Want to write a funny bridesmaid or maid of honour speech? Check out this speech example by maid of honour Claire, who writes it for her sister Kelsey’s wedding.
Below, I’ll break down a few key ways that Claire made this speech truly great – and show you how to replicate these techniques in your own speech. Watch the video first, then we’ll dive into a breakdown below – and explore how you can steal these same techniques to make your own maid of honour speech shine.
Now that you’ve watched the video, here are 3 reasons Claire’s Maid of Honour speech works
1. She weaves a common thread throughout the speech, tying it all together
Lots of wedding speeches are full of good components: funny anecdotes, a touching observation or two about the couple, perhaps a joke to wrap things up.
But. All too often, the speaker darts between these components chaotically, with no attempt to transition from one part to the next. You go from a story about the bride’s first day at high school, to a sentimental tale about how the bride and groom bring out the best in each other.
It’s good content! But there’s no overarching theme, or story being told throughout the speech. The speech doesn’t gain momentum, or build emotion – it feels scattered, and lacks impact. The audience swirls their champagne, drifts off.
Claire’s speech avoids this trap – all by using a common thread to structure the speech. She formats her speech into ‘seven steps of a maid of honour toast’ that tie the whole thing together – steps she found on the internet.
[0.14] ‘This is actually the first wedding I’ve ever been to, so I consulted my life-long friend and foe, the internet, for some criteria. Weddingwords.us really came through: “Step 1: Start your wedding with a simple and direct introduction.” Hi, I’m Claire, I’m Kelsey’s little sister. I’m 25 years old and I have IBS. “Step 2: Remember that this isn’t about you.”’
While the steps are a great way to inject humour at the top of the speech, they also act as frequent callbacks that link one anecdote to the next, vary the pace of the speech, and keep the audience engaged right until the last line.
[8.47]: ‘“Step 7: End with a callback that’s not too cliche.” Kelsey, you can manufacture your own spark all on your own, but with Corey by your side you’re a wildfire.’
With this cohesive structure in place, the speech builds momentum, takes the audience on a journey, and has a heartwarming impact that’s appreciated by everyone in the room – plus gets a few laughs along the way.
How you can replicate it:
Pick a theme for your speech, and reference it throughout. Your theme could be as simple as: ‘3 reasons [person 1] and [person 2] will make a great couple.’ You could illustrate your first reason with a funny story about the bride, your second reason with a funny story about the couple’s early days, and the third with some sentimental observations about them as a pair.
2. Heartwarming, touching moments keep the couple at the heart of it
Claire’s speech is jam-packed with humour – but that doesn’t stop her from shining a spotlight on everything that’s special about the couple, and being sure to convey the main message of the speech: that Corey and Kelsey are great people, and a great match for each other. She’s been careful to keep her observations heartfelt, genuine, and kind – even with a humorous metaphor about the pandemic involved.
[6.21] ‘When I first met Corey, I was kind of confused, not gonna lie. I thought to myself, there’s no way someone can be this selfless and kind without having an ulterior motive. Turns out, there is no ulterior motive with Corey. He’s just… a good person? Throughout 2020 while the world was ravaged by a pandemic, the Bostrom family household faced a virus of its own: the love of Corey Jacoby. Oh god. It’s inescapable. It’s contagious. It doesn’t discriminate. It started small: he’d fix a lightbulb, he’d make breakfast tacos. But it grew in ferocity and size, quickly. Corey believes in the innate goodness of people, and I’ll never stop trying to emulate him. Thank you Kelsey for bringing him into our lives and sharing him with us.‘
How you can replicate it
Remember that the main point of your speech is not to be funny. Rather, you should lead with what’s special about the couple – then use writing techniques to polish up lighthearted stories and turn them into comedy gold. Which brings me to…
3. She uses comedy techniques to sprinkle humour throughout
People love to laugh – especially at a wedding. That’s why many of the best wedding speeches are full of clever humour.
But writing a funny speech doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the best comedy can be pretty formulaic.
In my 5-Step Guide to Writing a Funny Wedding Speech, I explore a range of comedy techniques frequently used by comedians. One such technique is the rule of threes – a tactic that gets a laugh pretty much every time.
The idea is to have three sentences or phrases, each with the same cadence or rhythm. But where the first two are serious, the third is unexpected.
[2.37] ‘As the years went by, Kelsey’s spark grew, and my admiration for her grew along with it. I always followed in Kelsey’s footsteps, dipping my toe in every pond along the way, and feeling safe in the knowledge that she tested the water for me first. Kelsey played basketball, so I played basketball. Kelsey did musicals, so I did musicals. Kelsey did cotillion so- oh actually I got out of that one.‘
In this joke, the ‘set-up’ is Claire listing two ways that she followed in Kelsey’s footsteps growing up – standard extra-curricular activities basketball and theatre – and the ‘punch’ is listing one extra-curricular she avoided: an 18th century social dance form. Skip to [3.01] to see the impact this joke has on the audience.
How you can replicate it:
Once you’ve written a draft of your speech, explore different comedy techniques that will help you sprinkle in the humour. As mentioned above, my 5 Step Guide to Writing a Funny Wedding Speech will show you how to do this.
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