Giving a Maid of Honor Speech? Simple Tips You Can Use Right Now!
One of the maid of honor's most important duties — if not the most important — is to offer a speech at the reception.
This speech is a big part of the wedding, and usually takes place within the reception' s first half, before people leave. You'll no doubt be addressing a full crowd ... so you'll want to be prepared!
While the best man's speech is equally important, he'll focus more on the groom. So it's your job to delight the bride, and give her something to remember. Sound like a tall order? There are a few tips to keep in mind when giving your maid of honor speech that practically guarantee it'll be a success — and I'm going to share them with you.
Leave Them Laughing
The best speeches are usually the funny ones ... the kind where everyone in the crowd is laughing, not just the bride. A great way to start out your speech is to tell a story or two about growing up together, and the amusing things that happened to you.When it comes to this speech, a lot of maids like to wing it — not write anything down, and hope for the best. I think they often hope this will create a natural, spontaneous effect, but I'm not always sure that's the result. At any rate, on such a big day, it makes sense to put in the extra effort and write down a few prepared remarks.
We all know that most of us don't like to speak in front of other people. We tend to get nervous when we know we have to make a speech, and we procrastinate a little. Having a few prepared notes makes life a lot easier on that front as well.
Okay, so I am almost 15 years old and I am my sisters MOH. I have to give a speech at her wedding and I don’t really know what to say! Also, I am sooooo nervous to get in front of all the people at her wedding!! Me and my sister grew up together and shared the same room. We are really close and have alot of memories. Her soon to be husband and I are somewhat close as well. Him and my sister both went to the same high school. When I knew they first started talking he was in Iraq and they talked over IM. Every time I would go to my dads I would always ask my sister if I could talk to him. lol. Now they live about 20 minutes from me and I go stay at their house sometimes. I don’t know alot about them as a couple and I need HELP! Any advice?
mariah, a speech is optional. you can also do a toast. what you stated above is a great subject to talk about. you could start with this for example…Hi, My name is Mariah, sister and maid of honor to the bride. I am so happy that she asked me to stand by her side today….. insert some of the things from the link below.
*sample speeches
*speech
if you have a sense of humor you could add something funny, dont try to force it though. go with whatever your personalities are.
another example,
hi everyone, my name is Mariah, i am maid of honor and sister to the bride. sis, I know you both will be happy together cause you have found someone who adores, loves, and respects you as much as i do. As your sister, I will always be there no matter what, even if we are not living in the same house anymore (oh yeah , by the way, I will be at yours (say this in a sly funny way). i wish you both all the happiness in the world and ( insert grooms name) welcome to the family! love you and congratulations!
To my dearest sister (insert sister’s name here), I am truly happy that you have found someone who loves, respects and adores you for the truly wonderful person that you are. As your sister, remember that I will always be here for you no matter what even if we’re not living in the same house anymore. May your union last a lifetime and be blessed by God. And to (groom’s name), welcome to the family. Congratulations!
mariah,
i meant to say, i modified the very bottom example, you can give a speech as short as this. for nerves, i highly recommend the toast instead of a longer speech. you can see how i took a sample( you can take any sample) and make it your own.
Mariah,
I’m 15 and my sister’s maid of honor this summer too. I started working on my speech today. Just start writing and crossing things out. Just write down everything that pops in your head. I’m focusing on making mine personal. Good Luck!
I need some advice..I am my sister maid of honor and i have to give a speech at her wedding i never knew about!! The only thing i know about them is they meet at collage during like halloween. I HATE TALKING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE…no lie i get really nervous
If any1 can help i would appreciate it. THANK YOU
OMG i am in the same boat i love attention and limelight but NOT speeches. i also like toi make people laugh though…so im playing off that. Find somthing you are somfortable doing and try to work it into your speech it will be more comfortable and easier to relax.
