I thought it would be useful to dissect some actual video of a wedding speech. I’ll provide the color commentary of what the wedding speaker has done well, and offer some criticism as well.

In this video we have a maid of honor speech delivered by the sister of the bride.

First of all, the speaker makes eye contact with the bride. This is often a problematic area during wedding toasts. Oftentimes, the speaker will deliver the toast to the audience. The correct protocol is actually to make contact with the person being toasted.

She tells a personal story about the girls used to sing the lyrics from a song about “finding the one.” She then relates this story to the bride finding her husband. Notice how the story is relevant to the wedding? There are a million different stories that a sister could tell about her older sister. However, the story should be relevant to the wedding in order to be effective.

The maid of honor made a light hearted speech that made the audience laugh. However, she was not trying to tell the funniest wedding joke of all time. You don’t need to be funny to deliver a funny wedding speech because the audience wants to laugh. Look at how easy the laughs were. One should always remember that a wedding audience is not a like the audience at a standup comedy club.

She compliments the groom and tells a story about the first time that she met the groom (Vinny). It was genuine and lighthearted.

She finishes the speech with a traditional wedding joke about the bride always being right.

Look at the length of this maid of honor speech – 3 minutes!  I keep harping on this but it is so crucial that your wedding speech stay within the 3-5 minute time slot. This is a concise, heartfelt maid of honor speech that did not require any more time.

This Bridesmaid sample speech uses a funny story as the core of the speech. Note how story is related to characteristics that the Maid of Honor wants to tell the audience about. Another point that I want to emphasize is that this speech has a story with a lot of details. Most maid of honor speeches simply have a list of characteristics (eg – my sister is loving, honest, a great listener, hard working etc.) but without any evidence. A speech with a list of characteristics is boring! Tell an interesting and relevant story with lots of details to properly engage the audience.

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My name is Tanya (maid of honor) and I am the younger sister of Carol (bride).

What can I tell you about the bride?

Hmmmm….(pause) (Look over at bride and smile devilishly)

Are you getting nervous that I’ll reveal some deep dark secrets Carol?(pause) No? Then why are you blushing like a school girl? (now re-focus your eyes away from the bride and towards the audience)

Of course I’m just teasing my big sister as I’ve been known to do over the last twenty three years.

In all seriousness, there is one story that I would like to share with you all.

Those that have had the pleasure to know Carol, know that she is a creative woman with a talent for design. Let me give you an example of her world famous ingenuity. At the tender age of eight Carol was able to crack a bubble gum machine the way a bank robber cracks a safe. She discovered that she could cut out a cardboard shape of quarters and paste a few pieces together. She then went to gum ball machines and placed the cardboard cutout in the slot for quarters. She turned the crank and lo and behold unlimited gumballs! After she cleaned out every gum ball machine in town and acquired twelve cavities to boot, she decided to tell me her secret. I was in total awe of my brilliant big sister. Being the young copy cat that I was, I tried to rob a gumball machine at an amusement park. I was busted during my first heist! As an old fat man scolded me and threatened to tell my parents, what did my big sister do? Did she run for the hills or defend me from the law? She proudly stepped up to the old man and said in a bratty voice, “it’s not her fault that your gumball machines have no security! She then grabbed me by the arm and we walked off into the sunset like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I turned around and the man had a smirk on his face. He was just told off by an eight year old and a six year old!

I think that this story illustrates two points about my sister. Number one – she is highly creative. She is constantly making something whether it be a scrapbook, a new hair care product or a new jewelery design at her job.  She is always looking for a way to make the world a better place even if that means free candy and gumballs for all!

Secondly, she is loyal. For Mark (groom) I think that this is key. You know that Carol is the type of woman that will stand by your side through thick and thin. She will instinctively protect her family and close friends without any hesitation.

Aside from her criminal past, what else can I tell you?

I can only say that you have been a wonderful big sis for me. You’ve always given me guidance and advice whether the topic be boys, school, boys, my career, boys. Did I mention boys?

I spoke of how Carol makes the world a better place. My world has certainly been enhanced by Carol and I’m thrilled that she’s found Mark as he is a man that appreciates all of her qualities.

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If you want eight more Maid of Honor speeches have a look at our PDF wedding speech guide.

Writing a wedding speech for your sister is a simple task once you break down the key elements. The purpose of the maid of honor speech is to honor your sister. Even though you may feel like skipping a wedding speech for your sister, you should spend at least an hour writing a wonderful speech.

Perhaps the first thing you should do is read a sample maid of honor speech. This will help you understand the basic structure of a wedding speech for your sister.

First of all, it is helpful to differentiate between a maid of honor speech and a best man speech. They are entirely different in terms of tone. The wedding speech for your sister will most likely have an emotional tone while the best man speech is expected to have a humorous tone. Keep that in mind when you are writing the maid of honor speech. You’re not expected to be Ellen DeGeneres!

The first part of your speech will be the introduction. Although you may think that everyone knows who you are, this is often not the case. Probably half the people in the audience will not know that you are the sister of the bride. Therefore, you need to state your relationship to the bride in the opening paragraph.

You then want to thank the bride for choosing you to be her chief bridesmaid. You should then tell one or two stories about the bride and what she means to you. If you’re stumped, reach back into your childhood and try to think of embarrassing (not humiliating!) stories. Even if you’re not particularly close with the bride, you will most positively have some stories from your childhood.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself to brainstorm some ideas for the wedding speech for your sister:

1. What was your sister’s favorite toy?
2. Who was her first grade school crush?
3. What television show was she passionate about?
4. What was the biggest fight you ever had with your sister?
5. Was your sister a tomboy?

These are all questions that you can ask yourself to brainstorm an interesting story.

