Best Maid of Honour Speech Ideas & Examples

Being the maid of honour is a very prestigious thing indeed. It is given to someone that has been a longtime friend of the bride, often a woman that is more like a sister than a friend. In fact, often the maid of honor is the sister of the bride, making the occasion even more special.

While it is a very big honour to be the maid of honour, it is also a great deal of responsibility. The maid of honour is responsible for a lot of things related to the wedding, including helping to pick out the bridesmaid’s dresses, helping the bride pick out her dress, and helping the bride get ready on the wedding day.

Maybe the biggest responsibility of all is simply dealing with the bride during this time. It is no secret that many women turn into Bridezilla during this time as they want everything to be just perfect, and so the maid of honor becomes a verbal punching bag of sorts as the soon-to-be bride complains about anything and everything to her. What a nightmare this can be.

This Is Supposed to Be Fun, Right?

If you are a maid of honour working your way to the wedding of your close friend or sister, then you already know what a nightmare this can be at times. This can really put a strain on a closer friendship, but it shouldn’t have to be this way. This is supposed to be fun after all.

Wedding is supposed to be a blessed occasion that is the uniting of a two people together. Those who get to play an intimate part in making the wedding occur are supposed to be having a lot of fun while they do that. They are supposed to be sharing in their close friend’s good fortune, but the stress seems to get to everyone. It is, sadly, a consequence of the bride wanting the wedding to be perfect.

If you are the maid of honor, the first thing you want to do is to settle the bride down. Remind her up front that this is supposed to be a lot of fun and if it is starting to not get that way that you are going to call a “timeout” to get back the bearings on the occasion. It will be fun if you make sure that this is what it is supposed to be. You want your friend to have a good time, and reminding her that she is going to be sharing her life with the man she loves is a great way to make that happen.

There Are a Lot of Responsibilities for the Maid of Honour

The maid of honor has a lot of responsibilities. These were mentioned before, but are truly a rather prolonged list that includes a lot of events related around the final days before the bride gets married. One of the most important is the bridal shower and/or bachelorette party. These are the final days before the soon to be bride becomes the wife to the man she loves and so she will want to have one big great event before she finally ties the knot. This is why it is so important for the maid of honor to make this event really something special.

While some of these tasks can be a lot of work, one that is surely to be enjoyable is the main of honor speech. This is not only a great opportunity to share some warm thoughts and ideas about how you hope that the marriage will be one of the best ever, but it is also a chance to share some very warm thoughts with the bride about how much she has meant to your personally.

Of course, there is also the fact that he gives you the chance to get in a few jabs if she has been a Bridezilla over the past weeks leading up to the wedding. This is all in good fun, and isn’t meant to be offensive in anyway.

How to Put Together a Great Maid of Honour Speech?

You want to make sure that this speech is everything that you truly intend so you want some maid of honour speech ideas that can help you put this together. This is your best friend or your dear sister and so you really want to make sure that you have a speech that encompasses a lot of great ideals, yet doesn’t go on for hours. This is your big moment, and you want to make the most of it, so here is how to write a maid of honour speech that will really say the things that you want.

Before getting into some specific speeches or ideas that you can use, here are some ideas to reflect on that will make a big difference in getting your speech ready.

Prepare Your Maid of Honour Speech

A lot of people want to just shoot from the hip and don’t really consider it to be that big of a deal, but this is a big chance to really share your thoughts with the bride. She has had a big place in your life, and so you want to say some words that are meaningful.

Consider that there could be a lot of people there and your words will be remembered by many who are in attendance, including by your friend/sister. If you just say something goofy that is what you will be remembered for. Ask yourself if this is really the kind of impression you want to leave about yourself. Take this speech seriously, because it could be something that people are talking about for years.

Don’t Wait Until the Last Moment

There are lots of us who like to procrastinate about things, and so they think that they will have plenty of time to put together a fantastic maid of honor speech. Maybe some people can do that and really do an amazing job of it. However, consider that the last thing you want to say is that you wish you would have mentioned some key element about the marriage or your friendship that you really wish you would have included.

