So your best friend, sister, or another family member is getting married, and she asked you to be the maid of honor. Now, you need to give a killer maid of honor speech. Where do you start? Giving a great maid of honor speech is something that you might want to practice. After all, you want to get it right and perfect the first time. Here is a guide we put together to help you give a great maid of honor speech.

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​How to Start

​Although the flowers and the wedding cake will look nice and make everyone ooh and aww over them, the best part of the wedding reception is the maid of honor speech. The reason for this is because you will be telling the bride and the groom how you feel about them and how happy you are for them.

​The Opening

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​When starting with the opening of your speech, you want it to be perfect. Here are some things you should say and do and should not say and do.

The Do’s For The Bride

• ​Do start out letting everyone know who you are and how you know the bride and groom. Not everyone is there for her or him, so they all don’t know who you are and how you became the maid of honor for the bride.
• ​Do talk about why you and the bride are friends. Talk about how you two met and what you like so much about her. Talk positively about the bride. Mention how good of a friend she is and that she will help anyone who is in need.
• ​Do talk a little bit about when you knew she met “the one” and how nice of a person he is. Now is when you can share a funny story about how the two of them met or how you knew she had met the man of her dreams.

​The Don’ts For The Bride

• ​Don’t feel the need to open your speech with a joke. You especially don’t need to tell an inside joke about the bride and what she did back in college. You might make her mad or even embarrass her.
• ​Don’t talk about how she “finally met the man of her dreams.” You might make her feel like she took a long time or was the last one out of all of your friends to get married.
• ​Don’t talk about how her new husband is different from her ex-boyfriends. Never talk about her exes. That is a big no-no.

​Now that you are done talking about the bride in your speech don‘t leave the groom out. He is a friend too, or not, but you should speak highly about him. Here are some dos and don’ts when talking about the groom in your maid of honor speech.

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​The Dos And Don’ts for the Groom

• ​Do talk well about the groom and how you like how he treats your friend, sister, or another family member. Mention how he treats her family right. Also, talk about how well he fits in with all of your friends.
• ​Don’t make a joke about how if it doesn’t work out for them, that he knows where to find you. Not only will you make yourself look bad but you will make the bride and groom both mad and maybe even embarrass them.

​Keep it Classy

​Make sure to keep your speech classy. You want to speak positively about both of them. Don’t forget to wish them a happily ever after and a long marriage full of love, laughter, children, and fun. Don’t end your speech with “cheers” and be done with it. Although you don’t want your speech to be too long, you don’t want to end it abruptly either. Tag the ending with a classic quote or song lyrics. Make it something unforgettable but not too corny. Prepare your speech ahead of time and even practice it before giving it to them. You want it to be perfect for both the bride and the groom.

​Tips For Nailing a Great Maid of Honor Speech

Here are a few tips to make the maid of honor speech perfect for the bride and groom.

Write it Out in Phrases

Writing your speech out in phrases will help you deliver a great maid of honor speech. By preparing and writing it out in phrases, it will help you read it off smoothly instead of reading it in a stiff voice.

Keep it Short and Sweet

Don’t drag it out. Keep it short and sweet and to the point. Don’t go off into a story about yourself and drag it on and on. Keep it about the bride and groom and only them. You need to talk for about a minute and maybe a few seconds after that. Anything longer than a minute and a few seconds after, and everyone there will think that you like to hear yourself talk.

Read it Out loud to Yourself Beforehand

Before reading your perfect speech in front of everyone there, read it out loud to yourself, perhaps in the mirror. By doing this, you will make sure it sounds great. You can also read it to another friend to make sure they like it too. They can point anything out that needs changing before you give your speech in front of all of those people that are there for the bride and groom.

Speak Slower Than Normal

When giving your great speech, you want to speak slower than normal, so everyone understands what you are saying. Read it slow, loud, and clear. You never want to read it fast because not only will no one understand you, but they will think you are trying to get it over with and that you don’t want to give the speech.

Don’t Forget to Breathe!

Write in red letters, in between phrases, to remember to breathe in between them. Don’t be shy or nervous and breathe in between the sentences you read and speak. You don’t want to read it without taking breathes in between or this will also sound like you are trying to get it done and over with. Not only that, but it just won’t seem right to anyone.

Relax!

Stay relaxed. Don’t let your knees lock while you are standing to give the speech. You want to feel pleasant and comfortable as you are giving it. Not only will it help you as you are standing there reading your maid of honor speech, but it will let everyone know that you are not afraid to give a speech about your sister or friend.

Don’t Get Drunk Before Reading it

Make sure to stay sober before giving the speech. If you get drunk before giving it, you will ramble on and on.

Make Eye Contact

Remember to make eye contact with the bride and groom while you are giving the speech. You want them to know that you mean everything you say.

Remember to Smile

Remember to smile, even if you are a little nervous. You want the bride and groom to realize you are happy and honored to be the one to give the maid of honor speech.

​It’s Okay to Get Emotional

​It is perfectly reasonable and fine to get emotional while giving them the speech. After all, you are talking about your best friend, sister, or another family member you are close to and you will get a little teary eyed.

​Conclusion

​I hope that this article can help you to give the best maid of honor speech ever? Have some other tips you’d like to share with our readers, feel free to comment below!