Friday is officially on the horizon and today is flying by! Ryan and I have both had some late nights at work this week, but today we should be home at a decent hour and Iām hopeful that a long evening walk with Sadie is in store.
Today was a shorter day at work and after I taught TRX and worked through the rest of the morning, I grabbed lunch in the break room, worked a little more and headed home in the early afternoon.
Lunch
Lunch today (which was photographed yesterday) was another rendition of my chickpea salad served with pulled chicken and feta cheese.
The feta added a lot of flavor to the salad. Iām a fan!
Writing My Matron of Honor Speech
After lunch, I sat down at the computer to go over my matron of honor speech. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with new ideas or important things I want to incorporate into my speech at Leslie and Rossā wedding next Saturday.
Since Iāve known Ross for more than 10 years (he was Ryanās best friend in college) and think my sister is basically the best person in the entire world, I want to make sure my speech is heartfelt, loving and conveys just how much they both mean to me and how much I love them together.
Though Iāve been a bridesmaid in a number of weddings and spoke at Merri and Peteās rehearsal dinner last October, Iāve never been a maid/matron of honor before and feel really nervous! I know Leslie and Ross are really laidback, so I donāt feel pressure from them or anything, but I want my speech to be good for them!
If youāve ever given a speech at a wedding or seen some seriously rockstar maid of honor or best man speeches, Iād love any advice you may have when it comes to writing a good one!
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I had 2 maid of honors in my wedding and both of them incorporated humor and just how much our friendship means to both of us. The humor was great because I had started crying just watching them walk up to give the speech! My husbands sister talked about how all she wanted growing up was a sister and how now she realized she was just waiting for me. She had both myself and my husband in tears after that. So exciting!!!
I’m sure you’ll do amazing! My 4 years younger sister forgot she even had to give a speech and did it on the fly. To top it off, her speech began with: “I have to give a speech? Well the first time I met Matt I didn’t like him.” Which had everyone cracking up. Obviously it went on to explain how he’s actually a great guy and she knew we’d get engaged long before it happened. Because she didn’t have any time beforehand to think about what she’d say, everything was from the heart and that much more special!
Good luck on the speech! I will be doing one for my sister later in the year as well. I think as long as you speak straight from the heart you’ll be fine. Funny stories always warm the crowd. Good luck, and can’t wait to see the pics from the wedding!! You always have the best pictures.
I was the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding, and I have been to a LOT of weddings. My advice? Keep it short, but heartfelt with a little bit of humor. And don’t use too many inside jokes–no one else in the room will get it and they won’t be interested.
My Maids of Honor (I had two) gave a rockstar speech at my wedding in September. When the two of them walked to the microphone, I was immediately nervous ā “What are they going to say!?” I kept thinking, because let’s be honest, they have a lot of dirt on me.
When the one Maid of Honor whipped out a manilla folder with huge letters spelling “Confidential” across it out, I immediately started laughing/crying! Then, out came the speech, which was literally 15-plus pieces of paper long that were all glued/taped together. So when it came out of the envelope, the paper hit the floor in one huge swish. Again, more laughter/tears.
The speech was the perfect balance of being funny, heartfelt and congratulatory. My husband and I had been dating for nearly 9 years before our wedding so my Maids were able to speak about me before him and me with him and how it is the perfect match (Insert your aws here).
You’ll be great, Julie. I have no doubt! Can’t wait to see the pictures and read the recap. Best of wishes to Leslie and Ross.
Good luck! My sister gave the most amazing maid of honor speech at my wedding. She’s not much a public speaker but she shined! She started off telling stories about us as a couple and then went into the part in Bridesmaids where Kristin Wiig competes for the speech during the engagement party – the part where she breaks into Spanish, “and la escualas, azul, marcada…” It had me crying for many reasons 1). she nailed the impression 2). my now husband speaks fluid Spanish and 3). it’s one of our favorite movies…we danced to Hold On by Wilson Phillips later in the night! Any speech from the heart will be great!
Aw this sounds like such a fun speech!!
Good luck with wiriting your speech! I’m sure it’ll be great because you have so much love for the both of them!
