Looking forward to standing up in front of a room full of people staring at you? Not really, right? Too bad. If it’s your best friend’s wedding and you are the chosen maid of honor, you’ve got to do it…and make it good (hint: no embarrassing stories). But there’s more to it.
I’ll quickly take you through how to write a maid of honor speech for your best friend so you can deliver a memorable speech that becomes a cherished memory.
Understanding the Role of a Maid of Honor
Being chosen as the maid of honor is a privilege. I’ve gone to plenty of weddings but never been asked to be the maid of honor. So please realize that I am now jealous of the relationship you have with the bride. She had to choose only one person, and she chose you.
That’s not to say I don’t know speeches. I have given speeches at weddings, as well as countless speeches to large audiences of industry professionals for my day job.
Your maid of honor speech is one of the beautiful traditions that make your role so special. This is your chance to show your unwavering love and support for the bride and groom while also making their wedding very special by sharing cherished personal stories and memories.
Here is your (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show this friend that you are up for the job. You will need to assist her in various wedding planning tasks, including getting over any stage fright to deliver a speech at the reception.
The emotional weight of the role is a big one. There is a lot of work that depends on you, and you need to do it well. From wedding dress shopping to offering emotional support, you are there to make the bride’s journey towards her big day as smooth as possible.
The joy and responsibility go hand in hand as you take on this role, which is all about building an unbreakable bond and resonating deeply with your best friend, the bride, filled with shared memories and heartfelt wishes.
Crafting Your Best Friend’s Maid of Honor Speech
When I am drafting a personal speech, I like to read up on what other people have done. Why reinvent the wheel, right? No, no, no…I don’t mean copy anything out there on the net. But it’s a good idea to do some Google searches to get a feel for the typical maid of honor speech so you know the basic elements, structure, and flow that the audience will be expecting.
You could Google keywords like best maid of honor speeches, best maid of honor speech examples, shortest honor speech example (to find ones that only contain the most important parts), longest maid of honor speech examples (to find longer ones with more parts and ideas in it), best maid of honor speech template, and best maid of honor speech writing prompts.
Jot down notes of the structure, flow, and things that you want to replicate. You won’t be copying these speeches but just using the general ideas. You will want to make your maid of honor speech deeply personal, focusing on your unique bond with the bride, celebrating the couple’s love story, and sharing how they will be an amazing couple.
Reflecting on Shared Memories
Jot down your shared experiences and memories. Later, you can figure out how to incorporate them into your speech.
Regardless of whether you are the bride’s younger sister, big sister, or best friends, your inherent sisterhood with the bride will allow you to enrich your speech with heartfelt sincerity. It offers a unique opportunity to highlight the love and shared history between you and the bride. Relax and try to let the memories flow. The most powerful speeches are those that come from the heart and reflect your genuine emotions for your best friend.
Celebrating Her Love Story
Try to incorporate the history of the bride and groom’s coupledom somewhere in your speech. You could use it for added speech context by including details about when they first met when you knew they were in love, or how you knew they were meant to be. As the perfect maid of honor, sharing these moments will make the happy couple feel special on their big day.
Though your speech will focus more on the bride, it’s a classy touch to also admiration for the new husband. You could say he’s the funniest person you’ve ever met, or an amazing person so that you don’t spend too much time on him (he’ll have his best man to do that).
As the best maid of honor ever, you are going to let everyone know that the bride deserves to be loved by someone special, and the newlywed groom, who is such a great friend, is indeed that person for her.
Injecting Humor and Warmth
Although a maid of honor speech should be heartfelt, the better speeches carry the tone of the reception – happy and celebratory. So don’t be too serious. Be funny and animated to make it lighthearted, captivating the audience and ensuring an enjoyable experience for everyone.
A wedding speech that truly captures the essence of the occasion and your bond with the bride can be crafted by blending humor and heartfelt moments. Share funny anecdotes and inside jokes that highlight your special relationship with the bride, but remember to keep them appropriate for the wedding guests. With well-crafted wedding speeches, you can make the celebration even more memorable.
Structuring Your Maid of Honor Speech
You will want to sketch out the flow of your speech before you dig into the details. Getting the flow down will make it easier for the audience to follow along. I will walk through how to structure your speech for maximum impact, covering elements such as creating a strong opening, honing the heart of the speech, and concluding with sentiment.
Opening with Impact
The opening of your speech sets the tone for the rest. The first thing to do is to confidently introduce yourself and share a little about your bond with the bride. For example, you might be best friends who have known each other since high school. Just give a little background on how you fit into the overall picture.
