Our Story…

Katrin: Welcome, I am Katrin Kern and I have studied at Fordham University, I am an actress and vocalist who has performed at Lincoln Center, on film, television, radio and in the recording studio. I am also a published composer and lyricist.  I have been a Maid of Honor twice and a bridesmaid six times.

Chris: Hello, I am Christopher Korbel; I received my M.A. at Rutgers. I am a produced playwright and have taught  middle school English in South Central Los Angeles.
I have performed stand-up comedy in New York City, and have studied improvisational acting at the Acme Comedy School. I have given the Best Man's toast twice.

This is how we started on our path to teaching you about toasting for special occasions…

Katrin: I was about to be Maid of Honor for a dear cousin. I wanted to give a toast that equaled the deep and personal feelings I have for her, and also one that would reflect the splendor of the wedding I would be speaking at.

I went looking for how-to books, and found two things: those that wanted me to use toasts created for and by complete strangers as a guide, but not tell me how to craft my own toast; or books that wanted me to fill in a pre-made toast like a childhood game of Mad-Lib.

A couple of years later, I was again bestowed with the role of Maid of Honor, this time for a close friend. That was when I decided to work with my partner, Christopher Korbel.

Chris: Having been a best man twice, I personally knew what it felt like to make a memorable toast, and also one you wish everyone would forget.  I wanted to make sure Katrin would have only a positive experience.

Because of our mutual backgrounds in the performing arts, we found a common language that allowed us to work together easily. For this reason, it took little time to help Katrin compose her toast and she was able to present it successfully.

Afterwards we realized we had inadvertently created a method that could be applied to a wide variety of special occasion events.

We spent the rest of the year trying to distill down our method to something readily teachable to anyone. Since then we have taught special occasion toasting in the classroom and in private consultation to women and men of all ages and backgrounds.

Our core belief is that the capacity for giving outstanding and unique toasts is inherent in everyone, it’s in being oneself.

It’s a heightened experience of being and sharing yourself, so in truth, no two can be alike.

We all have an endless supply of meaningful and delightful things to say when it comes to giving tribute to people we care deeply about and with whom we have real relationships.   

We are both passionate about what we do, and consider the work we do highly rewarding and personally gratifying.

If you have any questions or thoughts you want to share, please contact us at info@make-a-toast.com