How to Write a Maid of Honor Speech

Writing a speech for one of the most memorable days in a bride’s life can be quite pressuring. If you find yourself standing in front of a married couple along with their family and friends as a maid of honor amidst a wedding reception, you may have a hard time finding the right words to say in honor of the bride and groom. 

Thankfully, these maid of honor speech ideas are here to help you gain inspiration for your big moment. Whether you are finding it difficult to start or end the speech or you cannot find the words that gracefully transitions from one story to the next, there are plenty of ways to overcome these obstacles and create a remarkable wedding speech. 

Let your creative juices flow as you take note of each of these steps and ideas to make your maid of honor speech a moment to remember. 

Speech Ideas for the Maid of Honor

Public speaking is an obstacle itself that is hard to overcome by many. Add the pressure of public speaking on such an important occasion as a wedding and you will find yourself overwhelmed. Hopefully, these steps along with various ideas will ease your worries and inspire you to write a creative and emotional maid of honor toast for the big day. 

Soon enough, you will have the couple and the wedding guests smiling, in tears, or laughing from joy at the wedding reception. 

Pre-Speech Shoutouts

Weddings can be quite expensive and stressful to plan, decorate, and schedule; therefore, a great speech introduction would be to give thanks to the friends, family members, and party planners who helped set up the venue. 

Other shoutouts may include the guests who attended the ceremony and reception and the staff who may be working at the reception. Although this will not be the main portion of your speech, this introduction idea will be able to start you off with being familiar with speaking in front of that particular crowd. 

Introduction Story

This type of introduction is common for maid of honors who are close friends with the bride. Guests who aren’t familiar with you may wonder who you are throughout the entire speech, distracting them from the message you are trying to send. 

A great way to cover all of your bases is to retell how you met the bride. You may choose to go the emotional route if you are childhood best friends or you may incorporate a humorous memory. Either way, a story is a great way for others to know who you are and learn more about the bride.

Avoid any wild drunk escapades, memories with ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends, and explicit or embarrassing stories of the bride. This can make the couple and the guests feel uncomfortable and ruin the mood. 

How You Met the Groom

Another story-telling method is to recount how you met the groom. Of course, this would be only acceptable if you are on good terms with the groom. Otherwise, avoid this tip at all costs as it can bring up bad memories. 

Silly first impressions, joyous memories, and interesting recollections are a great way to start a maid of honor speech or transition into a topic specifically about the bride and groom. The guests will be able to learn more about the groom and bring about a reminiscing mood in the reception hall. 

It’s important in the maid of honor and best man speech to speak about both the bride and groom. While you may be closer with one, the wedding day is about both of them!

I Knew They Were a Perfect Match When…

Speak about a time when you knew that the bride and groom would be married one day. Telling this type of story can give the happy couple and the audience a different perspective on the love between the two. 

If there was a specific moment when the bride began to act differently or seem happier due to the groom’s presence, incorporating it into the speech will cause an emotional reaction. Typically, tears are thought to be an expression of sadness; however, the tears coming from the bride and groom during your speech will be from joy. 

Fitting Quote

If you are running out of ideas for an introduction or conclusion, wishing the couple a happy marriage through a romantic quote is a great way to go. Perhaps, using a quote from the bride’s favorite romantic book, song, movie, or role model is the safest choice amongst all of the speech ideas. 

You may even find that building off an introductory quote or working towards a concluding quote will jump-start your thought process when thinking about all the topics you want to cover during your reception speech. 

Slideshow Presentation

Some people really struggle with remembering a speech, forcing them to stare at a piece of paper the whole time they are speaking publicly. Eliminate this disengagement with a slideshow! I know what you are thinking, “This is not a school presentation, so why would I use a slideshow?”

Well, slideshows are great for keeping you on track so you aren’t rambling and going off-topic. Another benefit to a slideshow is the use of pictures! People tend to relate to visuals much better than words.

Therefore, not only are you able to remember all of the points you want to talk about, but you can also engage your audience with a memorable display. Kill two birds with one stone, as they say. Slideshow music can also help set the mood!

Positive Conclusion

Typically, the maid of honor will begin with speaking of the bride’s most memorable moments in life. However, you must remember that a wedding consists of two people. To really sum up your perfect wedding toast, acknowledge the joining of the couple on this happy occasion. 

A wonderful way to conclude your speech is to wish the couple well in their married future and expand on hopes for their own memorable moments like you have shared with the bride. Really use this moment to pull on the heartstrings of all of your guests and the happy couple and you will leave a lasting thought in everyone’s mind. 

What to Keep in Mind

• Speech should be around 3-5 minutes long (Keep it short and sweet!)
• Complete sentences and correct grammar should be used for universal understanding
• Topics should be focused on the bride and groom
• Engage with the audience through eye contact
• Keep a lighthearted mood with sweet memories and/or humorous stories

What to Avoid

• Unrelated topics/ stories that do not involve the bride and groom
• Unclear sentence structure. (Use complete sentences)
• Offensive or passive-aggressive humor
• Involving too much of your own personal life in your stories
• Lengthy rambling