maid of honor speech examples older sister

How to Write Maid of Honor Speech for Sister (With Examples)

by Marisa Jenkins
January 5, 2024

Being a maid of honor comes with a lot of duties and responsibilities; you have to help the bride with many aspects of wedding planning. However, it is also extremely rewarding; you get to be with the bride on her most special day—you might even get to make her cry with your speech .

Writing anything, be it a speech or a letter, can be a challenging task. Here is a step-by-step guide to help make the process a little easier:

Reflect on your sisterhood
Create an outline
Start drafting the speech
Revise your first draft
Ask for insights and feedback
Make the final revisions
Prepare for the big day

Each step is discussed more specifically below, including a detailed outline of a maid of honor speech for your sister. Tips are also given. Lastly, examples are provided to give you an idea of what a typical speech looks like.

Writing a Maid of Honor Speech for Your Sister: Step-by-Step Guide

women wearing white dresses in a field holding bouquets of flowers

Step 1: Reflect on Your Sisterhood

If your sister chose you as her maid of honor, it means she treasures your close bond. Look back on the past years and see how your relationship has evolved. Likewise, reflect on your and your sister’s personalities and your growth over the years.

You may want to narrow down specific stories, especially those that can highlight your relationship, personality, and growth. These anecdotes can add humor or sincerity to your speech as a maid of honor .

Step 2: Create an Outline

Preparing an outline for a maid of honor speech for your sister can help you organize your thoughts, ultimately making writing easier. Here is an example of a structure, though you are free to customize it however you want:

Greet your guests briefly.
If you want, you can thank the vendors and other bridal party members for their hard work.
Introduce yourself and your relationship with the bride.
Share a memory you have with your sister. You can be funny, lighthearted, or serious.
Highlight her qualities, quirks, and everything that you love about her.
Reflect on what it means to be a sister.
To transition to the next item on the outline, mention any significant milestones or turning points in your relationship.
Describe how you two first met and what was your first impression of them.
Recall a memorable interaction or story that shows their relationship.
You can also share how you grew to like and trust your sister’s partner.
Discuss how they complement each other.
Highlight any positive changes you have seen in your sister and her partner over the years.
Offer your heartfelt well-wishes for the future.
If you have any piece of marriage advice, you can add them here.
End your maid of honor speech for your sister with a toast to the newlyweds. Encourage everyone to raise their glass or clink it in celebration .

Step 3: Start Drafting the Speech

Once your outline is ready, you can begin with the speech itself. Just write whatever comes to mind, and do not worry about the technicalities like grammar and length. Focus on putting down into words everything you want to express.

Step 4: Revise your First Draft

After finishing your first draft, you should start revising what you wrote. On the technical side, this means fixing any grammatical errors, rewriting any awkward phrases, and rearranging some parts to improve the speech’s flow.

As you read through your speech over and over again, you should also start imagining how you will deliver it. Try giving the speech to yourself and determine the tone, rhythm, and speed that works best. Mark down the places where you should pause to catch your breath (or wait for applause).

Step 5: Ask for Insights and Feedback

Approach someone you trust—such as other bridal party members—and ask them to listen to your speech. By this point, you should have practiced your delivery a few times.

Give your speech to your test audience. Be open and responsive to constructive criticism. Moreover, observe their reactions and see if you need to change anything in the tone or pace of your delivery.

Step 6: Make the Final Revisions

Given the feedback you received from your test audience and any personal changes you see necessary, it is time to make the final revisions. Remove anything that feels unnatural or forced, and go through the text to ensure that you did not miss any grammatical errors.

Step 7: Prepare for the Big Day

Print a copy of your maid of honor speech for your sister. Although you can try to memorize the entire speech or write down key points, having a backup is a great idea—things can get emotional, after all, and you might forget what you practiced.

Moreover, keep in mind any positive coping strategies for anxiety. Some breathing techniques can help you manage your nerves.

How to Write a Maid of Honor Speech for Sister: Tips

Add Personal Touches

You can make your speech as your sister’s maid of honor more unique by adding personal touches, such as lines from a song, a movie, or a book that you both love. If she has iconic catchphrases, you can incorporate that, too.

