You have just been asked to stand up as the maid of honor in your sister's wedding, a great role with many different responsibilities. Some of these tasks are insignificant and others not so much.
Perhaps you and the bride-to-be have envisioned planning both of your upcoming weddings, the gowns, the flowers, the music. Now one of you is getting ready to make all of your dreams come true.
One of the many things that often gets overlooked when it comes to planning all of the various details is the maid of honor speech. But don't panic quite yet as this important duty is really not as bad as it might first seem.
The beginning of your speech, which will be after the best man's, should start out by introducing yourself to guests of the wedding who might not know you. An appropriate lead-in might be something like, "While many of you already know me, for those of you who don't, I am the beautiful bride's maid of honor and best friend." Or sister, cousin, or whatever the case may be.
After a brief introduction you can segue into thanking the happy couple for allowing you to be a part of this most special of days. You can then talk about how you met the bride and groom and feel free to mention an amusing moment between you while keeping it all lighthearted and fun.
The next part of your maid of honor's speech should focus strictly on the couple and their unique love story. How did they meet? Did they finally find true love after one bad experience after another? Or, maybe they were good friends who realized they should be spending the rest of their lives together.
Everyone has a story, so find a poignant or touching aspect of the couple's relationship and fill everyone in on how much they love each other. While it's fine to bring a tear to everyone's eye, you certainly don't want to be too detailed and cause all of the guests to need tissues.
Also remember, if you're not very fond of the groom for some reason, this is not the time to mention this if you want to retain your friendship. Never say anything even remotely negative in your maid of honor speech as this would be extremely bad etiquette.
Toward the end of the speech, wrap it up with a few sentences about marriage in general and how the sacred institution is perfect for two people who love each other as much as the happy newlyweds do.
If the couple already has children, be sure to mention them as a part of the new family while wishing everyone a long, prosperous life together. If you like, you may also want to incorporate a few lines from a love poem or favorite song lyric of the couple's before drawing the speech to a close.
The absolute perfect ending to your maid of honor speech will be asking all of the guests to raise their glasses and toast the bride and groom while thanking them for allowing everyone to be a part of their wedding day.