My brother-in-law’s best man speech at my wedding was awesome! My advice is to try to incorporate a lot of humor! He had everyone is stitches!
Definitely humor but not in a roasting kind of way. It can be heartfelt but don’t go on and on about stories and memories that most people don’t know about. While it might mean something to you and your sister, it kind of makes others feel that they aren’t in the cool kid club. And even though it’s about your sister and Ross, at the same time, it’s not. Good luck. You will do great, I’m sure.
You’ll do great! You’re already a great writer- just let the words flow naturally š My 16 year old sister is my maid of honor and I have no idea how she’s going to write a speech… she’s never been to a wedding before, let alone be a maid of honor!
My favorite one that I did a few years ago was a Top 10 list of why the bride and I have been such good friends for so long. It was touching yet hilarious (in my opinion)!
You’ll be a rock star. You have nothing to worry about š
I’m sure you’ll put a great speech together!!! The best ones are always from the heart. I personally like when speeches include a quote or two for the couple to reflect on. And don’t forget to do the toast at the end… sometimes people forget that part š
I feel like you can go two ways – heartfelt or funny. Or if you’re good you could do both. Personally I was too nervous to be funny (I spoke at both my brother’s wedding and my best friend’s) so I went with heartfelt. They went well, my biggest recommendation is that if you aren’t a big public speaker (aka the type that loves to speak in front of crowds and is generally funny) keep it short and sweet.
This recipe looks different than the original. Besides the chicken/feta did you add something else, like maybe a sauce?
P.S. Good luck with your speech! Iām sure you will be great. š
I’ve never had to give a speech at a wedding — not yet, anyway! My sister gave a lovely speech at my wedding, so I hope when the time comes that I can return the favor and think of the perfect things to say at hers!
I’m sure that your speech will be perfect! You’re so thoughtful, and you’re a great writer — it’s the perfect recipe for heartfelt speeches! š
Best wishes to Leslie and Ross, so exciting. You’ll do a fantastic job; your caring nature and sense of humor are evident in each blog post you write, I have no doubt you’ll convey exactly what you want. The best speeches I’ve heard include quick anecdotes about the bride and also the bride and groom that highlight pieces of their personalities and their union (i.e. not long stories about the bride/groom and the speech-giver haha.) Either way, I know you’ll do an amazing job and I’ll bet Ross and Leslie already feel so loved by you, at least if they’ve ever read the blog :D.
OMG whaaat they’re getting married next Saturday?? For some reason I thought they were having a June wedding or something. Now we don’t have to wait to hear all about it and see some pictures š That’s super exciting, can’t wait to see the recaps!
My sister and my 13 year old daughter gave a joint speech at my wedding last May, it was amazing! The theme was Erin and Scott by the numbers (my sister is a math teacher)! Some examples: The number 4 for the number of daughters my parents had, 26 for obstacles in the Tough Mudder we were about to do, and 1 (from my daughter) for her 1 perfect mom and 1 new family…tear!!! Then, they took all the numbers they used and bought a Powerball ticket for the game that night, we didn’t win but it tied the whole speech together!
I’ve only been MOH once, but I would say try to keep it relatively short. I think story-telling is an art, so try to avoid any long, convoluted story, or too many inside jokes that the audience won’t understand.
You know your sister best, so use that as an indication of how comfortable you think she would be with humour, poking fun, any stories she may not want her in-laws knowing about etc.
Good luck!
you are so gonna cry when you do the speech ………
I have never given one but I’ve listened to many. Keep it short! Also, don’t tell too many inside-joke/stories that nobody else will understand. I prefer the funny speeches.
this june will be my third matron of honor speech. I always try to highlight the bride and say something meaningful about the friendship or sister relationship .. insert a funny quirk about the groom, and well wishes! <3
I was the maid of honor for my best friend, who is an engineer. I made sure to tie in her interest of science into my speech. I gave her and her husband something that was invented by NASA astronauts…Duct tape. I mentioned to them that duct tape was similar to a marriage. That no matter what the circumstances, it would do it’s best to keep things from breaking apart.
I know, sort of cheesy, but she was the first one to guess what was in the bag when I mentioned that the gift was made by NASA astronauts.
