Maid Of Honour Speech - From The Opening Lines To The Ending Toasts

The maid of honour speech is a rather new addition to the wedding tradition. Because of its short history, there are no rigid rules and no traditional structure to be followed in creating and delivering this speech. Nevertheless, some components must not be missing so as to make this speech a very meaningful one for the bride and the groom and for the rest of the audience.

The prologue - The opening line for this speech can have any tone - serious, entertaining, funny or formal. Having said that, you can crack a joke, refer to a witty adage or excite the audience with an entertaining opening line. No matter how you choose to open your speech, this should be followed with a short introduction about yourself. This is important as there are many in the audience who don't know you personally. To do this, you will have to tell them your name and explain how you are related to the couple. After a brief introduction, express your gratitude to the bride for choosing you as her maid of honour.

The body of the maid of honour speech - The maid of honour speech is a speech that is dedicated to the bride. In fact, the entire speech, save for some sections that discuss how the speaker feels, discusses on the bride. It shares some meaningful insights about the bride's character, her attitude, and how she relates to other people, especially his groom. In the recent years, however, it has become a trend for maids of honour to talk extensively about the groom as well.

Anecdotes about the bride and the groom are incorporated into this part of the speech as well. A quick advice on choosing anecdotes - pick stories that are tasteful. Avoid picking ones that could embarrass or demean either the bride or the groom.

The main body is also the appropriate section for talking about the significance of the occasion to the lives of the couple. Personal views and opinions are also allowed here.

The conclusion - After a few short anecdotes come the conclusion of the speech. Although there is no general rule on how to end the speech, most maids of honour end their speech it with an encouraging message to the newlyweds. These can also end with best wishes for a happy life together that are condensed into a poetic but short line. These sort of inspire the couple to look forward to a wonderful future together. This part can be customized however depending on what you, as the maid of honour, think appropriate.

The final toast - After the concluding remarks come a toast that is offered by the maid of honour on behalf of the bride. The toast can take the form of a regular toast or a funny but meaningful message.

Although the maid of honour speech could be funny, most happens to be sentimental. It remembers the past and looks forward to a very bright and happy future for the couple.

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