Maid Of Honor Speeches

Notes on My Maid of Honor Speech

Here are the most important things I learned about preparing and giving my maid of honor speech.

I really benefited from getting a book about maid of honor speeches because it had so many great examples of things to say that I was able to just borrow most of the speech and only add a few personal things I wanted to say.

Start by collecting your ideas and thoughts about the bride, the couple. Make an inventory of things you could say so you can pick the best things. Sort them by which are most important.

When you actually give the speech here are things you probably want to include:

• Tell everyone who you are. Many of the people may not have met you.
• Thank the bride for asking you to be the maid of honor. Let her know how important this is to you and how much you appreciate her friendship. Maybe talk about how long you have known the bride and groom and why you were selected to be the maid of honor.
• Next talk about the bride and groom. How did they meet? What were your thoughts when you learned about their relationship. Talk about how they complement each other. Let the groom know what a wonderful person the bride is. Everyone has already heard from the best man how the groom walks on water so now is your turn to “even the score”.
• Tell a funny story that illustrates the relationship of the couple. If you aren’t good at humor then talk about something that is sweet, exciting or inspiring about the couple. One really hilarious anecdote can make your speech memorable. But keep it tasteful. One funny story is enough. Your job is not to be a comic. You are flattering the couple and making everyone feel good about the wedding.
• Conclude by saying how happy you are about their wedding, congratulate them and wish them much success and a long, happy life together.

Talk from your heart and from your point of view. Only talk about positive things but don’t lie. Add in a famous quote or line from a poem if it is appropriate.

Remember: Bring notes. Don’t try to improvise. Don’t get too personal. Don’t say anything negative or depressing. Rehearse until you feel comfortable with what you are going to say.

7 Tips for Maid of Honor Wedding Speeches

There are a lot more than 7 things you need to learn but here are 7 of the most important things that go into all great maid of honor wedding speeches. (Although I called myself the “maid of honor” sometimes this person is called the “matron of honor” or just the bridesmaid but it is all the same.)

1. Keep it brief. As the maid of honor you will probably be the last one of the wedding party to speak. The father of the bride, the groom, the best man will have already spoken and one or more of them may have gone on much too long. So be prepared to cut your comments to the bone so that the reception doesn’t go on forever

2. If you aren’t good at saying things that make people laugh then don’t try. Especially if the wedding reception is in a church keep your comments from your heart. Concentrate on the romantic and spiritual aspects of the bride and groom.

3. Your comments should be personal but not TOO personal, if you get what I mean. Think about what you intend to say. Is it really things that everyone there will understand, care about and feel is appropriate?

4. Be enthusiastic and complimentary but don’t overdo it. You want to make sure the bride feels good about her special day and the big journey she is starting on but don’t exaggerate. It’s ok to tease a little or even roast the bride a bit but mostly your job is to flatter and congratulate her.

5. As in all public speaking to a mixed crowd–avoid sex, politics and religion!

6. Rehearse your speech with a friend. Ask for their honest feedback and comments and take them to heart. Don’t rehearse with the bride because you want her to hear your comments fresh on the wedding day.

7. Write down notes and bring them with you. It makes it much easier to avoid stage fright and ensure that you won’t forget anything important. You don’t need to write down every word you want to say. An outline is usually sufficient if you have rehearsed it.

I hope these 7 pointers are as helpful to you as they were to me. I strongly suggest you do some research and find a good resource for maid of honor speeches so you can read some good examples and borrow what you need.

Basics of Maid of Honour Speeches

This is really basic information about any wedding speech, not just maid of honour speeches. The speech should be about 3 to 10 minutes long. Many people seem to think they are the featured attraction when they give a wedding speech, but even the best speaker gets tiring after about 10 to 15 minutes. Besides a lot of other people probably want a turn and may give up and never get to say what they feel if you go on too long.

So a really simple thing you should do is to rehearse your speech before you give it using a clock to see how long it takes. I was surprised to find that what I thought I needed to say was really much too long. I cut my speech down to the five things that I thought were most important and that really improved it.

I mostly wanted to say things about my friendship with Sue because I know her so well. But I learned that it is important to concentrate on the bride AND groom because this is really THEIR day. That made it much easier for me because I decided to just tell one funny story about Sue and me, and spend the rest of the time talking about all the funny and romantic things Sue had told me about her relationship with her new husband from the time they first met until today. That realization allowed me to give a much more appropriate speech.

Another important thing I learned is to concentrate on positive things. No one wants to hear about the times the couple almost called off the wedding. Just talk about the funny, romantic and heart-warming things and everyone will feel much better. The things you say set the tone for the rest of the reception.

Finally don’t forget to congratulate the couple very sincerely.

I am so glad I spent some time to find a great resource for maid of honor speeches so that in the end I did give a really great speech that everyone appreciated.