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Maid of Honor Toast - When Should You Speak?

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Maid of Honor Toast Nerves - Help!

You are proud and pleased to have been invited to be a Maid of Honor at your friend's or relative's wedding, and you are looking forward to the Wedding Reception — but you are not sure what you will have to do there. You've heard something about a maid of honor toast, but what is that?

Remember that a wedding reception is a way of celebrating the joining of husband and wife, as well as the joining of two families. The reception usually starts with a greeting and a drink when people arrive, then everyone tucks into the food, there are several speeches, plus of course cutting the cake. Sometimes the evening is rounded off with a dance or disco.

But now you find that you have been asked to make a speech! You don't remember ever hearing a Maid of Honor toast at weddings you have been to in the past!

What should you say? And when should you say it?

You want to get it right because it's such a special day, and you don't want to appear to be a fool!

Well, here is some help for you. Read on!

Contents at a Glance

The Non-Tradition of a Maid of Honor Toa...
Traditional Order Of Speeches
What Do You Talk About?
The Maid of Honor Toast and Other Speech...
Maid of Honor Toast Made Easy
Maid of Honor Toast - Guidelines

The Non-Tradition of a Maid of Honor Toast

Well, you are right in thinking that Maids of Honor do not always give a speech at a wedding reception.

One thing you should understand is that the people who make a speech (or give a toast -- same thing) at a wedding reception, and the order in which they are given, is set down by tradition only -- it isn't the law!

The order I set out below can be used as guidance for what often happens at a wedding reception, but you really do not have to follow it at all closely.

However the organisers do have to decide who is going to say what and when, and they have to make sure all the speakers know the order of toasts — and that includes yours!

Traditional Order Of Speeches

Tradition dictates that the speeches at a wedding reception are in the following order:

Father of the Bride

The Groom

The Best Man

That's right — like I said above, traditionally there is no Maid of Honor toast; however, it becoming increasingly common to include one.

Speeches other than these three normally come afterwards, but, again, there are no hard and fast rules, and there do not have to be any other speeches at all.

Yes, if you really cannot face giving a speech you could theoretically decline, but I know some brides would not be happy about that!

What Do You Talk About?

Each of the speeches at a wedding reception normally consist of the following steps:

thank the previous speaker

say something nice about someone

give the toast

You should remember that none of the toasts have to be long rambling stories, or hilariously funny.

The Father of the Bride normally speaks first. He thanks the guests for coming, then compliments his daughter and her husband, then toasts the bride and groom.

The Groom responds to the Father of the Bride, thanks the guests and both sets of parents, then compliments his new wife and the bridesmaids, then toasts the bridesmaids.

The Best Man responds to the Groom, he congratulates the newlyweds, reads any messages, then toasts the bride and groom.

The Maid of Honor Toast and Other Speeches

If the bride and groom want other speeches besides the traditional ones, they are typically as follows:

The bride thanks all the guests for coming, thanks the parents and the bridesmaids, compliment her new husband, and makes a toast (it's up to her what toast she makes).

Now here is your part: you as the Maid of Honor can then respond to the bride's toast, thank the bride, compliment the ushers, and you can propose your own toast — and it's up to you who this is made to.

Your speech should be simple and straightforward if you are at all nervous about writing and giving a speech. If you want to make your speech special, then there are some low-cost options on the internet — and for complete peace of mind, and for a special speech that everyone will enjoy and remember, and for which the bride will thank you over and over again, it is completely worth it.

Any other speakers, such as the Father of the Groom, should then follow you.

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Maid of Honor Toast - Guidelines

Finally, here are some quick tips for you on making your speech:

Make eye contact with the guests, but especially with the bride and groom

Stand still and relax; standing with your feet slightly apart helps a lot with this

Speak slowly and deliberately, a lot slower than your normal speaking speed

Prepare for the speech well in advance, and use notes while giving the speech, but don't look down at your notes throughout the speech

Maid of Honor Toast Video

Is there anything you can learn from this sample?

Give It Your Best!

As Maid of Honor, you must be aware of the place of the Maid of Honor toast in the order of things at the wedding reception, and you have to know what you are going to say.

Have all these things under your control and your Maid of Honor toast will be a great success! Good luck, and I hope it goes well!