Guide to Giving a Maid of Honor Speech (Examples + Template)

Giving a maid of honor speech is just that — an honor — and is a perfect opportunity to celebrate a newly married couple. 

If you’re the maid of honor and you’ve been chosen to deliver the speech, you should feel proud and excited! It’s a lovely chance to bring some more positivity and highlight the couple during an already beautiful occasion. 

In our comprehensive guide, we’ll give you a complete breakdown of this type of speech, including what it is, how to write one, how long it should be, maid of honor speech examples, and a maid of honor speech template for you to use. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have any ideas immediately — we’ll walk you through the entire process.

What Is a Maid of Honor Speech?

A maid of honor speech is a traditional speech or toast given at a wedding. Not every wedding has this type of speech, and all weddings are different. While some weddings have lots of speakers, some prefer to cut them out altogether.

Regardless, these speeches have one sole purpose: to help celebrate the new marriage between the couple. 

How to Write a Maid of Honor Speech

If you’re just starting to write a maid of honor speech, one of your first steps should be outlining some of the things you want to mention. Feel free to brainstorm lots of ideas. Although you might not use all of them in your speech, you can narrow it down later. 

Later, we’ll provide a maid of honor speech template you can use to guide your speech draft. You can also check out more tips on how to write a wedding speech.

You can speak about how you met the couple, fond memories, or anything else that you think is relevant and appropriate. During your speech, you should steer clear of speaking on things like: 

• Politics
• Inside jokes that nobody else will understand
• How stressful the wedding planning might’ve been
• Memories that could be embarrassing to the couple
• Anecdotes that put the couple in a negative light, especially activities that might be illegal
• Whether or not you “believe” in marriage
• Stories about either newlywed’s ex-partners
• What happened at the bachelor/bachelorettes party 

Usually, it’s also a good idea to avoid overly crass language or jokes (depending on who’s in attendance). Let’s talk about humor when speaking, especially when it comes to this type of speech.

Does a Maid of Honor Speech Need to Be Funny?

Contrary to popular belief, a maid of honor speech doesn’t have to be funny. Despite what you see in comedies like “Bridesmaids,” this type of speech doesn’t have to leave the wedding attendees in stitches. This is especially true if you’re not normally the class clown — just be yourself!

The important thing to keep in mind about this kind of speech is that they should be sincere and from the heart. Still, if you’re dead set on being funny in your speech, check out some tips for being funny when you speak.

How Long Should a Maid of Honor Speech Be?

A maid of honor speech shouldn’t be very long. In fact, usually a few minutes is sufficient. For your speech, shoot for a couple of minutes — at the most, five minutes. Keep this in mind when you’re writing. To do so, check out how many words are in a five-minute speech.

Here’s why this type of speech is so short. Traditionally, other people will give speeches, too. The speakers could include: 

• Friends
• Family
• The best man
• Members of the bridal party

Although you want to give a great speech, keep in mind that you need to be respectful of others’ time and ensure they have time to speak, too.

Maid of Honor Speech Examples

Taking a look at some successful maid of honor speeches can also be a big help. Here are four noteworthy speeches to motivate and inspire you.

1. “The Perfect Maid of Honor Speech” by Youtuber @HappilyEverHermano

In this toast from October 2016, maid of honor Kristin AmRhein gives her toast at the American Adventure Rotunda in Disney’s Epcot — one of the most popular Disney wedding venues. 

During AmRhein’s speech, she focuses on the love story of the bride and groom, and retells it in the perfect way. Her speech is full of sincerity, and it’s clear she’s speaking from the heart.

Check out the full speech below: 

2. “Best MOH Speech by Evelyn” by Youtuber @EmaHaro

Youtuber Ema Muñoz posted the speech from her wedding in 2019. Evelyn Bojorquez, Muñoz’s best friend, effortlessly delivered her maid of honor speech. 

In this toast, Bojorquez really leverages what seems to be natural humor in the perfect way. Throughout the speech, wedding attendees are cracking up, and it doesn’t sound like forced laughter in any way.

