So you would like to give the best maid of honour speech that you can and at this point you are probably still very apprehensive and nervous about it. I know I was in the run up to the wedding. No matter how much I was looking forward about my friend’s wedding and excited about it I must admit I was pretty terrified about having to stand up and give my wedding day speech.
However, this is completely normal. I know that sometimes it would be nice if your maid of honor duties didn’t require you to stand up and say a few words but if this is what the bride would like then you just have to do it. It is her wedding remember.
Here a few quick tips that I think should help you to create a wedding toast that everyone will remember. Please also note that these do of course relate to the groom’s speech, father of the bride speech and best man speech.
Before I get to them I think it’s fair to say that something that really helped me was a particular ebook. It can make things a lot easier to plan your own wedding speech if you have examples to follow. Click here for a really useful ebook that helped me with my maid of honor toast and that provides a lot of helpful information.
I think that it is best to start off by making notes. Think about stories that you and the bride shared. This can be funny things that you have experienced together or even sad stories. If you want your maid of honor speech to be moving then sometimes there is a place for a sad story or two. Making notes is a great way of compiling your thoughts. It is the first thing that I did before writing my wedding speech and it gave me a source of material to draw from.
I found that writing my speech out first gave me something to work from. However, on the wedding day I tried not to read it. My thoughts on this were that I had written my speech I thought that there was no excuse for not remembering it. Of course it is not quite as easy as this, I know, but it certainly makes it easier to remember when it is you who has written the speech.
So, I would write your speech out so that you know exactly what you are going to cover in your speech. Practice reading this at first so that you get a feel for your maid of honor wedding toast. However, when you eventually come to making your speech on the wedding day speach do not read it. It is a good idea to make a few notes that you can refer back to when you actually give the toast but stay away from just standing and reading from a script when you come to give your maid of honor toast.
I really think that speaking your wedding day speach, rather than reading it, is what can make it stand out as being something excellent. I think this is one of the secrets to giving a brilliant and stunning speech. By speaking it rather than reading your words will give them more meaning. Your speech will seem more like it is coming from the heart rather than from a script. I know that at first it can seem like it is more difficult and nerve racking than reading from a wedding script but it will really make a difference. It also means that you can connect to the wedding guests better and you can make eye contact with them whilst you speak rather than looking down at your piece of paper.
I would also like to say that it is very likely that the best man’s speech, the father of bride speech and even the groom speech will be read from a script. Of all the wedding reception speeches that are made on that day it is certainly likely that your maid of honor speech will stand out as being the best one if you don’t read it. A heartfelt, sincere and credible maid of honor toast spoken normally from your memoryis incredibly powerful. Therefore, do not read it!
Before you present your speech on the big day it is a great idea to try it out on someone so that they can give you their honest opinion about it. I think though that it is really important not to read it to the bride though as you want it to be special for the bride on the day. A good friend can let you know if he or she thinks that something should be left out or if something you have said is particularly poignant and should be kept in. Also, they can help with the structure of your toast.
I think I mentioned this in my first post but I think it is really important that you plan your maid of honour speech as early as possible. Give yourself as much time as possible. I am sure that the bride deserves the time that you put into your speech. There is nothing worse than seeing a person stand up to give a wedding day toast on the bride and groom’s special day only for that person not to have given their wedding day toast any thought whatsoever. It looks really rude and disrespectful and so don’t fall into this trap.
It is also helpful to look at as many maid of honor speech examples as you can. Click here for a great guide that I found really helpful. Following information in a guide such as that can make the planning a little easier and quicker too.
I’d also say that don’t let your speech go on too long. The groom’s speech can be as long as he wants and so too can the best man’s wedding speech. However, what you want is for your maid of honor toast to be succinct and beautiful. Do not go on too long, remember to speak from your heart and you will easily create a speach that the bride, and the other wedding guests, remember for a long time to come.