And of course, I talked about many other things besides the duct tape.
I’m sure you’ll do great as long as you speak from the heart…which I know you will! Good luck!
I’m maid of honor in my best friend’s upcoming wedding this May and I am stressing over this speech as well! I am not a good public speaker, so I’m a bit terrified. I don’t know my bestie’s fiance very well, which makes it difficult. At least you know and are close with your sister’s fiance, it should make it easier. I’m sure you will put together a beautiful speech!
I have seen more bad speeches than I want to admit. The fact that you are taking time to plan and write means the speech will be solid. The less than amazing speeches I have heard fail because they are done off the cuff and go on way too long.
This might be bad advice, but I didn’t write anything down when I gave a MOH speech. I had known the bride for 20 years at that point and my theory is you’ll know the right thing to say. People laughed and cried when they were supposed to! The mother of the bride started crying before I even said a word, so I knew she was on my side. š You’ll do great! Just have fun!
The hardest part for me when I was the maid of honor for my sister was only having known the groom for a (relatively) short time. The fact that you know her husband-to-be well is great and I’m sure the speech will be so touching!
The worst speeches I have seen seem to always have a commonality: the dreaded inside joke. One or two quick references to something that makes your friend (or sister) laugh or tear up can be nice, but I’ve seen some awful speeches that used far too many inside joke references that alienate and bore the audience. They want to connect with the bride and groom through the speeches too!
Good luck writing your speech! Definitely include both humor and love and you will be set. š
My sister was my maid of honor and she gave one of the best speeches. She is not really a talk in front of people type of person but she did such an awesome job and I was so proud of what she said!
You are going to do awesome!
I was my sister’s MOH, but didn’t give a speech. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a MOH give one, just the BM…very sexist, now that I think about it! But when I got married I did give a short speech and didn’t prepare anything beforehand. I figured I was a teacher, I could wing speaking in front of an audience. I’m not sure if that was a good thing or not. It went fine and I didn’t embarrass myself or stress too much (because I actually didn’t even plan in advance to do it at all, I just decided that day!), but it certainly wasn’t the most coherent speech I’ve ever given.
I wrote a speech for my little sister (which I believe Leslie is for you) and the theme was ‘lessons I learned from my little sister” – I started off funny ‘don’t cut your hair super short as a toddler because the baby sister will call you Guy’ and then moved into more serious things ‘she taught me how to love another person fully and selflessly’ etc. It went over well – it was awesome if I do say so myself š
That sounds so sweet!
I don’t remember the specifics of my maid of honor’s speech, but we’ve been friends since we were in 7th grade. All I know is that I cried and laughed and was thankful she was my friend. I think the feeling the bride/groom walk away with is more important than the specific words and I think you’ve already got that down.
You’ll do great, Julie! I just gave my Maid of Honor speech at my sister’s wedding, and all I can say is that I tried to be as true to the heart as possible. I did quote a bible verse about loving and forgiving each other, but I tried to steer clear of anything too “generic.” I gave a few stories from our childhood, which got me a few laughs! I spoke about them as a couple and how happy I was that my sister found the man God had for her and vice versa. Just be heartfelt! Good luck and have fun at the wedding!
I was the maid of honor at my best friends wedding in October and had to give a speech. My suggestions are to keep the inside jokes to a minimum because no one else will get it, share what you love about your sister and Ryan (separately) then share why you love them together as a couple.
Throw in a few light-hearted jokes and keep it fairly short (1-2 minutes), I promise you’ll make them cry š
My advice is to have one strong drink about an hour before your speech…it will loosen you up, but won’t mess you up too much! š
While I was attending one of my friend’s weddings last year, her younger sister gave the Maid of Honor speech. She started off pretending to be all nervous and shy, saying she’s really bad at public speaking. At first everyone was nervous for her and worried….
10 seconds into it, music starts playing and she busts out into her own lyrics and version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. We should have seen it coming because we all know she isn’t the shy one! It was AMAZING! It had everyone laughing and dancing.
anything with feta is SO good. that salad looks amazing!
