Maid of honour speech ideas

The maid of honour speech has become a fixture at UK weddings, and it has an advantage over the best man's: you are allowed to be openly fond of the person you are talking about.

Aim for four to six minutes. Structure below, then lines you can adapt.

The structure

• Open - who you are and how long you have known her.
• Then - one story from before, that shows who she has always been.
• Now - what she is like as a friend, said plainly.
• Them - the moment you knew this relationship was different.
• Toast - to the couple.

Openers

• I've known [bride] since we were [age]. I've therefore had [x] years to prepare this, and I started on Tuesday.
• For those who don't know me, I'm [name] - the friend she rings when something has gone wrong, and the one she rings first when something has gone right.
• I was asked to be maid of honour over a bottle of wine, which is how all our worst and best decisions have been made.
• I promised I wouldn't cry. I've already failed once today and we're only at the speeches.

Funny material

• She has never once been ready on time, and I have never once been surprised.
• [Bride] is the most organised person I know about everything except her own life.
• We've shared a lot over the years - a flat, a car, and one memorable food poisoning incident we've agreed never to discuss.
• She's a wonderful friend and an appalling passenger.
• The hen do was flawless, which is more than can be said for any of us by the Sunday.

Heartfelt lines

• She's the friend who turns up. Not the one who says she will - the one who does.
• I've watched her get through things nobody in this room knows about, and come out kinder for it.
• Everyone should have a [bride] in their life. I've been lucky enough to have the original.
• I knew it was different because she stopped asking me what I thought.
• [Partner], the thing I want you to know is how loved you already are by all of us, for how happy you make her.

Toasts

• Please raise your glasses to [names] - my favourite people, on their best day.
• To the bride and groom, and to a lifetime of exactly this. Shop this card
• Here's to [bride] and [partner]. Thank you for letting me be part of it.
• Please be upstanding. To [names].

Practical rules

• Four to six minutes.
• Nothing about exes, and nothing from the hen do that would need explaining to her mother.
• One story, told well, beats five told quickly.
• Tissues in your hand before you stand, not in your bag.
• Read it out loud three times. Once is not enough.

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How to write it so it lands

• One story told properly beats five rushed ones.
• Have tissues in your hand before you stand up.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should a maid of honour speech be?

Four to six minutes. Long enough for one proper story, short enough to keep the room.

What should a maid of honour speech include?

How you know the bride, one story that shows who she is, what she is like as a friend, why this relationship is different, and a toast to the couple.