How To: Writing A Maid Of Honour Speech

Being chosen to be your B.F.F.'s maid of honor is one of the most memorable moments in our friendships. As part of your maid of honor duties, it is expected that you will deliver a speech at the wedding reception, and the writing of that speech can be one of the more stressful things you'll do. With this blog, we wanted to break down the maid of honor speech + give you some tips to help you when it's your turn to write one.

How Do I Write My Maid of Honour Speech?

When it comes to the speech itself, everything will be a matter of personal preference. Some MoH's will have their way of delivering a speech, while others may need some pointers. We wanted to pull together a list of tips or ideas to factor into your address at the wedding reception.

To start your speech off, be sure to introduce yourself. You may not know everyone in attendance, and they may not have met you before either, so letting everyone know who you are and what your relationship is to the bride(s) & groom(s) is a great initial way to start. If there are any people that you want to thank or give credit to, then the start of your speech is a good time to do so. For example, maybe the groom's parents have paid for/hosted the wedding, or the bridesmaids, etc.

After this, you'll want to jump into talking about your B.F.F, the bride. When you're thinking about what to say, just let your memories and feelings dictate where the speech will go. Think of your favorite times with the bride, things like the happiest day you both had, the hardships that made you both stronger, and the things you've been through together, and the words will flow naturally. If you've got any stand-out memories of the bride with her partner, this is a good time to weave them in as well; they're about to be a married couple after all! You'll want to wind your speech down talking about their union + the both of them as a couple. You can talk about how it makes you feel seeing your friend in love when you knew she'd found the one and anything similar.

One piece of advice a friend once gave me that I loved was that when she had to write her MoH speech, she would do it after outings with her B.F.F. bride-to-be; that way, she would have their fun times to inspire her speech at the moment.

Bonus Tip: End your speech with a toast to the happy couple! It takes any spotlight off you and keeps it on your B.F.F. & her partner!

When Do I Write My Maid of Honour Speech?

At the latest, you'll want to start writing this about a month out from the wedding so that it gives you plenty of time to dive into perfecting the speech your B.F.F. deserves. However, it doesn't hurt to start thinking about it and planning it out from the moment you're chosen as a maid of honor. The last thing you'll want is additional unnecessary stress right before your friends' wedding.

What Should I Avoid Talking About In My Speech?

This is a great question we've been asked a bunch of times - we all want our speeches to be memorable for good reasons, so no one wants to say anything terrible, cringe or come off as weird in front of a crowd of people at a wedding.

First things first, avoid anything inappropriate - remember, the bride likely has parents, siblings, family, co-workers, and other relatives in the audience at the wedding. Some things are just better off left unsaid. Secondly, always avoid talking about the brides' exes can be a touchy subject for some people. Finally, it's a good idea to avoid talking about divorce or tense family moments for the bride!

We hope this list has given you some good pointers when it comes to writing your maid of honor speech - if you've got any tips we've missed, let us know in the comments below to help any other queens writing their speeches!