Hi Natalie here….

When it was time to deliver my big maid of honor toast on the wedding day, I tried to think back to all of the maid of honor toast tips and examples I had reviewed over the past several weeks.

I made sure to keep a handy little note card just in case I forgot anything.  From my experience, I wanted to share some tips and secrets for your maid of honor speech and toast.   So here we go…..

Tip # 1

Always write the speech way in advance.  Just as you would preheat the stove and get all of the ingredients for a soup that you’re making, you need to prepare the maid of honor toast.   Doing this will give you time to think about it carefully.   It will also give you time to rehearse it when it is ready.  Just remember, you don’t have to compose the whole speech at once.  Instead you can get your ideas over time.

Tip # 2

You want to be very sincere.  A key element of you maid of honor toast will be to convey a sense of honesty and emotion.  It’s ok if you make few people cry (including yourself).  Just make sure that whatever you say that it comes from your heart.

Tip # 3

Add in some humor.  A witty and funny maid of honor speech is always going to be remembered.  Try to mix up the emotional elements by telling a funny story about the bride or the couple.  Humor in the right places will give your toast a lot of impact.

Tip # 4

You don’t have to make your wedding toast to be a half hour long!  Four-six minutes is a nice time to aim for.  By keeping it short you will have engaged the audience for the right amount of time.

Tip # 5

Once you have your wedding toast prepared, read it over and over again and make sure that you rehearse it.  On the big day you are going to be full of emotions and you want to ensure that you know the speech so that is becomes second nature to you.

Tip # 6

Ensure that you know the names of all of the family members on both sides.  Chances are you are going to be referencing them in your toast and you need to be sure that you know everybody’s name.

Tip # 7

When you are delivering the toast, try to look at the audience.  For some, it is common to keep your head down.  The problem with this is that you don’t sound like an expert and your voice does not project.  Stand up straight and act confident.  Remember, you’re complimenting your friend and you need to act the part.

Tip # 8

Speak clearly and in your natural speaking style.  Don’t pretend to be someone who you are not.

Cool!  Those are my secret tips that worked well for me.  If you follow these guidelines, then you will are going to be a star.  Even with all of this, I had to get a lot of help and used some high quality resources to help me with all areas of my toast.  The best thing of all is to check out as many maid of honor wedding toast tips as you can to help your speech be what you want it to be.

Hi Natalie here again….

Here are five golden rules to use to help you prepare your wedding toast.

1. Prepare your speech on cue cards
2. Try to keep it short and brief, a few minutes (4-6) is good
3. Make sure the rehearse the toast several times so that you know it by heart
4. On your cue cards, write down the pause and emphasis areas in your speech
5. Always make eye contact with the audience – this will make you look and sound confident.

Hi, it’s Natalie again.  As you can tell my blog is mainly about giving maid of honor toast tips.  But I thought it would be a great idea to look at this from a matron of honor’s perspective.  How come?  The main reason is that a matron of honor is already married and you most likely can get a good start because all you have to do is think about what was said at your wedding.

Here is your first tip: Make sure to plan ahead and don’t be like me and wait until the week before the wedding.  If  you wait you will for sure struggle since you have so little time.  Also try to think about the speech that your maid/matron of honor gave, but do this well in advance.

If you recall what meant so much to you during your wedding, you will be able to create a memorable wedding toast.  You may also want to think about some humorous stories that affected you and the bride.  Perhaps a touching moment that you both shared.

No matter what you decide for your speech, as the matron of honor, you should  say something that has great meaning to the new bride and groom.  After all, that is why you are at the wedding.

For most people, speaking in front of a big audience may make you feel a bit nervous. Just remember that your speech does not have to be formal.  It can be funny using your wit and charm.  It can also reflect some emotional moments.  Bottom line, ensure that your wedding toast is personal and try to make it your own and sound very natural.

The best step is to check out some great matron and maid of honor toast tips and examples that will help you put together a great speech.  Check them out.

All the best!  Until next time.