Keep It Short

A great speech—regardless of who is giving it—is not too long to bore listeners and not too short to feel rushed or incomplete. For your maid of honor speech, aim for 4–6 minutes. Any more than that and you risk losing your guests’ attention

Keep It Light

The reception is no occasion to air out any family laundry. If you have unresolved tension with your sister or other relatives, keep it out of your speech and talk about it another time—preferably somewhere more private.

Find the Balance

In the same vein, try to find the right balance between humor and sincerity. This is a maid of honor speech, not a stand-up comedy set. Juxtapose emotional depth with lightheartedness; this will get your guests invested in this journey with you.

Identify Key Themes

If you are struggling with writing a cohesive maid of honor speech for your sister, it might help if you identify 2–3 key themes and center your speech around those.

You can focus on things like your sister’s strength, resilience, humor, kindness, intelligence, and so on.

Think about how these themes have played out in her life and her relationship. The anecdotes you will incorporate must show these themes one way or another.

Maid of Honor Speech for Sister: Lovely Examples

Humorous and Quirky Maid of Honor Speech for Sister

To all our family and friends,

Good evening! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Alissa, the proud and slightly teary-eyed maid of honor and, more importantly, Denise’s younger sister.

First of all, can we take a moment to appreciate how gorgeous and stunning Denise looks today? Huh? What about Tom? I mean, you’re not too bad yourself!

Growing up with Denise was kinda like living in a reality show—you can’t change the channel, so you just have to look at the second camera every time someone says something stupid.

I saw every side of her: the dramatic, the hilarious, and the extraordinarily compassionate. Like the time she spent hours consoling me after I lost my doll, or when she sold lemonade and old clothes just to raise funds for our local animal shelter.

All this to say, she’s always been my role model, even when she wore those questionable neon braces in high school. The journey to get where we are today has been surreal. We’ve shared secrets, clothes (sometimes without asking), and countless laughs.

Denise, you’ve always been my anchor, my confidant, and on rare occasions, my partner in crime. Remember that time when we “borrowed” Dad’s car for a joyride at midnight and swore never to speak of it again? Oh, oops. Sorry, dad.

When Tom and Denise first got together, I saw and felt a change in her. I don’t know how else to describe it, other than someone turning up the brightness—and volume—of her soul. Tom, your kindness, patience, and outstanding ability to deal with all of Denise’s hyper-fixations make you the perfect match for my sister. Her soulmate, even.

Together, you two are an unstoppable team. Whether it’s your epic karaoke duets, adventurous travels, or hours of just lying down and simply binge-watching a series while sharing dessert—you two are the perfect fit.

So, here’s to love, laughter, and a lifetime of stealing each other’s fries and pretending you didn’t. Denise and Tom Stalzer, may your life be filled with moments as beautiful and precious as the vows you shared today.

Everyone, please raise your glass in honor of the newlyweds!

Short and Sweet Maid of Honor Speech for Your Sister

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all having a blast tonight.

I’m Trina, the incredibly proud sister and maid of honor of our gorgeous bride, Kim. Watching her exchange vows with Mario, the dapper groom, is truly a joy.

Kim, you’ve always been my player two in everything. You always beat me at Scrabble, but you could never one-up me in chess. However, my favorite game will forever be our roleplays; remember when we’d play ‘wedding’ in our backyard? I’m so emotional standing here, in your actual wedding, getting to celebrate your love.

When you met Mario, I saw a happiness in your eyes that was never there before. Mario, thank you for bringing that joy into her life and keeping my sister’s soul bright. Thank you for loving her so fiercely and unwaveringly. Because of that, we officially welcome you to our family.

This is only the beginning of the biggest journey of your life so far. If it’s anything like the adventures you’ve already had, I’m sure it will be nothing short of extraordinary.

Everyone, raise your glass and toast to love, laughter, and a happy ever after! Mr. and Mrs. Carter, may the future be as sweet, romantic, and elegant as this day.

Final Thoughts

The thought of writing a speech, revising it, and then delivering it in front of an audience is understandably intimidating. However, with the right tools and tips, you can breeze through the process and create a unique speech as your sister’s maid of honor.