Watch Bojorquez’s full toast below: 

3. “Best Maid of Honor Speech/Toast – Funny and Heartwarming – Claire Bostrom 7/3/21” by Youtuber @suebostrom1887

The maid of honor of this wedding — Claire Bostrom — delivers a heartfelt, beautiful toast to the newly married couple, Kelsey Bostrom and Corey Jacoby.

Filmed in 2021, Bostrom’s speech has it all. It’s the perfect mix of sentimentality and warm humor. Although her speech definitely exceeds our five minute tops recommendation, it seems to be worth it.

Watch her full toast below for some inspiration:

4. “Wedding Toast | Mr. & Mrs. McNair” by Youtuber @jejcpro9935

Youtuber @jejcpro9935 (J.E. & J.C. Productions) posted this maid of honor speech video celebrating the McNairs’ wedding.

The speech is the perfect length of time — just a few minutes — and the speaker stays on track the entire time, delivering a beautiful, meaningful toast to the newlyweds. The speech also mentions the importance of faith, which seems central to the couple — a great example of tailoring your speech to both the couple and the audience.

Check out the full toast below:

Maid of Honor Speech Template

If you’re feeling completely lost, taking a look at a maid of honor speech template can help get you out of that rut. Here’s our general maid of honor speech template to inspire your upcoming toast.

Start by giving a short introduction of who you are and how you know the couple. Regardless of how large the wedding is, there’s a pretty good chance not everyone will know who you are. Providing some (concise) context can be helpful.

Next, get into the meat of your speech. Hopefully, you’ve brainstormed a few ideas of what you want to talk about. You should aim to have one central theme or connecting story, and a few smaller details. For example, if you’re talking about how perfect the couple is for each other, maybe you have an appropriate anecdote you can share about how you’ve witnessed it firsthand. 

Finally, you’ll want to wrap it up successfully. Writing an end to this type of speech is sometimes overlooked, since it seems like the least important aspect of the toast. However, this is a common pitfall. Not having a specific conclusion to a speech like this leads to rambling and an awkward ending. 

At the end of the day, the most critical part of your toast is that it celebrates the couple’s marriage. That’s the entire point of this type of speech, so try not to stray too far from that concept. 

How to Improve Your Maid of Honor Speech

A maid of honor speech is nothing without practice. One of the best ways to nail your speech on the day of the wedding is to practice with a speech coach like Yoodli. 

Yoodli can help elevate your speech and ensure you’re feeling comfortable and confident on the day of. This platform — which is totally free of cost — helps users improve their speeches and public speaking skills by using AI technology for analysis. 

When you upload or record a video of yourself practicing your maid of honor speech, you’ll get specific, instant analytics about your toast, such as: 

• Your word choice
• Your filler word use (which ones and how often you use them)
• Your body language, like your eye contact and facial expressions
• Your speaking pace
• Among other personalized insights

For example, Yoodli might flag your filler word use as an area of improvement. If that’s the case, learning how to stop using filler words can improve your speech.

Since Yoodli is an online communication coach, you’ll get coaching comments on top of the analysis, so you’ll know exactly where you need to improve your speech. 

One of the best things about using Yoodli to practice your maid of honor speech is that it’s a safe space for you to make mistakes. Because nobody is listening to you practice, you’ll be able to truly relax and begin to make progress on your speech.  

But why does this type of speech even matter?

Why Is a Maid of Honor Speech Important?

A maid of honor speech is important because it’s the maid of honor’s opportunity to express their personal congratulations and well wishes to the new couple.

It’s also a huge honor. Although being chosen as maid of honor is also a cause worth celebrating, the fact that you were chosen to deliver a toast should also be considered a compliment in and of itself.

The Bottom Line

Whether or not you’ve ever given this type of speech before, it’s OK to be nervous. Just don’t let your nerves get in the way of you delivering a thoughtful toast to the newly married couple.

By crafting a solid outline, writing a draft (with a beginning, middle, and end), and being committed to some dedicated practice with Yoodli, you can feel confident that you’ll give a worthy maid of honor speech on their special day.