10 Worst Maid of Honor Speech Mistakes

Writing a maid of honor toast can be challenging. Public speaking doesn’t come naturally to everyone and it can be easy to leap into subjects that sounded great in your head but fall flat in front of 150 guests. Here are the top 10 things to avoid when writing your maid of honor speech.

1. Making It Up As You Go Along

Giving a speech at your best friend or sister’s wedding is an honor so you should treat it like one. Take some time to write a speech that is thoughtful and showcases the best features of your friend and her new spouse. Otherwise, you could go down in history as the maid of honor who went rambling on for 20 grueling minutes.

2. Being Completely Generic

“Amy is the best. She is so smart, kind and definitely funny.” Tell us how or why! Make sure you put stories behind the nice things you are saying about your friend or else it just sounds like you’re reading off adjectives from the dictionary.

3. Giving A Speech from Google

Imagine feeling the anticipation of your best friend of 15 years giving a speech about you and then realizing you heard the same toast at a friend’s wedding last week. Come on, guys—your BFF is getting married! Put a little thought into it.

4. Sprinkling the Maid of Honor Speech with Inside Jokes

Inside jokes are only funny for 2 out of the 200 people in the room. Womp womp. Tell the story behind the joke so everyone can get in on the laugh.

5. Talking about Past Relationships

Whether you loved or hated the last three boyfriends, none of them are wearing the tux tonight so leave them out of it. Focus on the wonderful future your bestie is going to have with her new spouse.

6. Turning the Maid of Honor Speech into a Roast

Ouch! That hurts. Not only is it rude to make fun of your friend’s shortcomings, doing it in front of EVERYONE she knows is super embarrassing for your friend! A great way to check if you’re crossing the line: Ask yourself how you’d feel if someone said that about you. If it would make you smile, go for it. If it would make you want to crawl under a rock, leave it out.

7. Talking about how Rushed or Slow the Engagement/Wedding Process was

Some people know they’ve found the one right away. Some people need more time for that realization. Their relationship timeline is their business and even though it might get a quick laugh, it’s not your place to judge. Instead, talk about how glad you are that they have chosen forever with each other.

8. Making it a Contest of How Long You’ve Known the Bride

It’s awesome to share how long you’ve been friends with the bride, especially if it’s an impressive number, but this is not a competition between you and the groom or other bridesmaids. Guests know you two are close—that’s why you’re giving a toast!

9. Being Inappropriate

Don’t forget: up to four grandmas could be in the audience. Keep hookup stories, swear words and rude gestures out of your speech. Save the debauchery for the bachelorette party!

10. Making it About You

Telling a little anecdote about a great time with the bride or the first time you met the groom is great, because it shows your significance as the maid of honor, but let the main focus of your speech be about the couple and how they’re made for each other. After all, this is their big day.

Now that you know what you shouldn’t do, here is an amazing example of how to write a maid of honor speech!

Jennifer and Mario’s Bryant Park Grill wedding

COMMENTS

[…] a Maid of Honor speech that will bring down the house! Follow these guidelines and make sure to avoid these mistakes and you’ll have a memorable toast, fit for a wedding video like this […]

[…] You’ll also be able to play back the speeches. It’s not unusual for several of the parents or guests to give toasts during the dinner, because unlike the wedding, there isn’t a timeline to stick to. Most of the guests know each other more intimately than the other guests will at the wedding. This is the time to hear more personal stories of love, support and connection without as many constraints. For that reason, these may be some of your best speeches! […]

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