Helllllllllllp - Maid of Honor speech

im the maid of honor at my dads/new stepmoms wedding well i need help on my speech have any tips or good examples?!

Kim

There are number of good pages on the main Presentation Helper web site. Hopefully on of these could be useful.

I would suggest that you first check out this link
presentationhelper.co.uk/maid-of-honor-speech.htm

The Maid of Honor (sometimes know as the Bridesmaid or the Matron of Honor) did not traditionally give a give a wedding speech. However times have changed and the role of the Maid of Honor speech is very much like the Best Man Speech.

Structure

The structure (see also how to structure a wedding speech) is very much similar to that of the best man, but done from a female perspective. You would normally include stories such as when you met the bride and any amusing stories or anecdotes of your time together. You could also tell an amusing story of when she was growing up. One particularly nice touch is to mention about how much happier she has been since meeting the bride - and if possible give an example.

If nerves are likely to be an issue, I would suggest that you write your speech down. Wether you are a frequent speaker or not, I would suggest that you rehearse your speech out loud at least four times - one of which should be in front of a real scary audience (family, friends, work colleagues etc). There are some tips on rehearsing on the main site.

Jokes and one liners

If you are looking for jokes, here are a couple of one liners that you could use.

I'm told that the best speech makers follow three simple rules. Stand Up. Speak Up. Then, very quickly, Shut Up. I'll try to stick to that advice.

There are only two times in a man's life when he can't understand a woman - before marriage and after marriage. (Anonymous)

A toast to sweethearts - May all sweethearts become married couples, and may all married couples remain sweethearts. - Unknown

As regards some of the things to say concentrate entirely on your father. Apert from the how much happier he seems to be since he met his new wife - you have the chance to add a story or two about some moments that you shared together. This could be from you childhood, or from recent life. These should be funny incidents and should get a laugh.

The only thing that you need to avoid is any mention about his previous wife. His new wife will be very touchy about this and many of the guests will know her. Particularly - to avoid at all costs - is any comparison between the new wife and the old.

I hope that this gives you some ideas.

Please let me know how it goes.

Here is a nice quote that you could end with

"May your love be like the wind, strong enough to move the clouds, soft enough to never hurt, but always and never ending."

[Doctor]

One of the latest trends that we have heard of is towards doing a PowerPoint presentation at a wedding. We have not yet seen one oursleves but a couple of reports coming back seem very promising.

One case recently was where a father of the bride presented a series of photos along with a witty caption of his daughter growing up.

For a maid of honor you could show pictures of some of your times together - although you may have to be careful not to show any that are just too embarrasing!

We do have added some free wedding clip art to Presentation Helper which could be used as part of a PowerPoint presentation.

One word of advice on using PowerPoint at a wedding is that you have one more set of technical things to do. Make sure that you set up the computer and projector well in advance and test it to make sure it works. As a back up. Print out a set of the slides. You can always hold these up in case the projector fails.

my mum is also getting married to my step dad and i am maid of honour i am also giving my mum away so if you do get any good ideas i would be greatful.hellllp

[SimonR]

I have seen a few of these. I've never seen a good one. (Frankly I've rarely seen a good PowerPoint, never mind a good one at a wedding! )

They were intrusive and took away a great deal of the fun of the event.

It's something else to go wrong, too and unless you're job is something like "theatre technician" so you can fix anything, in the dark, instantly, without tools and without sweating, swearing or help, I'd suggest staying away until the technology is better. Remember, for example, that it's almost impossible to set it up quickly and in a way that everyone can see.... critical!

S

[Speech Success]

During your Maid of Honor speech be sure to praise the Bride, not just poke fun at her. It will mean a lot to her, so include something along the lines of;

"Jill has matured into a beautiful woman, a smart, loving, person who is a credit to her wonderful parents Amy and Sean, Jill is a girl who sees the best in everything and everyone, she warms your heart with her kindness, she warms your head with her funny jokes and warms your soul with her caring good-nature."