Below is the full speech, laid out the way it would appear on cue cards: one beat per card, each with a short heading so you can see where you are at a glance. Read it through once for the shape, then use the notes underneath to make it yours.
The speech
Hi everyone. I’m Grace, and I have been Emma’s best friend since we were eleven, when she lent me a pencil on the first day of school and then asked for it back every day for six years. [SMILE] Thank you all for being here to celebrate Emma and Jordan.
If you know Emma, you know she is the person who remembers your birthday, your dog’s birthday and the name of your favourite teacher. She is the friend who turns up with soup when you are sick and with a playlist when you are sad. She has been that friend to me for twenty years.
When we were nineteen we went travelling together. We missed a train, lost a backpack and ended up sleeping in a station waiting room. I was close to tears. Emma got out a pack of cards, taught three strangers to play, and by morning we had friends for life. [PAUSE] She makes every situation better.
So I was a little protective when she told me about Jordan. Then I met him. Within ten minutes he had asked me three questions about myself and remembered all the answers. I went home and texted Emma one word: “Keeper.”
Jordan, you make her laugh until she snorts, which is the highest honour there is. You support her big ideas and you help with the small things, like finding her keys. Together you are kind, generous and a little bit chaotic, in the best way. [LOOK AT THEM]
My wish for you both is simple. Keep turning up for each other the way Emma has always turned up for the people she loves. Soup when it’s hard, a playlist when it’s sad, and a pack of cards for when you miss the train.
Please raise your glasses. To Emma and Jordan, and to a lifetime of adventures, missed trains and all. Cheers!
Open this speech as cue cards to edit it, change the text size and print it.
Make it your own
- Replace the travel story with a moment that shows your friend’s character, not just a funny night out.
- Keep in-jokes to one, and explain it in a sentence so the whole room can enjoy it.
- Speak to the couple for the last two cards. Turn your body towards them.
- Use the US spelling “maid of honor” on the cards if that is how your family writes it.
Work through the cards in order. For each one, ask what job it is doing (introducing you, showing a trait, thanking people, asking the room to act) and write your own version that does the same job. Keep each card to one idea. If a card gets too long to glance at, split it in two.
How to deliver it
Rehearse out loud at least three times, standing up, holding the cards you will use on the day. The first run is for finding the awkward sentences, the second for timing, and the third for looking up. Try to say the first line of each card while looking at the audience, then glance down only to find the next prompt.
Slow down more than feels natural, especially after a punchline or an emotional line. Cues in square brackets, such as [PAUSE], are reminders for you, not words to say. Number your cards, hold them at chest height, and move each finished card to the back of the stack. If you are using a microphone, hold it in one hand and the cards in the other.
For more on this kind of speech, read the maid of honour speech guide, or go back to all speech examples.