Hi! I know this is cutting it close but I am the MOH for my husbnads cousin. I have only known her for a little over 3 years but we aren’t that close at all. I was actually surprised when she asked me to be her MOH. Don’t get me wrong, I am very honored but I am having such a hard time coming up with a nice toast. Plus, she is been a bit unbearable. She makes it seem like I have not helped her at all and has been completely ungrateful. This is a new side of her fo me and it’s hard to swallow. Anyhow, I am the type of person that puts a lot of heart into what I do and I really want to deliver a great toast, but I am stuck. What do you talk about when you have no idea how they met, how it evolved and no stories about when she was younger? Help!
Thanks so much! Lost MOH
racheal, remember the wedding toast is optional. if you would still like to do something ….. look at the lower post, i suggested reading a poem.
here is an example:
hi, my name is ————- i am here today as (brides name) moh. it was an honor to be asked to stand by her side on this wonderful day, as she married my cousin (grooms name). wasn’t it just a beautiful ceremony? ( look around at guests and smile). today you began a new chapter in your lives; for the rest of your lives, i just know you will always be as happy as you are at this moment. as you walk through life i hope you remember 2 things: always stay young at heart and laughter is the best medicine. congratulations to the bride and groom!! raise glass.
for a couple of funny lines to add, you can look here.
*wedding toasts
Hello, i am so stuck! I am the MOH at my brothers wedding. Yup i said it, his bride to be asked me to be her MOH. I dont really know her all that well, and she gets on my nerves a lot. So how am i goin to write a speech for the wedding day? What do i say?
katie,
just keep it simple about the day you met her and when you knew she was special to your brother. keep it short, simple, and sweet. some have long speeches but it is not a have too. all speeches are optional, you could jsut stand up and give a sweet toast. you can even do a poem, i was moh in my sisters wedding, and that is what i did.
* wedding toasts
THIS is a great website, i love the samples here, heartfelt and perfect for the bride and groom.
I would start out with saying for those of you who do not know me, i am ——-, sister of the groom. it touches my heart to see two people joined together and in so much love. then begin poem here……
i would add a special touch especially if there is a band. i would pick a beautiful and sentimental song and dedicate it to them( example: my best friends wedding movie)
after poem, say. in honor of your love, i had the band play youthis song, i wish youboth a beautiful and blessed life together.
if you choose not to do a song. just end it with what i wrote previously, ending with congratualtions.
katie, oops! here is that GREAT website !!
* sample wedding toasts
hello, iam the MOH in my sisters wedding next year and iam only 15 and i have no idea what to say. we always were close and done stuff together but were never close when it came to guys and such. Pease help…any tips?
allie,
that’s ok cause i wouldnt mention noone except her new husband, the first time you knew they were meant for each other. i would talk about special times like:
*moh speech sample
*moh speech
these 2 above speeches have subtle yet “real” humorous lines in them. about getting in trouble together. if you want to look at more just google search maid of honor sample speech or maid of honor speech ( you will find a lot of links)
let me know if you need any more help and i will do whatever i can to help. this will be the perfect chance to let your sister know how much you love her.
I need speech help as well. I’m the MOH in my sister’s wedding coming up on May 17th. My sister and I grew up together, but we were never really close and she has expressed numerous times that she doesn’t like me (blames me for our father’s fatal heart attack, calls me a burden on my mom, etc.). She has mentioned several times that I am only MOH because our mom threatened to not attend if this wasn’t so. Needless to say, I’m lost when it comes to this speech. I’m also nervous about speaking in front of crowds as well (I have Social Anxiety Disorder and am unable to even speak in front of a class of 12 without stuttering horribly and sometimes fainting
), so I don’t want anything too long. I was advised by our mother that I’m not expected to give a speech due to our tumultuous relationship, but I feel that it would be a nice gesture, especially as MOH. Neither of them are the schmaltzy type, so maybe something on a little more of the humorous side? As children, we never really did much together and I honestly don’t know that much about her. Everything that I found when searching on Google involved cheesy sayings or anecdotes about the bride, both of which I’m trying to shy away from due to aforementioned reasons. If it’s any help, his name is Jesse and hers is Jessie; he was also born Nov 26, 1980 and she was born Nov 27, 1981. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
ash, i am sorry about your situation; though i know nothing about it i just feel led to say ( hope it is ok) that noone is to blame for those things.
in this situation a simple toast instead of a speech is fine. keep it short and sweet. google search funny maid of honor toast sample. remember dont try to force it just take your time and be yourself!!
