Lucky you! Out of all of the bride’s closest friends, you were chosen to be the maid of honor and with that comes some serious responsibilities. From helping the bride make it through the day and then ending the night with an incredible speech that both moves the crowd and entertains them is a big deal, don’t worry though we are here to give you the best tips for how to write and deliver an incredible Maid of honor speech.
For my all of my best men out there don’t you worry, we’ve got tips for you too. Check out our article “How to Write & Deliver an Incredible Best Man Speech”.
Main Points to Cover
When writing your maid of honor speech there are few important things to remember. You ultimately want to start with your friendship with the bride, celebrate her marriage, and end on the couple. You don’t have to move the entire room to tears or have them gasping for air from laughing so hard but telling the story of your BFF love is definitely key. Do your best to avoid cliches and DON’T talk about exes. Be short and sweet and add a few pauses in there so the audience can chuckle or give a “woot woot” in there. Try to keep it relatable to everyone so do your best to avoid too many inside jokes. Practice before you go up there, and then practice again.
General Outlining
1.) Introduce yourself
This feels kind of obvious but tell the people who you are and how you know the bride. Since this is where you are starting it’s your first impression and you want to be sure to make a good one. Tell the audience thank you for coming to such a special day in your best friend’s life.
2.) Dote on The Bride
Share a story or antidote about the bride and why she is a great person and even better friend. Typically antidotes do a better job of getting your point across instead of giving a blanket statement and asking the audience to sort of take your word for it.
3.) Share the Love Story
Tell everyone about the couples love story from your point of view. “We were out to eat one day and she just started gushing about this guy she just met…” Talk about what her first impressions were and what she said about him. When did YOU know your bestie had just met the one?
4.) Give Props to the Groom
Talk about the groom a little bit. If you’ve got a great relationship with him talk about that and if you don’t know him crazy well talk about the impact he has made in the bride’s life. How she has changed and/or has grown for the better.
5.) Celebrate the Union
Talk about why they are great together and how you know they are going to make an awesome team for the rest of their lives. This is another great place for an antidote.
6.) Give Some Good Advice
Share some advice with the newlyweds and if you don’t have any marriage experience or any good advice to impart, give them your best hopes and wishes for their marriage.
Pro tip: don’t give the advice “never go to bed angry” anyone who has been married for any length of time will tell you… GO TO BED! Nothing gets solved with two sleep deprived individuals arguing.
7.) Toast
“A toast to the bride and groom” Take a sip of your drink and you’re out of there babes!
Tips
1.) Practice!
Practice makes perfect people and if you don’t have it down in private you probably won’t be able to recite it in front of a crowd. Getting a little anxious in front of the crowd on the big day is normal even for the professionals
2.) Write it Down
Don’t feel like you have to have the speech memorized. Though practicing a couple dozen times should mean you don’t have to rely on your speech too much. Ensuring it’s written down will be a nice security blanket in case you start to trip over your words.
3.) Make it Your Own
Be yourself there is a reason why the bride picked you to be her maid of honor. She knows your sense of humor and all the quirky little things that make you uniquely you. Don’t leave those things out make the speech your own!
4.) Don’t’ talk about Taboo Topics
As mentioned previously, don’t bring up exes or talk about anything to raunchy. This is not the time to talk about your BFF being drunk and peeing in public those memories are for the two of you and not her new in-laws on an important day. Tease don’t embarrass.
5.) Keep Cute and Short
No one wants to hear a detailed description of your 20+ year friendship (sorry but they don’t). It’s important but not relevant in this setting. Keep it cute and keep it short. Plus, there are so many people that have to come after you so be sure to give them the time that they deserve.
Questions to Get You Started
- What is the line up? Who are you going before and after? If you know the person before you, you might want to reach out and ask to hear their speech so you can mention some things that they said OR even ask that they introduce you in a certain way.
- What is one of your top memories of the bride? Does it show the kind of friend and person she has been to you?
- Is there anything you need to say to the groom? (Don’t threaten the man!) Any reminders you’d like to give the bride?
- Are there any fond memories you have of the groom that you’d like to throw in there?
- What points do you 100% want to make in your speech? Write them down so they can easily be worked into the speech at the end or as you write.
- What do her in-laws thing of her and/or what do they need to know? This is a great time to be a testament to your BFF’s good character and best qualities.
