Maid of Honor Speech
The maid of honor role comes with much excitement yet so many responsibilities. You can’t get over yourself that the bride has trusted you with one of the most crucial roles to her wedding.
You get to assist her through the entire planning process – choosing the venue and the vendors, choosing her gown, planning the hen party and so much more.
You got to keep her cool all through to the actual wedding day. Then at the end of day, there’s the maid of honor speech to deliver, phew!
Being the maid of honor, chances are high that you have known the bride for quite some; maybe she was your deskie in high school, or college roommate or the one person you clicked with at work or maybe she’s your sister. You guys have been through it all together; you definitely know her better than most people on her guest list.
You’ll be telling stories of how much you love her, (sharing some actual stories of things you have gone through together – that summer camp or the late night calls), that you are happy for her that she found her Mr. Right and that you are excited to see then start a new phase together.
The maid of honor speech is technically going to be more of a “down the memory lane”. It will be interesting and very emotional for you and the bride. You will cry and you will laugh and the guests will be entertained and will learn a thing or two about the bride that they did not know. It will be fun.
If you are an orator, then this should be a breeze. However, public speech is known to be a common fear. As a matter of fact 25.3 percent of people in America get nervous to the idea of speaking in public. So relax, you are not alone.
Even to those who are comfortable doing speeches, you really need to figure out what to say as the maid of honor. This is going to be a very special moment for the two of you and you really want to nail it.
We are here to guide you and make sure you write a killer maid of honor speech; please tag a long.
What should I say on the maid of honor speech
A maid of honor speech is technically how you know the bride, how you know the couple and wishing them well on their happily ever after. Having known the bride – and the couple for some time,you have laughed together, gone through difficult times together and been there for each other. You have created lots of memories together. This is mainly what you will be talking about on the maid of honor speech.
Unfortunately, all this cannot go into the speech. You need to sieve it and decide which ones you definitely want to share with the guests and which ones to leave out.
Determining this beforehand helps to ensure that you don’t forget them and also helps to organize your speech in a chronological order.
When picking these anecdotes, remember to pick just one or two that bring out the best character of the bride, the groom or the couple.
The Maid of Honor Speech Template
Having scribbled down a few stories and characters of the bride you want to highlight, it’s time to organize it as you pen it down. What will you start with and what will come towards the end? Lets now discuss the skeleton of your speech, which is the template.
It guides the flow of the stories that you will be telling about the bride. When putting all this information about the bride together, you need to have a good flow of it.
Introduce yourself
First thing first. Yes, you are the bride of honor, but who are you again? Let the guests know who you are. How do you relate to the bride? Also take the opportunity to recognize the parents and any other distinguished guests.
Talk about the bride
Immediately after introducing yourself, tell us juicy stuff about this beautiful bride. You could start with how you met. You could share a story that shows the depth and commitment that you two have for each other, or the one occurrence that made you realize that you are in this to stay; she will be your bestie forever. How you almost burned down your room trying out a new recipe
To add onto this, you need to particularly bring out one of her strengths. If she is so caring, share about the one time in college when she had pocket money left for only two meals and she split it up with you not knowing where the next meal will come from.
This will be sure to get the guests all emotional and in love with the bride.
This is a chance for you to get effortlessly funny, creative and sentimental.
Talk about the groom
Now is time to introduce the groom. Whether you know them well or not, you definitely have something to talk about. Could be the first impression he created when he was introduced to you.
If you were there when they first met you could share your version of how they met. Share with the guests some positive attributes about the groom as well; how much he cares about the bride and treats her well. Get creative, i’m sure you can hack this.
Let the groom feel loved and part of it.
Talk about them as a couple
This is a good time to tell us how you realized your bestie was in love. How she started canceling and postponing your usual dates.
How her face turned red whenever she spoke to him on the phone. How she started learning his hobbies and vise versa. Give the guests some juicy stories about this lovely couple; how they met and how they have journeyed together since.
How they’ve always been there for each other, taken care of each other and brought the best out of each other. Just let it flow.
Wish them a happily ever after
Let all these stories fill the mood with love, we want to see how happy this couple is together. Having talked about where they are coming from, it’s time to talk about where they are headed.
Tell them of all the wonderful things that you wish for them in their new venture. A life full of joy and happiness, together with their loved ones, that all their wishes will come true.
If the couple is open to the idea, you could also add some advice on the new life that they are embarking on – the married life.
Toast
Finally, the most awaited moment is here. It’s time to toast to the newly wedded couple. As you end your speech, make sure you sign off with a personal touch.
Could be a quote that reminds you of the couple or one that you know they love.
Then finally you can ask the guests to raise their glasses and toast to the couple.
Tips on how to nail your maid of honor speech
I will add some few things to keep in mind as you prepare and present your maid of honor speech. If you follow through,you will be able to deliver your speech like a pro regardless of whether it’s your first time or not.
Don’t make it about yourself
This is the bride’s day, so let it be. In as much as the anecdotes involve you, let the bride be the focal point. After you have introduced yourself, do not make any other reference to yourself.
Make it short
I know you can talk about your girl till the cows get home, but please for this particular one focus on key attributes and keep it short. As interesting as it may be, you don’t want to tire the guests with endless speeches. Not forgetting that others, like the parents will also be giving more speeches. So please, let it be as short as possible.
Don’t talk about exes
Talking about exes on the maid of honor speech is strictly prohibited. Save those for the bachelorette party or the girls night. Not in the wedding, here we focus on positive vibes only. Thank you!
Have some little breaks to allow the crowd to respond
In the course of your speech, you will say something funny or sentimental. You want to give the gusts some time to respond/react to the joke.
Don’t use inside jokes
There are some jokes that only you and the bride that can understand. Or those that you would have had to be there at the occurrence for you to understand them. Please leave those out as the guests will not understand them.
Be authentic
Keep it real. Don’t try to look for stories to tell just to sound interesting. Instead, just speak from your heart. Share moments that have touched your heart and in case their love inspires you, please by all means, let them know.
Choose your style
Whatever the case, remain yourself. Do not feel compelled to be funny or sentimental while giving your speech. SImply work with what works for you and flow with it. If humor is your thing then by all means work with it. Be yourself
Keep calm
No matter how scared you are of public speaking, remain calm or act as it. Breathe and ready out your speech slowly. Ignore the shaking hands. Simply breath and move on with your speech.
Rehearse your maid of honor speech
Practising your speech helps you to be more confident and internalise it.Such that when the time comes for you to read it out to the guests, it sounds from the heart; it sounds real. You will also enjoy reading out something that you’ve gone over before. So, stand in the front of the mirror everyday and perfect your speech presentation skills
Remember, it’s okay to get emotional. If the tears come, don’t hold them back. Let them loose. It’s a way of expressing your happiness and love to the bride and the couple.
