t been able to meet and likely wouldn’t until the wedding.
That is why we decided to have an engagement/wedding shower where everyone was invited so that we could get the families together before the big day. It was my idea…so I was in charge. (We are a big NY family and come from a family of organizers).
I won’t give too many details about the awesome Speed Gaming theme I created but as I was sending out invitations and being a “techie”, I wanted to put something special together for the bride and groom.
I built a photo booth (before it was a thing) out of an Apple TV and a photo printer for her sweet 16 many years ago and rigged up an outdoor Rock Band for her graduation party.
I didn’t have a lot of time so I figured I could surprise them with a video mash-up of testimonials from her friends and family. (I did this for my company, and it came out awesome – you know in one word “Why do I like working at…”).
I quickly started searching the web and unfortunately couldn’t find anything. Sure, there is video interviewing software, and business testimonials software but nothing that wasn’t a big commitment.
Anything designed for parties or weddings were “written” testimonials put together digitally or printed out and put in a beautiful box.
The Toast™ is Born: Turning a Wedding Gift Idea into Reality
I discussed it with my creative partner Phil and he of course said – “we can do this”. So that’s what we did… we have developed trading systems and more recently website and animation but never an app.
We put together something in two weeks that sort of worked – it only worked on our phones, and we had to go to everyone who attended the event and get them to record their video responses. After the event, we put together a cool video mashup of everyone. It was exactly what we intended but it was a nice thought.
Well, my baby’s wedding is in October – that’s my incentive to get this service working and give them a real gift! Not giving up any surprises – of course, I quizzed her on the whole wedding organization experience and started talking to people in the wedding industry about my idea. Everyone thought it was cool and no one could say, “Oh, you mean like XYZ app?”. They did point in the direction of other offerings where guests can leave greetings in written form or submit their greetings and print out beautiful cards as a gift box. But we are in a video world so that is what we were doing!
Personalized Video Greetings: The Future of Wedding Gifts and Keepsakes
This journey, fueled by a father’s love and a passion for innovation, led to the creation of The Toast™ – a platform designed to capture and preserve the most precious memories of life’s celebrations. It’s a testament to the enduring power of love, family, and the magic of storytelling in the digital age.
Experience the joy of personalized video greetings. Let The Toast™ transform your special occasions into lasting memories.