Then, dive in with a compelling story or heartfelt explanation of what makes the bride so extraordinary to you. This can seamlessly transition into a couple of funny stories or a humorous anecdote, a meaningful quotation, or, though rarely used, a surprising statistic relating to the couple or the event.
These attention grabbers engage the audience’s brains and get people interested in what you have to say next.
The Heart of the Speech
At the core of your speech, you can share more personal stories. Don’t go overboard, but instead, choose 2-3 stories that truly capture the essence of the bride or your friendship. You can also dive deeper into celebrating the couple’s love by talking about what they have in common, how they are a perfect match for each other, and how you are excited about their new life together.
At this part of the speech, you will want to be specific and detailed, highlighting the couple’s unique journey and creating a memorable speech. Avoid saying (or gesturing) anything inappropriate or offensive that could make people feel uncomfortable or detract from the celebratory nature of the occasion.
Concluding with Sentiment
You will want to end with an upbeat bang. Be authentic. Fill your words with authentic emotion. Be uplifting.
This is your chance to leave a lasting impression on your audience. Finish your speech with genuine wishes for the couple’s future, and consider adding a heartwarming quote to truly capture your feelings about the couple and their future together.
At the end of your speech, invite the wedding guests to raise their glasses in a collective gesture of congratulations to the happy couple, symbolizing their support and best wishes for the newlyweds’ future together. With glasses raised, you will then give your well wishes to the happy couple and their family. (There are some examples of what to say further below.)
Great job! You have made your way through your maid of honor speech outline. Now, let’s go over a few final tips to make sure you are ready to deliver your speech.
Enhancing Your Delivery: Maid of Honor Speech Tips
Despite the delivery of your speech potentially being nerve-wracking, it can be handled with ease, given the right preparation and mindset. Here are some tips to help you enhance your delivery, including projecting confidence, rehearsing effectively, and managing your emotions during your speech.
Projecting Confidence
Showing confidence is about your delivery. It’s not just about what you say but how you say it. Appearing to maintain eye contact is crucial in showing confidence and getting the audience to pay attention to you. The trick is to scan the audience randomly, looking just over the tops of everyone’s heads. If you look people in the eyes, it can distract you, especially if they are fiddling with their phones instead of listening. So avoid looking at them and look over them. They won’t know the difference.
There are other techniques to help you project confidence, including amplifying your voice, varying your volume, emphasizing certain words so that your voice sounds more animated and interesting, and using pregnant pauses strategically during your speech.
These techniques can all contribute to a compelling and self-assured presentation.
Rehearsal Makes Perfect
They say that practice makes perfect, and they are right. If you can, it’s best to carve out a few hours to practice the speech until you get it down. Once you’ve got it down, practice your speech twice a day for at least a week before the big day. This process will help you find the optimal pace for your speech. If you can video yourself during practice, listening to yourself will provide valuable insights into your body language and tone, allowing you to make necessary adjustments.
Allow plenty of time to adjust the flow and pacing, iron out any awkward parts, boost your confidence, and minimize nervousness.
Handling Emotions
Do you really want your mascara running down your face?
While it’s normal and even expected to feel emotional during your speech, you don’t want to break down. Aside from ruining your makeup, your voice will shake, and the scene will be distracting and a bit of a downer (not the party that a wedding reception should be).
When you rehearse your speech, focus on understanding the goal of your speech (which is to create a happy, memorable wedding day), being able to say it comfortably and lightheartedly, slowing down your voice when you come to a funny part or a story so you can also keep your own emotions upbeat during your talk, and using breathing techniques if you feel yourself getting teary-eyed.
By taking a few deep breaths before your speech, you can calm your nerves and gather your thoughts so you can deliver your speech with composure.
Maid of Honor Toast Examples
Here are some examples of maid of honor toasts that you might find inspiring: “Here’s to love and laughter and happily ever after. To [Bride] and [Groom]!” or “May your love be modern enough to survive the times and old-fashioned enough to last forever. To [Bride] and [Groom]!”
The best toasts are those that come from the heart and reflect your genuine happiness for the beautiful bride and her groom.
I hope this post has given you a detailed roadmap to crafting and delivering a memorable maid of honor speech. The most impactful speeches are those that are genuine, heartfelt, and personal. As the maid of honor, you have a special bond with the bride, and your speech is a unique opportunity to express your love and support for her on her big day. So, take a deep breath, stand tall, and deliver your speech with confidence and love.
You’ve got this!