*sample speech
just reading this, i feel very bad for you…. its hard to deal with siblings ,the best advice is to just wish them the best of luck maybe mention that the relationship with your sister was never very close but you can see that he has made her a better person (( even if its not true )) If your sincere & come from the heart then who knows maybe your sister will turn a new leaf and second guess her actions through the years. … dont be sarcastic or funny, she will only think that you are mocking her.
Hello! i’m from russia. english language is not my favorite, because i can not speak well :) and i’m going to be MOH of wedding of my friend in may, family of groom speak on your language :) can you imaging how is terrible will be my speech :)? and for me it was big surprise that speech of MOH must be sooo long! ya, i could speak about my friend for so long time in russian, but in english –
don’t know what to do :) any advices? 
kate,
you can put together a beautiful and heartfelt montage to play and say in lieu of a wedding speech i wanted to dedicate this to the bride and groom. or you can have an interpreter. the moh speech doesnt haev to be very long. google search moh sample speeches and it will give some ideas. another idea is practice alot on your speech and out of that your words may flow. hope this helps!!
Kate, why don’t you use share a russian saying or tradition? I bet wishing them a happy long marriage sounds GREAT in russian!
Hello I’m Heidi & im 19 years old. My sister (who is five years older then me) is getting married in June to her high school sweetheart. They had there ups and downs like most couples but i’ve always found them to be the perfect couple. My sister has done so much for me in my life and I really want to make this day perfect for her. There is going to be so many people there and Im having a hard time getting the speech just right!! I’ve written so many and i just can’t get it right.I have the tear-jerker part down i want something funny to grab everyones attention… Any Ideas pleaseeee help.
heidi, i hope these help you in writing the perfect speech!!
*Sample Maid of Honor Speeches
*Funny Maid of Honor Speech Examples ( the garbage line is very cute, not the horse one)
*wedding speech (just dont mention other guys at all, this is a really cute speech)
*this one is has tips and is sooo cute!
hello I just was asked to be the maid of honer for my freinds wedding. her and i did not grow up together we just went to school together. I really do not know much about her child hood just about her and her fiance journy to where they are at now can i have a speech on that there journey or no? and i want to know when i should start thinking about the speech and doing all the wonderfull planning like the bachlorette party and all that.
please help its in 6 months.
thank you
Amber
amber,
*Sample Maid of Honor Speeches
*Maid of Honor Speech
*Help me write my Maid of Honor Speech?
*Sample Speech 2( i like this one)
*How to Plan a Bachelorette Party
*bridesmaid 101
*Bachelorette Party
*How to Plan a Wedding & Bridal Shower
*Organizing a Bridal Shower
amber, also google search inexpensive bridal shower for some cost cutting tips( lots of links!) happy planning!!
This is my pickel. I am the maid of honor in my friends wedding. we met because I am dating her ex and the father of her daughter. We have gotten close over the last year and a half, so she asked me to be the maid of honor in her wedding. It’s great but I’m having trouble writing the “speach”. I haven’t know her that long(so no childhood stories),and talking about how we met would be akward. any ideas? please help!
meagan,
* Sample Maid of Honor Speeches
* Maid of Honor Wedding Toasts and Speeches
didnt find anything here? just google maid of honor speech samples.
I personally would just keep it short and sweet tell everyone how glad you are to be the maid of honor and how happy you are for the two of them and how much they both mean to you! that’s what counts ya know?
that was to: megan by the way and good Luck!
