How to Write a Maid of Honour Speech: A Step-by-Step Guide

So, you’ve been asked to be a maid of honour and with that comes the maid of honour speech. Sounds exciting, yet a little daunting, right? We can almost feel the butterflies in your stomach. 

All you need to remember is that your bestie has chosen you for a reason and they trust that you will deliver a fantastic speech - you've got this! 

How to Write a Perfect Maid of Honour Speech From Start to Finish 

Many people reading this might be wondering "do maids of honours do speeches in the UK?" The answer is - yes! Gone are the days when wedding receptions only featured men delivering speeches (and we're grateful for the change!) Today, we embrace a more inclusive atmosphere where the speeches become a chance to hear heartfelt toasts from the amazing women who support the couple.

Below we’ll cover everything you need to know about how to write maid of honour speeches with expert advice from seasoned speech writing pros including our very own Editor following her own experience of giving a bridesmaid speech at her sister's wedding.

So, next time someone asks you - does the maid of honour do a speech? You can tell them that it's totally up to the couple, and anyone can do a speech if they're asked to. 

How to Start a Bridesmaid or Maid of Honour Speech

As maid of honour, you have a unique opportunity to celebrate your friend on her wedding day. Putting those first words onto paper will be the most challenging part of writing your maid or matron of honour speech for sisters, friends and loved ones.

To kickstart the creative process, start by writing down any memories or moments that encapsulate the essence of your friendship with the bride. Recall laughter-filled adventures, heartfelt conversations, and the special bond you share. These initial thoughts will serve as the foundation for crafting a heartfelt and memorable maid of honour speeches that celebrate your friend's love and happiness on her wedding day.

Zoe Burke, Editor at Hitched recently delivered a bridesmaid maid of honour speech at her own sister's wedding: “The hardest thing I found about writing a speech as a bridesmaid was that there wasn’t a template,” she says.

“Don’t get me wrong, we have lots of lovely maid of honour speech ideas to inspire you, but unlike the speeches for the best man, the groom etc., there’s no formula in place for who you thank, or who you’re supposed to toast.”

Start your speech by talking about the incredible person you've always known your bestie to be, highlighting stories and qualities that shine a light on who she is. Then, transition to how beautifully they complement each other – did her confidence blossom after meeting her partner? Does their laughter fill the room in a way that's truly infectious? 

Weaving these personal anecdotes about your friend's journey and their connection as a couple will infuse your speech with warmth and create a heartfelt toast to their incredible bond. Even if you're not yet close with the new spouse, focus on how they enhance your friend's life. This approach extends a warm welcome to them while emphasising the positive influence they've had on your BFF.

It's important to know that you don't necessarily have to adhere strictly to traditional protocols like the best man does with formal introductions and thanks. If you're aware of your place in the line-up of speeches and you're not speaking first, feel free to bypass all the formalities and dive straight into your toast.

So, whether you're delivering a bridesmaid speech to sisters, friends or just a loved one - feel free to get creative, and don't feel restricted by tradition. 

“Don’t get sucked into thinking you need to go overly formal. No need for a ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen’; a ‘hello everyone’ sets a friendlier tone,” recommends Heidi.

• What to Include in a Maid of Honour Speech: Expert Advice
• Funny Maid of Honour Speech Tips
• How to End a Maid of Honour Speech
• Maid of Honour Speech Examples to Write Your Own
• Do Maid of Honours Make Speeches?
• How Long Should a Maid of Honour Speech Be?
• Advice from a Maid of Honour: Dos & Dont's

What to Include in a Maid of Honour Speech: Expert Advice

Great maid of honour speeches can include whatever you like, as long as they're genuine and heartfelt. Saying that, we do recommend staying away from anything that could potentially embarrass or offend the bride, groom, or guests - like mentions of exes! 

Wedding speech expert and founder of wedding speech writing service Speechy, Heidi Ellert-McDermott, recommends that a good maid of honour or bridesmaid speech should include the following: 

• Stories: Think about a couple of classic anecdotes that illustrate the bride’s funniest and best qualities and quirks in action. You can mention the story on how you and the bride became BFFs, and you may also want to include stories about the first time you heard about her husband - did she call you giggling after their first day? 
• Humour: You might not think you’re a naturally funny person but that’s still no excuse for not trying to get some giggles. While you don’t have the pressure of the best man, having a few funny lines in your speech makes it more entertaining and memorable. Humour also makes people like you more – especially self-deprecating humour.
• Meaningful Tributes: Observe your friend in action and spot the behaviours that make you love her as much as you do. As well as paying tribute to your friend, make sure you also pay tribute to their spouse. Talk about why they make the perfect couple and your hopes for their future together.

Funny Maid of Honour Speech Tips

Don’t believe the rumour that only the best man can have a funny speech - people at weddings want to have a laugh, so you can put some wedding jokes in there, or hilarious personal anecdotes, as your audience will be keen to laugh with you.

Sharing how she worked some comedy into her maid of honour speech, Zoe says: “I started my maid of honour speech for my sister with a funny but sentimental tribute to her and her partner - I talked about how much I’d enjoyed my experience in a jokey, light-hearted way (saying I got to walk down the aisle with a nice dress and flowers, but no wedding planning stress or financial burdens), and led into how I’d finally got the brother I’d always wished for in my new brother-in-law, which resulted in a surprise round of applause breaking out.”

“As I knew going too sentimental would make me well up - and I had expensive false lashes to think of - I very quickly pivoted into a funny story from our childhood, complete with a retro 90s prop I’d sourced from eBay to lean into the gag.

