The maid of honour speech has a harder job than the best man’s. It is expected to be funny and to be moving, usually in that order, usually in under four minutes. This one is built to do both. Replace the brackets, then read it out loud before you decide whether it works.
Opens the free teleprompter with the script already loaded. Nothing is uploaded, and your camera never leaves your device.
Why it is built this way
Name your claim on her
Say how long you have known her in the first breath. It tells the room why your opinion of her counts.
One image from before
A single picture of who she was at fifteen, or at university, or the night you met. The room needs to see her as a person, not as a bride.
The affectionate truth
One thing about her that is mildly inconvenient and entirely lovable. This is the laugh, and it should be the kind she laughs at too.
The moment you knew about them
Not the day they met. The day you noticed something had changed in her. That is the story nobody else in the room is able to tell.
Speak to the partner directly
Turning your body and addressing them by name changes the temperature of the room instantly. It is the single most effective move available in any wedding speech.
Land on one promise, not three wishes
A list of good wishes evaporates on the way to the bar. One specific sentence stays.
Delivering it
Frequently asked questions
Three to four minutes, around 400 to 550 spoken words. Shorter is nearly always better than longer.
No. One light moment is plenty. The maid of honour speech people remember is usually the honest one rather than the funny one.
Yes, and most people now do. Load the script into a teleprompter, prop the phone against a glass, and set the scroll slow. It reads as notes, not as a script.