I’m really shy at giving speeches especially in large crowds. How do I over come that fear? My sisters wedding is coming up & she chose me as her maid of honor. Any advice? I want to make this special day memorable for her without being so nervous.
well best advice i can give is this….when writing your speech write it as if you are talking about them so its directed at the crowd and also write some directed at your sister and her husband. this way you can look at them both to help ease the pressure. Thats what i’m doing with my best friends speech as her maid of honor. i hate speaking in front of large crowds too. I’m only making my speech about a minute long.
I’m the maid of honor in my brothers wedding and I’ve known the bride for like 4 yrs I tryed to come up with a speech but its not funny at all and I think it might be a little depressing what should I do because I haven’t known her that long?
Melanie, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can’t do a great speech just because you haven’t known the bride forever. (But try to avoid a speech that’s depressing. Funny or romantic is better.) Just follow one of the speech “recipes” and you’ll be fine. There’s one below, I’ll repeat it:
1. Talk about how you became close with the bride. What is it about her that made you so happy to see her become part of the family? Maybe she really reached out to you, maybe you saw how she treated your brother like the prince he is. Or maybe she doesn’t take any flack from him, which he needs.
Or, talk about the bride & groom’s courtship and how excited he was, or she was. Many of a couple’s love & courtship stories don’t get told at a wedding because there isn’t time. If you can bring out a romantic anecdote, the couple will love it. Talk about how careful he was picking out his clothes for a first date or waxing his car or how he stayed up on the phone talking all night or had long-stemmed roses delivered to her office.
2. (this is repeated from below but changed since you know your brother so well) Give the bride a few brief, amusing hints about your brother’s likes and dislikes — how to keep him happy over a lifetime. Easy to make this funny.
Bring out his little quirks without embarrassing him.
3. Close by offering the couple your best wishes and a timeless piece of advice. This is a piece of cake — the web is FULL of ‘marriage advice’ material you can use. Avoid the cruder examples and choose the touching, gently funny or spiritual ones, depending on the couple and the crowd. Google for “marriage quotes.”
Remember that the audience is WAITING to laugh. You don’t have to be a comic genius to get a laugh, just say something a little amusing and they will support you. And keep things brief.
It will go great, just do your homework and all will be well! Best of luck!
I’m having 3 bridesmaids but not a MOH. They are all my BF’s from different times in my life. One that I’ve known since grade school and am still super close to, the other that I met in college and the third is my work colleague. What’s proper etiquette on having them all say a little something because they’ve each known me at a different time in my life?
Hey Erin.
I would suggest having the girls all do a speech together. Each saying a little about how they know you, and then take turns with other parts of the speech, ie. intro, how you met your partner, what he needs to know about you, and conc. etc.
HELP!!! i am the MOH in my (get this) boyfriend’s, brother’s wedding. I’ve known the bride for 3 years now. We have gotten very close but no really funny stories to talk about. Im not sure what i should say in my speech. Any advice?? THANK-YOU
Hello all! I was wondering if anybody can give me some advice on my toast speech? I’m the MOH in my sister’s wedding and there’s a quite a bit of an age gap (she’s 24 and I’m 13). I don’t do to well with the humor speeches, so i’m thinking more something from the heart. I’ve known the groom for about a year and he and my sister live together up the street from my parent’s house, so I see them alot, and I know the Groom semi-well, but not quite well enough to make jokes about their relationship or anything! Any advice on points to concentrate on when writing my notes and such?
I am the MOH in my best friends wedding. I’m nervous about the speech because the bride and groom should NOT be getting married!! Together for 10 years and 10 miserable years at that. I’ve never seen him appreciate her or look at her with loving eyes. They have broken up lots of times and he has cheated and left her for another girl. He came back after he was dumped I think and figured he’s not getting any better than my best friend. She is just not strong enough to take charge of her life and do what she knows is best for her. He asked and she said yes. So how do you celebrate something you totally disagree with, and I’m the MOH!