The closer to the ceremony that you wait to get started on what you want to say will make it more likely that you will forget stuff. You should start on an outline that will include key points you want to make. The earlier you do that then you can add as you need. This ensures that you will get all the things you really want to say.

One important suggestion that you should consider is that you should approach this speech much in the same way that you would write a paper in college. This is an assignment of sorts, and the more serious that you take it like this the more likely it is that you are going to really deliver a powerful speech. This will give you plenty of time to make edits, make several drafts, and really hit all the important parts that you want to express.

Returning to the previous point for a moment, keep in mind as well that you want to say something that is going to be meaningful for the right reasons. These words are going to be something that the bride and groom are going to remember forever, and so you simply don’t want to say something that seems like it wasn’t well thought out. Just think how you would feel if your maid of honor gave a rather lame speech at your wedding.

You probably wouldn’t feel like she took the most important day in your life very seriously. Don’t make that kind of mistake. You want your friend to feel the love you have for her, and that starts by making sure that your speech is truly wonderful.

Cover Things that Are Commonly Talked About

While you want to be unique in the speech that you give, you can learn a lot from the best maid of honour speeches you will find. What is meant by this is that you want to cover things that lots of other maids of honor would give. You are just making it unique to you.

Start with some basic ideas:

  • The most commonly talked about thing is to speak on how thrilled you are for your friend, sister, or cousin that she has found the man that she loves and is now married to him. Everyone is thrilled about the marriage and will express this excitement, but there is nothing wrong with you doing it either.
  • You want to thank the bride and groom for making this event happen, as well as their parents for putting this on. They have made this special day happen and you want to express your appreciation for all that made this happen.
  • A personal touch is such a big part of the speech. If you have a great story to talk about or a favorite memory this is a great time to talk about it. This is especially true if the story is related to her finding the right guy. That will really be a great lead in.
  • You want to make sure that you give some great words of encouragement. Many use a quote from someone about how to make a happy marriage. These are great things that can share your desire to see them succeed. Make it meaningful and make it from the heart.
  • At the end raise your glass in a toast to the bride and groom. This is a standard that all people do and will be occurring a lot during the reception.

Making Sure Your Quote Is the Right One

The quote was mentioned in the previous section, but this is something that needs a little more discussion. You can actually choose two quotes if you wish. One can be a comical one about marriage that can begin your talk. There are many maid of honour toast examples that use great quotes out there to choose from including such ones as…

These are funny kinds of quotes that people will laugh at and no one will get offended by the humor of it. Using one of these quotes is such to get a laugh and let’s everyone get ready to enjoy your talk.

The other quote you can use should be something that is meaningful about marriage. You want the quote to be something that will really express a powerful sentiment, and should be a great lead in to your thoughts for how you hope the wedding will succeed. Here are some great examples for you…

“A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.”

Michel de Montaigne

Know Your Own Speech Style

This is a time to be self-aware about yourself. A lot of people try to be funny and make this their time to be some kind of standup comic or time to be the master of ceremonies of a roast. Sadly, they don’t have that kind of sense of humour, or are not that funny in terms of how they tell jokes or present lines and it comes off badly.

You need to know your own style. That doesn’t mean that if you are not humorous that you will be a disappointment in some way. Remember that you are sitting in a very important and prominent position in the wedding, and so your heartfelt comments are really what should be the most important part of your talk. You want to share some points about how happy you are for your friend, sister, or cousin, and how this man has helped to make the bride’s life so much more special.

It is for this reason that your focus needs to be more focused on the happiness you feel for your friend, the bride. If you are not a very funny person that is perfectly ok, and you will do a lot more to create a lasting memory by making heartfelt comments than you will with a joke that seems awkward.

Knowing your style also means to be careful about how over the top you may get. Some women are incredibly humorous and have a great wit to them, but they can also be a bit biting in the comments that they make. Make sure that any humorous statements you may make are appropriate and will not get anyone worked up. Remember that while your comments may be funny to the bride and groom, their parents and/or grandparents may not find it that way at all. Be careful in what you say, and this starts with understanding that you may have to tone down your style at the moment.