"I made sure the anecdote had a purpose though - as well as making everyone laugh, it did demonstrate some of my sister’s character traits, and I was able to link them to her relationship, and use it as a basis for some marriage advice.”

The bottom line? Keep it simple, light-hearted and clean, and don't forget the personal anecdotes if you want to deliver some hilarious bridesmaid speeches this wedding season.

How to End a Maid of Honour Speech

It’s traditional to end your maid of honour speech with a toast to the newlyweds. Usually the best man and father of the bride speeches will include this, but don’t be afraid to step on some toes here -  after all, the newlyweds can’t be toasted too much on their wedding day!

Zoe says, “When wrapping up my maid of honour speech I couldn’t resist a little cheesy gag (they’re for everyone, not just best men!) so I urged everyone to stand, ‘for my standing ovation,’ before asking them to raise their glasses to the bride and groom.”

“I tied the toast into my anecdote to make it more personal, choosing to say: 'May you always admit when you are wrong, and may you never share a bath. To Sops and Sam!' You’ll have to read my maid of honour speech to get that joke…

"Personalising the toast and bringing it back to something you’ve spoken about in your speech is a great way to set it apart from all the toasts that will follow, or have come before.”

Maid of Honour Speech Examples to Write Your Own

If you're looking for some inspiration, here are two examples of speeches from real bridesmaids to inspire your own - you can see even more maid of honour speech examples in our wedding speeches section.

Example 1

Hello everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, which is very unlikely because I know more than half of the people here, my name is Evie and I’m Audrey’s little sister. A few years ago we said that when each of us gets married, the other would be the maid of honour. So here I am, a couple of years later after a cute, weird, creative proposal from that odd bird over there, Martin. Sorry for the inside joke, it has come so far.

Audrey and I have been through a lot together and I love that I was a part of her journey here. All those train rides to and from work, lunches, trips to McDonald’s for chicken nuggets when one of us wasn’t too happy, every night out, every time we wrestled – and I won, of course. When I was younger, I could always crawl in her bed when I was scared of the movie that I said I could handle. Okay, maybe I still do that now and then. But, she never complains, even though I might take up more than half the bed.

Audrey, you are amazing. You have made me who I am today, and it would have been a boring journey without you. I love you with all that I am.  And I’m really, really happy for you that you found someone who is just as weird and crazy as you are.

You have made me who I am today, and it would have been a boring journey without you. I love you with all that I am.

Example 2

Hi everyone, my name is Rachael. It is an absolute pleasure for me to be your maid of honour today. Firstly, I would like to thank all the other bridesmaids for doing a great task and making this day so special. I’ve decided not to tell any embarrassing stories because it would also be embarrassing for me and our parents probably don’t know about most of them.

Anyway, on a serious note, Emily is my bestest friend ever. In fact, I would say we are like really close sisters. I have never seen you happier than you have been these last few years with Ben. I hope the best for you both for now and always. May you guys share everything in life together equally, including the housework.

We are here today to celebrate everything Emily and Ben have found in each other – a best friend, a lover, a teacher, a playmate, a true partner for life. As you both sit side by side through this roller coaster of life remember to scream through the peaks, hold hands through the dips, laugh through the loops and enjoy every twist and turn for the ride is better because you share it together. Separately you are two very special people but together you are complete.

We are here today to celebrate everything Emily and Ben have found in each other - a best friend, a lover, a teacher, a playmate, a true partner for life.

Lastly, I’d like to wish you words from the song “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders:

When you are at the crossroads and you don’t know which path to choose, let me come along, because even if you’re wrong, I’ll stand by you.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, would you all please stand and join me in a toast to Emily and Ben. May your love be like the wind, strong enough to move the clouds, soft enough to never hurt, but always never-ending. To love, laughter, and happily ever after – cheers!

Do Maid of Honours Make Speeches?

Zoe, wedding expert and former maid of honour certainly thinks that the maid of honour should give a speech: "Traditionally, the maid of honour didn't give a speech. But let's face it, who cares about dusty old traditions? They were often built on ideas that wouldn't fly today. So yes, absolutely give a speech!

"Your voice and support are a cherished part of the celebration, and frankly, it’s a great way to stick it to the old guys who might be surprised to see you stand up and speak – and that's a good thing!"

How Long Should a Maid of Honour Speech Be?

Wedding speech expert Heidi advises: “Discuss the length of your maid of honour speech with the nearlyweds before you start writing it. You never want to go over ten minutes (about 1,300 words including room for laughter) but you may want to go significantly shorter if there are more than the usual three speakers at the wedding and the speeches are scheduled one after the other.

“Of course, while you always want to leave people wanting more, you’re probably short-changing the bride if your speech is less than 750 words. You need enough time to be sentimental, humorous and tell a few classic anecdotes.”

Advice from a Maid of Honour: Dos & Don'ts

Before you get started on your own maid of honour speech, we asked Dani - a member of the Hitched team and recent maid of honour - how to write a maid of honour speech? Here's what she had to say! 

Dos

• Make your speech personal by including memories, inside jokes, and heartfelt stories about your relationship with the couple.
• Strike a balance between light-hearted moments (a few jokes) and meaningful, emotional touches.
• Share how the couple met and highlight the bond you’ve formed with their partner.

Don'ts

• Avoid mentioning anything they wouldn’t want shared with the entire room!
• Don’t stick rigidly to a script, speak naturally and from the heart.
• Resist making the speech about yourself or focusing solely on the bride or groom - this moment is about celebrating them together.

Discover a lot more best wedding toasts here, now you know how to write your speech!