Hi Rachel,
I’m in the same situation your in. My sister is marrying a guy who so wrong for her. I can’t stand to be around him he bothers me so much. They were engaged once before and now they’re trying it again. She asked me last time to be her MOH and I’m sure she’ll ask again. I told my husband I’m going to say “no”.
He’s says I can’t do that. But the thought of me standing up on the alter with the two of them makes me sick to my stomach. My sister knows I don’t like him so maybe I could bow out easily and I’ll tell her to ask her best friend. I’ll put my share into the bridal shower and I’ll help her friends out as much as I can.
Just curious what kind of feed back you got. Any suggestions would help.
K-
YouTube is a wonderful resource for checking out real Maid of Honor speeches. I don’t know of a better way to learn in living detail what will come off well, and what you should never do.
There are lots of examples of What Not to Do (don’t try to make up your speech on the spot … don’t insult the bride or groom in any way … and don’t sob through your speech). And then there’s some really well-prepared MOHs who deliver some wonderful compliments to the couple — and deliver a speech that’s brief and sweet.
Here’s a good example of a successful MOH speech. Her angle is “cute things I learned from/about the couple.” She described the first time she met the bride-to-be, and how in love with her the groom obviously was. She did her homework and wasn’t afraid to bring up notes (don’t be!). As a result, she pleased the crowd & most of all made the couple very happy.
Here’s another great speech by a totally prepared MOH (again, she brought notes!) This is a great one to watch for MOHs who don’t know the bride or the groom that well — obviously a pretty common situation.
Couples like to emphasize how their romance was the most important ones in each others’ lives, even if they dated other people. Here, the MOH cleverly manages to convey how special the groom was to her best friend, the bride — even though the bride and the MOH were in separate parts of the country throughout the whole courtship. This is another speech the B&G are going to want to see again in their video.
My sisters wedding is june 28th and i am the MOH and.. i still dont have my speech done yet. i have no idea what to say… any pointers?
I am the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding. We have been best friends for over 20 years and she is marrying someone she met in college down south. He is a real sweetheart but I don’t know him super well and I don’t know his family at all…. I am nervous about the wedding because that is the time when we will all meet and I am also concerned about my toast at the reception… I don’t want to make it too mushy and directly to my friend, I don’t know a lot about their dating life and I am just at a loss for words… I am afraid I will cry out of joy and not be able to speak… Any tips for meeting the family, the speech or how to stay composed?
Thanks!
Did I mention the wedding is only two weeks away?
Hi Alyssa, welcome!
On the crying thing: if you prepare and practice a speech ahead of time, you’re a little less likely to be overwhelmed by emotion. Of course, you might still cry a bit, that’s okay.
James Nardel (who wrote this article) has some great tips for your situation. For example, bring some tissue up front so you don’t end your speech with a Tammy Faye, wiping mascara off your face with your hands.
Also, here’s one of his “recipes” for a MOH speech when you know the bride well but not the groom:
1. Start with a story (funny if possible) about the bride and an important role she played in your life, or how you got to be such close friends. One story is enough.
2. Give the groom a few brief, amusing hints about the bride’s likes and dislikes — how to keep her happy over a lifetime, in other words.
3. Close by offering the couple your best wishes and maybe a timeless piece of advice for a spiritual, lasting marriage.
Hi. My Aunt is getting married in June. She asked me to be her maid of honor because we are more than aunt and niece, we are sisters. She has been an like and older sister to me in a million ways. Her and my soon to be uncle are the perfect couple and I need to know how to make my speech well enough to get through the sincere message I want to leave. Please help me!
