Maid of Honour
Although not traditionally part of the roster of speeches, it is becoming increasingly common for the Chief Bridesmaid or Maid of Honour to speak at a wedding. For the speaker, this can be both liberating and constraining. The guests will have almost certainly seen or heard fewer such speeches before and will therefore have fewer pre-conceptions about what to expect. This gives you more freedom as to how to construct your speech and what to say. The flipside of this freedom is that it’s sometimes hard to know what to choose.
So here are some pointers:
Subject matter
I would recommend including at least one story that could only have come from you or one of the Bride’s close friends. The Groom and Father of the Bride will already have given their different perspectives and now you can too. Everyone is delighted when they feel they’ve been given a hint of classified information. Nothing rude or wrong but something that could only have come from you.
How edgy can you be?
You will be talking from the perspective of friendship or sibling love/rivalry rather than a romantic one. This gives you the same “Diplomatic Immunity” as the Best Man. But there is still a line that shouldn’t be crossed and some subjects that shouldn’t be broached. So, trust your instincts. If you’re in doubt about a line or a story, it’s best to leave it out.
How long should I speak for?
There will probably be a full roster of speakers – Father of the Bride, Groom, Best Man – so I would try to keep the speech under four minutes, possibly shorter. However, there are no hard-and-fast rules here. If you’ve got a great speech you want to deliver, why should you as Maid of Honour have to sacrifice your speaking time for others? Chat to the Best Man and Groom and let them know about the expected length of your speech so that the overall length of the speeches doesn’t start to become similar to that of the UN General Assembly.
Humour
The Bride will love the fact the speeches will refer to what a lovely daughter or wife she is, how wonderful she looks, etc., but why shouldn’t she also have her share of great jokes and well-crafted anecdotes about her? A well-thought-out personalised joke is not just a means of making the speech more entertaining, it truly is a gift to your friend or sister. Pepper your speech with a few of them and it will be truly memorable.
If you feel you’d like some assistance in putting a speech together, I can help.
With my speech and comedy writing experience, I can provide you with a well-balanced speech full of heartfelt moments and great, original gags. It will ensure you stand up at the wedding confident in the knowledge you’ll have the guests hanging on your every word.
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