The best maid of honor stories are entertaining but they also serve to shed light on the bride’s personality. You want to pick out one or two characteristics that make the bride unique. For example, if the bride is known for being clumsy you want to tell a story about her twisting her ankle in her sleep.

After telling the story, you’ll want to compliment the groom and say a few nice words about him. Focus on how happy the bride has been since she met the groom.

You may also choose to compliment the groomsmen if you are familiar with them.

As you can see, a wedding speech for your sister is not a daunting task. It’s only five minutes in length and if you follow the structure above you should be able to write a wonderful speech in under an hour.

One final point, modern wedding speech order suggests that the wedding speech for your sister will normally be right after the best man speech. If the best man toasts the bridesmaids or compliments the bridesmaids you will want to respond to the best man during your speech. Usually, in the first paragraph you’ll compliment the best man and the handsome groomsmen and thank him for his kind words.

Maid of Honor wedding speeches are easiest to create by customizing a template by entering your personal information where you see (brackets).

If you’re looking for more examples, these wedding speech articles will help you with dozens of examples that you can add to your speech.

This is a special day for me as (Bride) and (groom) who are both two of the best friends anyone could ever ask for. I’m proud of (bride) for finding someone who is her perfect match.

First of all, I would like to thank (groom) for his kind words about me earlier this evening, and to take this opportunity to add my own best wishes to groom and bride for a long and happy marriage.

As you may know (bride) and I have been friends since we started grade (name grade). I think it is safe to say that I know more about her than most people her and I may even know her better than (groom). By the ghastly look on her face, she is praying that we keep it that way over the next three minutes.

I can remember the time that (bride) tried (tell a quick story) smoking a cigarette for the first time. She passed out in the middle of the soccer field from the head rush! I remember the day we sneaked out after curfew and went to a party where curiously (bride) had a little to much too drink and…you guessed it – passed out in the middle of a soccer field. If you want all the gory details, I’ll be selling some unauthorized biographies of (bride) out of my van in the parking lot. Please stop by for a signed copy. I remember when I learned of (bride’s) engagement. I had this feeling that something was up because (bride) was acting suspicious, keeping her hands in her pocket and then she showed me the rock on her finger. She was as excited as the time that we went to a (name old pop band – eg – New Kids on the Block) concert. Well, I think I have said all I need to say, I’ll stop here. I know I’m the last speaker, and I can see that everyone wants to hit up the bar and start dancing.

However, I don’t want to forget to mention that our groomsmen look rather dapper. I’m actually quite amazed that you all have new haircuts, close shaves, and matching suits. I could barely recognize you guys! I’m joking of course. You gentlemen do look handsome. Please raise your glasses once again and wish (bride) and (groom) a fulfilling and prosperous future together.

To the wings of love,

May they never lose a feather,

But soar up to the sky above,

And last and last forever.

There’s an example of a maid of honor speech for you.

If you’re looking for more maid of honor wedding speeches our best selling guidebook has templates that can help you finish your speech.

Similar to the best man, the maid of honor has a number of duties that she should perform.  For more wedding speech tips you can browse our selection of articles.

I’ve created a checklist of the 10 most important duties of the maid of honor.

1. The maid of honor is expected to host a bridal shower. You will have to organize the venue and put up any decorations, send out invitations.
2. The maid of honor should manage the bridesmaids. She should make sure that their dresses are all properly fitted. She should organize hair and makeup appointments. She should also let the bridesmaids know the costs that they will incur.
3. Stagette Party. You should create some type of party that includes the bridesmaids and other friends. You should send out invitations by Facebook or e-mail.
4. Another duty is to calm the nerves of the bride in the days leading up to the wedding.
5. Help the bride on the day of the wedding. She might need help with hair or makeup.
6. During the wedding ceremony it is your duty to hold the wedding bouquet while you stand behind the bride at the altar.
7. Along with the best man you will sign the marriage certificate as a witness.
8. After the reception dinner you will be expected to deliver a maid of honor speech. You can view a sample maid of honor speech by clicking here.
9. After the first dance of the evening, you will dance with the best man.
10. The bride will most likely give you the wedding dress to take care of after the wedding. Don’t be surprised if it is your duty to take the dress to the dry cleaners.

These are the top 10 maid of honor duties. It may seem like a daunting list but with proper preparation you will be able to enjoy the wedding festivities with greater ease.

If you are interested in more help with etiquette, maid of honor duties and speeches you can order our best selling E-Book.

The bridesmaid speech is not expected to be funny. It is different from the best man speech in that most wedding audiences expect the maid of honor speech to be emotional, not humorous. Nonetheless, most audiences prefer a funny bridesmaid speech over any other type of speech. You can check out a sample maid of honor speech to better understand wedding humor.

To create a funny bridesmaid speech you need humorous content and comedic delivery.

Funny bridesmaid speeches generally feature content that is rich with humorous stories. To brainstorm stories that are appropriate for a wedding it is recommended that you focus on the following areas:

Stories from childhood:
Was the bride a tomboy? Was the bride a clutz or accident prone? Did the bride have some nerdy hobby?

Small Character Flaws:
What unique personality traits does the bride have? What is she known for? Look for small character flaws. Of course you don’t want to mention a major character flaw such as dishonesty or selfishness. An example of a minor character flaw would be that the bride is always late or that she spends one and a half hours getting ready to go out. Another example of a minor character flaw would be that bride is a shopaholic.

Changes After Meeting the Groom:
How has the bride changed meeting the groom? Funny maid of honor speeches can talk about how the bride is different she met the groom. Has she picked up any new sports or hobbies? For example, in one funny maid of honor speech I remember a story about how the bride went from being a prissy girl with designer clothes to becoming a outdoorsy hiker after meeting the groom. These changes are relevant and often humorous.

You can download eight funny maid of honor speeches that will boost your confidence tremendously.