OK SO MY OLDER SISTER IS GETTING MARRIED TO THE MOST WONDERFUL GUY IN THE WORLD AN IM HER MADE OF HONOR AND HAVE TO GIVE A SPEECH IM REALLY NERVOUS I KNOW I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT HOW SHES ALWAYS BEENT HERE FOR ME BECAUSE IM 19 YEARS OLD AND JUST HAD A LIL BOY AND SHE WAS THERE FOR ME THE WHOLE TIME I WAS PREGNANT AND WAS IN TEH ROOM THE DAY I GAVE BIRTH SO I REALLY WANT TO MAKE THIS A SPECIAL SPEECH BUT IM SO STUCK PL SOEMONE HELP ME
ok so one of ym bridesmaids is coming in from out of state…how soon should i ask her to be here for final dress fittings and wedding rehersals and such?
hey guys soo im the maid of honor in my sisters wedding and im only 15 haha im so stuck on making this speech but i want to make it perfect and not make her regret having her little sister as her maid of honor, soo can anybody help me , please !
hey guys
i’m sancia and i have to make a speech at my cousins up coming wedding the advice that i can give you guys is just keep it short and simple making reference to the relevance of the bride and the groom don’t use anything too embarrasing if you talking about child hood memories
I am definitely in the same boat as Muriel. I am only 16 and I’m the MOH and I have to give a speech to 250+ people. Yeah fun. Plus I’m planning a bachelorette party I can’t even go to.
Although I may be the DD haha. So I think I’m going to see if my sister will help me co-write it.
Alright, I am really panicking here. My sister is getting married in a week and I just recently found out that I have to be the one to give a toast at their wedding. I am really limited in what I can say because we did not have the best relationship growing up, and we’re still not close now. (I’m really only the MOH by default because our other sister is only 11.) On top of that, my sister and her husband-to-be live something like 10 hours away, and I’ve only met him twice. It’s very difficult for me to say anything about they two of them together because I haven’t really seen them together too much, and I’ve hardly talked to her since she moved up North. Don’t get me wrong, I know they are very happy together, but I don’t have any little annecdotes to tell about them or about our childhood. Am I completely hopeless?
Jodi I am kind of in your shoes… I’m writing mine now. Just keep it short and sweet. I’m writing about how long I’ve known her and we’re really not friends and I barely know anything about the groom so… I’m looking online for tips and tidbits and kind of piecing them all together. I’m sure you’ll do fine if you either lead a prayer and/or do a comparison speech love is like a… rollercoaster… (popular speech ups and downs etc.)
Hey all, my husband did this when he was best man at a wedding, he pulled out a sheet of paper and read from it, giving tons and tons of compliments to the groom (he is the handsomest, toughest, most awesome, etc) and then said “Tony, I can’t read this last word you wrote, could you help me here? And a closing quote “to the wings of love, may the never lose a feather, but soar to the heavens above and last and last forever, to the bride and groom.
I am the maid of honor at my very close twin sisters wedding that is in two weeks. I get along okay with the hubby to be but I don’t like him all that much and I just can not think of happy romantic stories of them or anything to say! I am freaking out…….I am supposed to get up there and talk about how they are made for each other and I can think of a word! Yikes…..what do I say???
my best friend of almost 10 years is getting married w/ her boyfriend of 8 years….i dont know what to say ….im terrified of speaking in front of people and i really dont know what im going to say i need help!
I just been asked to be the best lady at my brothers wedding.
It’s both their second marrage and i did not like the bride when I first found out they were dating. Please help me make a special speech for their special day.
I’m moh at my sister’s wedding in 2008.I’ve never been, I need help with what i’m supposed to do but most of all the “Speech” and bachlorette party. What am I supposed to say, or do? I want it to be close to the best and the most memorable speech/party/wedding there could be!!
I have been asked to be the maid of honor at my sister’s wedding, and I’m really excited. However, i have no idea what to say in the toast. I am having a hard time coming up with a funny childhood story. We have tons of them im sure (were best friends) but i dont know what kind of topic would be entertaining to the crowd. Does anyone have any advice?
I’ve been asked to be the MOH at my mom’s wedding in a week.
I’ve been so busy trying to get everything else together that I completely spaced on the speech, and I have no idea what to say.
I’m only 16, so my stories about her raising me are kind of limited, so I’m kind of stuck.
Any suggestions?