If nothing else, make sure that you write the speech authentically and sincerely. As long as you put your heart and soul into it, everything will turn out okay. Just make sure to place tissues for your sister nearby—she might erupt into tears because of your words.

Marisa Jenkins

Marisa Jenkins is a wedding planner and event coordinator. Her main goal for WeddingFrontier.com is to simplify the wedding planning process by sharing her years of expertise in the industry.

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Maid of honor speech for a sister

Write a great Maid of Honor speech for your sister

Step-by-step help, a maid of honor speech outline template to use, with a FREE printable and a heartfelt speech example

By: Susan Dugdale

Understandably, many women feel a little nervous about writing a maid of honor speech for their sister.

How do you sincerely share the happiness you feel for her in front of a crowd?

And where do you begin?

It's a big responsibility, but with enough time, (3-4 weeks, or more, to prepare and practice), the process is straightforward and stress-free. Truly.

What's on this page

How to start your maid of honor speech for your sister.

How to brainstorm ideas for the speech.

The five parts of the MOH speech template with examples.

1. The introduction
2. History with the bride

3. Life before the groom

4. the romance.

5. The conclusion

A FREE printable maid of honor speech outline

Frequently asked questions : how long should a speech be...

More MOH resources : more speech examples, poems and readings...

How to start your maid of honor speech

Grab a piece of paper, a pen, or use digital app like Evernote and start with a brainstorming session to collect up the stories and ideas you think you might like to share.

Return to Top

1. How to brainstorm

The brainstorming process is simple. Jot down ideas about what you think you might want to touch on in your speech, just as I've done in the image below.

Image: Brainstorm - A collection of handwritten notes around central topic - My maid of honor speech for my sister Mary.

Allow yourself complete freedom to explore as many potential topics as you can and, as much time as you need.

Recall fond memories. Remember shared experiences: the good times, the hard times and the funny times. Think about her best qualities: the ones you admire her for.

Do not edit or censor your words

Do not edit yourself! Put down whatever comes into your mind. Don't stop to worry about whether it's good, bad or appropriate. You'll review it later, and definitely don't stop to check your spelling.

You do not need to write full sentences or paragraphs, just notes. You want enough words to trigger your memory about what you thought would be a good idea to say and that's all.

Keep going until you can genuinely think of nothing more.

2. Pick the best material from your notes

Now pick the best of these ideas and organize them into the 5 sections of the speech template below. This will give what you say a logical structure: a clear beginning, middle and end.

Obviously, the tone: whether the speech is laugh-out-loud funny, wryly amusing, sentimental or heartfelt and sincere, is something you'll decide for yourself. That's governed by the stories and ideas you choose to share and the language you use to express them.

3. Read an example maid of honor speech for a sister

This example is based on the notes from the brainstorm image above. You'll see it is a blend of playful stories and genuine heartfelt sincerity.

The text of the speech is split into five parts: one for each of the required sections making up the template. As you scroll down the page you'll see it in the green call-out box under each section's explanatory notes.

Part 1. The introduction to your maid of honor sister speech

In the introduction it is customary to identify yourself because there may be guests who don't know you and don't know you are the bride's sister.

Next welcome the guests, thank them for coming, and thank your sister for the privilege of being her maid of honor.

(I've added a personal story to make an immediate connection with those listening and bring a smile! ☺)

1. Introduction

What a day, Mary!

Remember when we were kids, how we dressed up in Mom’s old party dresses? And how we used to put a white tablecloth on our heads and march around, singing, “Here comes the bride, fair fat and wide.”?

Good evening. My name is Jennifer, and this beautiful woman, this stunning bride: the opposite of “fair fat and wide”, is my beloved little sister.

As youngsters, we laughed ourselves silly over that game. Now here we are twenty-five years later.

Not laughing. Mary’s not wearing a tablecloth. And this time it’s for real.

It's a great honor to be asked to speak. Thank you.

Thank you too, to all of you, for coming to share this special day with us. Especially Frank’s family.

We know Mary adores you, almost as much as she does us. It’s wonderful seeing our families all together to celebrate this marriage.

Part 2. History with the bride

Share short stories from your childhood to paint a picture of your relationship, highlighting different facets of her personality and your bond.

