Wow. What a time in life. If you’ve been selected to give the Maid of Honor Speech at your friend’s wedding, you’re likely trying to get some ideas. Give me the chance to attempt to provide you with the best of what I know from my years of experience as a professional speaking consultant.
Planning is important, and you’ve done a great thing by looking for information ahead of time. You’d be surprised how many people ignore the fear they have about public speaking and tell themselves “I’ll figure it out the couple of days before,” “the night before,” or God forbid “in the car on the way there. ” By the way, if you’re not feeling nervous, I’m worried. What I’m trying to say here is that it’s completely natural to feel anything from a bit jittery to utterly panicked at the idea of having to give your maid of honor speech. It’s totally normal. I still get nervous every single time I prepare to speak, whether at a professional engagement, or even a casual dinner. Okay, now that you are assured your nerves are normal, let’s take a look at the maid of honor speech itself.
The technical aspects of the Maid of Honor Speech:
First, you might consider starting by telling the audience who you are, and thanking them for coming. Then, consider a story or two. Everyone on the planet loves to hear stories . The first might be something about what you thought of the groom when you met him. This always seems to be a good topic, because it’s perfectly acceptable for you to just slightly poke fun at him, as if to say “I wasn’t really sure about Jim when he first started dating Laura. He drove this old beat up car and had a slightly strange craving for French fries after midnight.”
Hello! Just in case we haven’t met in person yet, my name is _________. I’m the maid of honor today , and I’m so proud of _______ (the bride). First, I want to say congrats ________(bride & groom). In addition , thanks to _______(the parents of the bride , who likely sponsired the wedding) and to everyone who came from far and near to be here with ________(bride and groom) on their very special day.
Keep any jabs you might be thinking would be funny for the groom in your maid of honor speech to a very low level. As you will probably be sensing just thinking about your past experience, at a wedding, people place the parts of themselves that might be frustrated about the “darker side” of humanity on the back burner. These people are there to feel feelings of happiness, love and joy . They don’t want to be reminded about the bad things that can come out in people, like pain, greed, lust, etc. So keep from telling jokes that might hint at these things. A tiny, ever-so-slightly negative comment about the groom is usually okay, but only once, and if you do, try to make it very light.
When I first met ____ (groom), I remember wondering if things would work out. I recall him coming to the door (or hearing about him coming to her door if you didn’t live with the bride) one night at 12 am calling for _____(bride). He was wearing this old flannel shirt, and I think asked ____(bride) if she wanted to get some french fries. I had my doubts, but as I got to know ______(groom), I started to see he was an easy person to talk to, he has a good sense of humor, and eventually I realized he was a perfect match for ______(bride). I want to be the second to welcome _______(groom) to the family. We hope we can show you the same outgoing and open spirit as you have shown us.
To continue with this exact speech example, see this site: with an example Maid of Honor Speech.
