How to Write a Maid of Honor Speech

First of all.. Hi! I’m Amber and my life is the epitome of “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” but don’t let the negative stigma fool you. I’ve truly loved being a bridesmaid and even more specifically a maid of honor (and that’s even after the hundreds of dollars I’ve shelled out…You ladies know what I’m talking about).

One of the biggest and probably most important responsibilities of being a MOH, after the bachelorette party, is undoubtedly….. the speech. Because I’ve been a MOH three times and counting, I’ve had the opportunity to try a few different things. You should also know that I’m cry-er. 100 percent. Therefore, to avoid a blubbery speech that no one could understand, I decided to get a little creative.

That brings me to my first piece of advice.

1st) Don’t be afraid to be creative.

Here’s what I mean: You don’t have to be able to carry a tune to sing a maid of honor speech and you don’t have to have mad skillz to rap your speech. For example, I have neither of those abilities and I’ve done both (I’ve uploaded the video at the bottom, so you can laugh too).

More than likely, the bride has chosen you to be the MOH because you are her ride or die. Therefore, she knows your musical talents already anyway and this day is all about her (and the groom, of course).

2nd) Personalize it.

I know that one sounds pretty obvious, but this is time to really show her that you’re proud to be by her side and you did more than just google a “We wish you the best in the future” speech. If you’re singing and/or rapping (which I highly recommend as a crowd pleaser)…

Choose something that fits her personality.

For example, my best friend’s favorite song is “Fishing in the Dark” by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I knew this, so I thought why not change the words to make them fit to her?

If you know the song, you know there’s a line in the original song that says,

“Falling in love in the middle of the night.”

My version, “They were falling in love on bachelor night.”

Because she always forced her now husband to watch The Bachelor with her, every Monday night (I think he actually enjoys it though, but that’s beside the point).

3rd) Ask for help, but not too much.

It’s okay to bounce off ideas from a bridesmaid or even two, but be sure not to include too many or you run the risk of it getting back to the bride and it is much more fun when it’s a surprise. Not to mention, you want this to be from you and your heart. Once you get started, you’ll be surprised how easy the ideas and memories start to flow right from you.

When you’re beginning to think of ideas…start with your friend, the bride. What does she like? Rock music? Country? Rap? Or if she’s not a music person at all maybe you could incorporate her other likes… maybe even an interpretive dance? (I haven’t done that one…yet).

4th) Coordinate with the others included beforehand.

For example, my second MOH speech was performed as a rap (or my best representation of one). I actually took the words from the very well known Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song and made it about my friends Sarah and Joe.

This obviously required help from the DJ. After I said a few sweet words to the couple, I simply said in the mic… “Can someone give me a beat please?”

I still remember hearing Sarah, the bride, say from a far “Oh boy….”

She had no idea what was about to happen.

This was when having the DJ included was very important. “The beat” I asked for was an already in place karaoke version of the song. I had practiced a few times with the karaoke version just to make sure I didn’t completely screw it up.

5th) Be fearless.

This piece of advice is really just a reiteration of the other points I’ve mentioned. I just wanted to remind you that a speech is all in good fun. No one is in the audience judging you to see if you made it to the next round of competition. They are there because they love the happy couple and are genuinely happy to be a part of the day.

Be sure to practice your speech, but don’t let it consume you. Besides, this day is about honoring your bestie and she’s gonna love you regardless of what happens.

Oh, and don’t forget to raise a glass for a toast at the end. I might be speaking from experience....

Cheers!

Amber