Whether you choose to write something funny, serious or sentimental, the most important thing is to be genuine.

2. History with the bride

The pair of us, share thirty years' worth of loyalty and love: with an occasional sisterly quarrel thrown in. The usual sort of thing. Her snitching my favorite pair of jeans, without asking, and looking better in them, when we were 17 and 15 years old. A bit of phone snooping...Nothing major. Certainly nothing a bossy big sister couldn’t handle.

Before I left home, we shared a bedroom for a long time. That means you go through cycles of liking, loving and loathing each other. Sometimes all at once.

The jeans was definitely loathing.

The way she took my side over not eating Brussels sprouts was sisterly solidarity. Mary and I united against parental cruelty! Wonderful!

But what was truly excellent, was our bedtime stories: the ones we told each other. They were hilariously good fun. As soon as Mom turned off the light and closed the door, we’d pick up from where we left off the night before.

A favorite was the classic tale of a prince (handsome) arriving in the nick of time to rescue the beautiful damsel in distress, from some dastardly fellow, or a particularly nasty situation.

(We rejected stories about girls having a fabulous time up to their elbows in grease rebuilding a vintage car in the garage. We wanted lace, lots of it and happily ever after, down the aisle.)

In our stable of handsome princes, the handsomest prince of them all, the one we both swooned over was Darren. Darren was a super-superman created for us, by us. He was brave, brilliant, strong, just like Dad, and let us do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. (Not like Dad.)

Did he ever go out to work? Nah. Did he ever tell us we had to rescue ourselves? No chance.

Darren was always there. Always ready. Always had time and always, always knew what to do. Darren was masculine perfection.

I can’t remember the exact moment when this fine fellow left.

But I do know Frank had quite an act to follow.

Image: two little girls in matching dresses running through long grass. Text: A sister can be seen as someone both ourselves, and very much not ourselves. A special kind of double!

Part 3. Life before the groom

This next section focuses on your sister's life and what she was doing before she met her new spouse.

For example, maybe she was busy focused on her career and never really gave enough time to finding a best friend and life-partner.

Or perhaps your sister was having a good time travelling the world when she found her match.

Or did she fall for her good friend, the person next door whom she's known since she was eight?

Stories and subjects to avoid

There are a couple of things to watch out for.

The first is to be mindful about sharing anything that could be embarrassing for either your sister, her new husband, or your family members and friends.

Past relationships, including previous marriages and divorces, are off limits, as is talking about challenges with drug, alcohol or gambling addictions, using 'adult' humor or sexual innuendo, or referring to marriage cynically or negatively.

In addition, please don't fall into the trap of sharing a tale or something about your sister that no one can relate to except for you and her. If you do that, you'll find yourself looking at puzzled faces.

Your goal is to bring the guests together, to have them join you in celebrating the happy couple and their love for each other. To ensure you do that avoid topics that could potentially upset and alienate those listening.

When my sister dreams, she dreams big, and then she makes it her business to have them come true.

High school was followed by college which was followed by the career she’s always wanted: to be an editor and read for a living. The pinnacle of bliss for a 'booky' girl! A job enabling her to bask in the afterglow of a successfully relocated sentence terminal: aka a period or full stop.

I’m proud of what she's achieved, how she balances her life, somehow making time for everything. She's graceful, organized and appears, unrushed. (A trick I need to learn!)

Mary’s a good person, a great friend and, my role model.

Then along came Frank. Was it true love at first sight?

Part 4. The romance

Next, transition to a paragraph about your sister and her husband. How did they meet? How has the groom changed your sister’s life?

You can talk about how inspiring their relationship is to you or share a humorous story involving your sister and new brother-in-law.

This part doesn’t have to be very long. It's necessary because it brings your speech into the present. A good way to conclude this portion is by formally welcoming the groom into your family.

Did she swoon? Was she in a ghastly situation: a set of parentheses too many? And nowhere obvious to put them? You’ll have to ask her yourself.

What I’ve learned about Frank over the last six years...

(Yes, six years! And you all thought it was tough waiting for her to get to the church. 10 minutes. Diddly-squat, compared to what she put him through!)