Keep Your Maid Of Honour Speech Short

There are a few things that to consider when writing your maid of honour toast and one of these is that you want to keep the speech short and to the point. You want to make sure that you do not just ramble on and a good outline can help you to avoid doing this.

Keep in mind that many will like to speak during this time, and if you talk for a very long time others may not get the opportunity. That you were a time hog may then become a lasting memory and you don’t want that either.

Practice Your Speech

Like you would prepare for a test by studying and learning the material well, you need to practice your speech as well. Make sure that you go over it several times. Do it in front of other people and see how the speech goes over.

Take their criticism seriously and see how you can incorporate it into the talk. If you do this you will make sure that you will give one of the very best maid of honour speeches of all time. Remember that very heartfelt but also short maid of honour speeches can be the biggest winners.

An Example of a Good Maid of Honour Speech

Now that you have been shown the ideas about writing a maid of honour speech for best friend or sister, here is a sample maid of honour speech of one for you. This speech includes all the elements that were talked about in this article and should give you a clear idea of what to do. While there are many great maid of honour speech examples you can find online, here is one that will give you a clear idea of what to do.

I want to thank all of you for coming here today. It is such an honor to speak for my friend Kathy and her husband John. Mr. and Mrs. Jones and Mr. and Mrs. Harris, I know you must be thrilled to know your daughter and son have found the one who will make their lives truly ideal. Thank you for all you have done to put this event together.

My name is Janice and I have been Kathy’s best friend since we sat next to each other in kindergarten. It is amazing to have a friend for one’s entire life and I feel like I have had the very best one in Kathy. She is truly amazing and I could not be happier for her today.

As we grew up together we spent a lot of time talking about boys. There were a few times that we had to console each other over the years when a boyfriend broke the heart of one of us. I have sat on the phone for many nights and talked to Kathy after some guy decided that my best friend, the best person in the world was not good enough for him. I am just so glad to know that now I will never have to get a call like that again. I know that John is a man who will never break my dear friend’s heart, and I am glad that he will not have to be making calls to his friends ever again either. They have found an amazing love and I am so happy for them.

There are so many things at a time like this that I want to say. I have so many wonderful memories of my dear friend and am so pleased that she has found the man of her dreams. I remember one particularly important moment when we were in our first year in college.

She had met a boy there in our freshman year. We had come from a small town and so this was a really big deal. Being at college was such a big deal because the college had more people in it than our town did. It was truly remarkable.

Kathy had met this boy that she really liked and he turned out to be a jerk. I listened far too many nights when she would call me to tell me some cruel or inconsiderate way he had acted. Finally, she had enough and broke it off with him. I was so happy that she did this and I remember getting on my knees that night to pray to God that He would bring a great man into her life. My friend was the most important person in my life and I wanted her to have the very best life.

I am so happy that she has found that person in John. I know when she met him it was like a moment that it is hard to describe. For her it seemed like a purpose had come; a purpose that made her feel like she was truly whole. I could see that for him as well. John seemed to become radiant himself whenever he was in Kathy’s presence. It was so sweet and so amazing. I knew then that they were truly meant for each other.

Through their relationship, I have learned a lot about what love is like. I have seen what true love can look like and have now come to understand what I want for myself. While this day is about us, I also encourage you to be selfish for yourself. Look at the love that they have for one another and the way that they care for one another, and demand that for yourself. I know I am doing that. I will only accept a man that loves me in the same way that John loves Kathy, and all you men out there should only want a wife who will love like Kathy loves John. We have been given the very best example of what a great marriage looks like, and we should want this for ourselves.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” These two beautiful people have found the same direction for their lives and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the two of them. I know it will be truly amazing.

Please raise your glasses while I propose a toast:

If ever you are to enjoy life…now is the time!  Today should always be your most wonderful day.  Let today be the building block for all the years to come, and may your home and hearth be filled with your laughter and that of your children as well, for all the days of your life.

I love you guys!  Congratulations!

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