Did you join your best friend as she screeched in excitement to tell you the big news? Or did you quietly gasp in joy when she announced it you in a calm surprise?
Either way, you’re one of the most connected persons (if not the only one) to her in this up-coming rollercoaster of a ceremony to celebrate her marriage.
And of your course, she has asked you to be her maid of honor and hence you are looking for pointers how to write the best maid of honor speech.
You surely understand how your girl would like this special day to be as close to perfect as can be, just as what you’d probably like for your own.
If you’ve been friends long enough, you’ve probably dreamed up what each other’s wedding would be like at one in time.
And more often than not, people actually expect the best man to stand-out when it comes to speeches, so it’s wonderful that you’re here now reading this. Let’s get working on that speech and show that ladies got it too!
Preparing For Your Maid Of Honor Speech
Before we get started, here are a few things to remember for your moh speech.
When Delivering Your Speech, Pace Yourself
Being all excited can get you talking like a machine gun shooting 200 words per minute. So be conscious about your pace.
You’ll want to make sure you’re understood first if you want any of it to be remembered. So take a deep breath, smile, and greet bestie and the audience.
Also remember that once you have completed your speech, you practice is at a normal talking rate to check for it’s timing.
Just be aware that you could run through your speech talking very quickly and think that it will be done after 5 minutes, but in reality, when you do deliver at normal talking pace, it could double or triple that time frame.
Which leads us to…
Time Check
While there are lots of things for to say and talk about, it doesn’t mean you have to take this moment to do all that.
There will be time during and maybe even after this day for you to have a heart to heart with your best friend. It doesn’t all have to happen in front of many guests.
So just choose the most important one’s that will serve your purpose, and the one’s that’ll fit a 5 to 7 minute speech.
Anything beyond will end-up boring the audience and eating time into the program proper.
Don’t Forget About The Groom
While you and your sister from another mister share your own special connection and you are excited for her this day, remember that this is a celebration for them both as a couple.
So as you get to deciding what to include in your speech and which stories, don’t forget to have something in there about the groom or both of them as a couple. (Something positive of course)
Humor Check
If you’re thinking about including a funny story or two, here are some guide questions to check first:
- Will it cause embarrassment or cause damage to your best friend’s reputation?
- Will it cause embarrassment or cause damage to the groom’s reputation?
- Will it cause offense to any race, religion or gender?
- Will it create any discomfort
The easily clear no-no’s when it comes to jokes to include would be:
- Talking about the Ex/’s
- Specific confidential arguments between you and the bride
- Specific confidential arguments between the bride and the groom
- Awkward family relationships
Follow A Format
Before you start working on a speech, write down a format or outline. Not only will it keep you from getting lost but it’ll allow you to strategize on what buttons to push with each part of your speech and will also make it easier for you to get writing.
What’s In A Maid Of Honor Speech
As you keep the important points above in mind, let’s talk about what needs to be in your speech. The best way to get through that is to follow a format.
The maid of honor speech doesn’t have to be straightforward and formal all the time, people tend to expect the humor to come from either the best man or the fathers. But really, the maid of honor can be equally as awesome. You go girl!
So let’s go through what we can cover in your speech:
1. Greetings & Thanks
Your greeting or opening is one that’ll set the tone for your speech. Apart from considering the words to say, also consider one that you can deliver with a light happy tone.
It’s also an opportunity to give thanks to guests, friends and people you’ve worked with through the preparation. Maybe even a celebrity style “I’d also like to thank ___ for my hair & make-up today”
2. Two Or 3 Lines About Your Relationship With The Bride
When you get to this part it is tempting to get lost as you go down memory lane, which is why preparing an outline or writing your speech ahead of time is helpful vs. winging it.
This way you get to choose only 1 or 2 memories to cover that:
- Reflects what your relationship is like to the bride and how much your best friend means to you
- Can be a light/funny leading story or connection to other parts of your speech like your closing lines or your toast
- Can be an ice-breaker (though remember to consider our earlier tips about humor check)
3. Something About The Groom
As excited as you are for your girl, remember that it’s the groom’s night too. You can give him a line or 2 in your speech too. You can cover things like:
- Your first impressions of him (if funny but not offensive) and how he was introduced to you
- A sweet thing or two that you know he’s done for your girl
- Mention how happy you are that your best friend has found someone to share her life with
- Some funny things to note about your best friend and about how to he can keep up with her (again humor check as well)
4. Two Or 3 Lines About What The Couple Is Like
This is your opportunity to note show how you appreciate them as a couple like:
- how you see your best friend smile when she talks about him
- how you’ve seen them overcome challenging times together
- or maybe even funny things that they are do or are like as a couple.
5. Something About The Wedding Ceremony Or Preparations
This part is a good opportunity to give the guests an appreciation of the details around them, the venue, the food and the event as a whole. It can also be an opportunity to inject some humor about any funny mishaps before the wedding.
Closing Lines To Your Maid Of Honor Speech
This part of your speech is an opportunity for you to leave some advice for the newly-weds and congratulations. It can be something both sweet and funny.
If you are able to tie it back to something you’ve covered earlier, it will make you sound even more clever.
Alternatively, you could close with a quote, a funny line, a request for the couple or simply thanking them for making you a part of their special day or the future of your relationship.
Raising Your Glass For A Toast & Sending Best Wishes For The Couple
And of course after closing, don’t forget to raise your glass and invite the guests to join you as you toast to the couple with your best wishes for them.
So there you have it. Remember to keep it short and simple or you can personalize your speech for each part.
Best of luck. I know you’ll nail it!
To Stand Out From Other Speeches And Guarantee Your Success…
If you want to stand out from the rest of the speeches and really give the bride and groom a special speech that they will remember forever… I recommend that you check out the follow resource:
(Note: When you click the link, you’ll need to select “Maid Of Honor” for the appropriate resource.)