What I’ve learned leaves us in no doubt he’s earned her hand in his.

This man loves books just as much as she does. Hard to believe, but it’s true. Both of them live by the wisdom: when in doubt go to the library. You’ll find the answer to everything there.

Some people do bar crawls. These guys do libraries. And book stores, and book rescues: tatty, out of print treasures from street stalls.

He’s kind. He’s thoughtful. He loves walking in the country side, chocolate, and his dog, a golden lab called Fido.

We think Fido was the clincher, with dark chocolate close behind. Plus, books, his ability to listen, to laugh...

In short, he knows how to be there for her, day after day, night after night, page after page, chapter after chapter.

Part 5. Conclusion

There are many possibilities for a conclusion. You could end with a quote, a joke, some spiritual advice, a toast or simply say, congratulations.

Do try to keep with the tone you’ve set in the rest of the speech and end with what feels most appropriate for your sister.

5. Conclusion

Darren? Pooh! He’s been well and truly replaced by the real and best thing. We couldn’t possibly imagine a better partner for her. They're a perfect match.

Ladies and gentleman please join me in congratulating Mary and her handsome prince Frank. May they continue to share their love story for many, many happy years.

Get a printable Maid of Honor speech outline

The printable outline will help you organize your speech. Follow the instructions to complete each of the template's five parts.

To get the printable either click on the image below or this link: maid of honor speech outline . (It opens in a new window.)

Image: a bride flanked by two bridesmaids. Text: Maid of Honor Speech Outline - click to download a free printable

Questions frequently asked

As well as finding out how to craft their maid of honor speech, and reading a couple of examples, there are a number of frequently asked questions. These are:

1.How long should the speech be?

Keep it between 3-6 minutes. That's approximately between 450-900 words.

There are going to be a number of speeches to fit into the reception schedule - e.g. best man, perhaps father/mother of the bride as well as the groom, and maybe a 'thank you' from the newlyweds. 'Short and sweet' doesn't upset the program of events because you've gone over time. It keeps everyone listening and happy.

The example speech is 859 words long. That will take approximately 5-6 minutes to deliver .

2.What's the best way to manage speech anxiety?

First of all, understand that being a little nervous before giving your speech is quite normal.

Yes, everyone will be looking at you. Yes, everybody will be listening.

However, what you need to remember is you are the focus of their attention purely because you are giving this speech. It's the message you're sharing and how you are delivering it that's important. Not you. You are the conduit - the means of its delivery.

Give yourself time

Beginning to prepare your speech well ahead of time will help. Working under pressure adds to anxiety. Please don't let yourself to procrastinate! That will only result in more stress.

Aim to have your speech prepared and ready for practicing 3-4 weeks ahead. Getting the words down you want to say is part of the process. Practice completes it.

Saying it out loud is the only way you'll discover if it flows naturally from one point to the next, or if it's too long and needs adjusting.

And practicing in front of trusted others will prepare you for the event itself. You'll already have experienced what it feels like to have people watching and listening to you. You'll know how they respond - which bits to slow down on, which parts will make them laugh, or shed a tear...

If you think about your speech as a gift, primarily for your sister, but also for your family and friends you'll want to make it something precious and valued. Doing that well takes time. Please don't skimp on it.

3. What's the best way to handle emotion?

How do you stay cool calm and collected while giving a deeply felt speech?

Given the event and its importance, it's natural to feel emotional.

Repeated practice will help you manage those feelings because you'll know the places in your speech where they are most likely to occur. When, and if they do, pause. Take a deep breath. Breathe out. Take another breath in and continue. See how to rehearse for more.

Additional MOH speech resources to help

I have other pages you may find useful. For instance:

Maid of honor speech examples . Explore different styles to find inspiration.

Collage: 5 different photos of women with their best friends

How to end a Maid of Honor speech : 20 examples . Choose the perfect closing.
Wedding poems and readings . Add a special touch with a well-chosen poem or reading.
Writing a bridesmaid speech . Craft a speech if you have a different role.
General speech preparation . Perfect if you’ve never prepared a speech before.
How to practice your speech . Deliver your speech confidently and professionally. Practice is key to making it extra special for everyone.