I love to speak publicly and have done speaches for several of my friends weddings. I didn’t plan my speaches ahead of time. I get too nervous otherwise. Instead I try to formulate a storyline in my heads and a couple bullets to weave in. Then when it’s time to do the speach, I have the framework in my head. I recommend adding a smidge of humor to keep it light.
I rapped my maid of honor speech at my twin sister’s wedding last summer to the tune of “Ice, Ice, Baby.” She cried tears of crazy-excitement, especially because I am the last person that would sing in public. It told their whole story and gave good advice in a funny way that made everybody laugh.
Some wine helped a lot, too. Just sayin’. š
Awww that’s so sweet that they met through you and Ryan š
I had to give a speech at my brother’s wedding and I was so nervous about it! Someone gave me advice “Guys do the funny stuff and girls speak from the heart.” Sounds weird but it was actually right! I didn’t even prep much but thought about what I wanted to say for a few weeks in my head. Then I just spoke from the heart and it all worked out š
My MOH did a speech/song. It was amazing and everyone loved it. You can see it here–Amazing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyf3feTw4gw
You will do great! Especially given your awesome relationship with your sister and her soon to be husband!
At a friend’s wedding the MOH set a story to the music from Beauty and the Best. Bride was a huge fan of Belle. The story was adorable starting with growing up along side the bride and her finding her “beast” and seeing the two of them take the journey through college together.
I spoke at both of my sisters’ receptions and writing that speech is HARD! I think it was hard mostly because I felt the same as you; I wanted them to know how much I loved them and that’s hard to convey in a little speech. I think a little humor is always good, but honestly, I know you and your sister as so close and I know whatever you say will communicate your love for them!
I’m sure you’ll do a great job! I always enjoy hearing a good mix of funny and sweet/sentimental.
I’ve been maid of honor in three weddings (including for two people who you most likely at least know of!), so let me know if you want me to send over some examples. While all of mine had a similar flow to them, it’s the personal touches that make them the best. I referenced my friend’s mom’s refrigerator/pantry….which sounds ridiculous but it totally fit and everyone laughed. It should be easy to incorporate the groom too since you’ve known him so long!
I have to do the same thing in October for my best friend!! SO nervous! When I gave a speech at my brother’s wedding several years ago, I definitely cried in front of everyone. Try not to do that haha!
I kept mine short and sweet! I know I’m a crier so I wanted to keep to avoid breaking down in front of 300 people. I put together a scrapbook that went from their engagement to the morning of the wedding for her and the last page was a letter of how much she means to me and how awesome they are as a couple.
My sister was my MOH and gave the MOST heart felt speech ever! She started with short anecdotes about our childhood, and the type of person I always was, how she looked up to me and my favorite Disney movie – Beauty and the Beast. She quoted where Belle sang “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. / I want it more than I can tell. / And for once it might be grand / To have someone understand / I want so much more than they’ve got planned” and then talked about how happy she was that I found someone to take me on that adventure I’ve always dreamed of. It was a perfect tie in and exactly how I felt!! I love how she told a little bit about me as a person for those at the wedding who mostly knew the groom. Now I’m actually MOH in a close friend’s wedding which is March 9th and I’m freaking out a little about the speech — I need to ask my sister for a tip or two! She did tell me my whole family peer reviewed it and helped her take out things that were ‘unnecessary’.
Oh man. I agonized for HOURS UPON HOURS about what to say for my speech at my best friend’s wedding a few weeks ago. Things that I wanted to say popped into my head at random times and I ended up “writing” it in my head for awhile before I got anything down on paper. I was most worried about how to begin the speech without being awkward. I didn’t want to be like, “well hello everyone…” Ya know. I ended up winging it with the intro, since I was the first speech I just said something about how lucky I felt to be the first one to say how absolutely beautiful the bride looked.
For the speech itself, I practiced it SO many times. Every time I was driving in my car the week of the wedding I was practicing my speech. I wanted it to come off really naturally so the best way for that to happen was for me to practice, practice, practice.
I kept it short, incorporated a few jokes and made sure to explain why they are a perfect couple and why the bride is such a special person.
It ended up going really well! I honestly think that as long as it’s genuine, it will be great. Good luck with yours! And congrats to your sister!