At my seventh birthday party, in front of every kid in my class, my sister stood up and said, "It's 'fewer candles,' not 'less candles.'" I'm Georgia, Clara's little sister, and she has been correcting me ever since. My texts. My Instagram captions. A eulogy for our goldfish, which she returned with notes. Here's what I didn't know until I was seventeen. When I wrote my college essay, I gave it to Clara, braced for red ink everywhere. It came back with one circle around one sentence, and a note in the margin: "This one. Build it around this." I did. I got in. She never mentioned it again, and
Maid of honor speech examples for your sister
Six speeches written by sisters, older and younger. Each one tells a single story and ends on a toast.
Maid of honor speech examples
Written to be said out loud, not read. Each one a different voice, so you can hear which sounds like you.
Vivian's first word wasn't "Mama" or "Dada." It was "Dee." That's me. I was eleven when she was born, and I decided on the drive home from the hospital that she was mine. I'm Delia, her big sister, and I fed her, bathed her, and taught her every song from The Little Mermaid, whether she wanted to learn them or not. When she was nine and I left for college, she hid in the trunk of my car. She had a backpack with a flashlight, three granola bars, and our cat's leash, but not our cat. Dad found her at the first gas station. She told him she was coming too, and that was final. She's been
For sixteen years, my sister and I shared one bathroom, and our parents had to write us a schedule and tape it to the door. Esme got six-forty to seven. I got seven to seven-twenty. The schedule had a second page for weekends and a third page for disputes. I'm Frankie, the younger sister, and I lost every dispute. Here's the only time Esme ever gave up her slot. The morning of my prom, I woke up late, and I could hear her in there. By the time I got to the door, it was open, the curling iron was already hot, and there was a note on the mirror: "Yours. Don't burn the counter." I burned the
For most of our lives, my sister and I weren't close, and I'd rather say that out loud than pretend. We're four years apart and nothing alike. Holly did theater. I did soccer. She borrowed my clothes without asking, and I told on her for it, every time. By high school we'd mostly stopped talking, and for a while in our twenties we only saw each other at Thanksgiving. I'm Noelle, and three years ago I moved to Denver for work, where Holly already lived. I didn't know a single person. The first Sunday I was there, she texted me an address and a time. It was a diner. She was already sitting in
In 1998, my sister played Mary in the school nativity, and she directed the entire thing from the manger. She told the shepherds where to stand. She told the donkey he was upstaging her. When the Angel Gabriel forgot his line, Lottie said it for him, then turned to the audience and said, "He's new." I was the donkey. I'm Imogen, Lottie's little sister, and she has been running the show ever since, usually well, occasionally without being asked. Hamish, the first time Lottie brought you home, you made Mum a cup of tea. You put the milk in first. The room went very quiet. Lottie didn't say a
I wrote this on the back of a receipt, which Margot will tell you is very on brand. I'm Kit, her sister. Margot has been the calm one my whole life. She's the one who drove me to the ER at two in the morning, and she's the one who talked me out of the bangs. Tobias, the first time I met you, you asked Margot what she wanted for dinner, and then you actually waited for the answer. Nobody waits for the answer. To Margot and Tobias. I'll keep the receipt.
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How to start, and how to finish
The two hardest sentences to write are the first and the last. Take one of these, or let it show you the shape.
Openers
None of them “for those who don’t know me”.
“Every teacher I had from sixth grade on said it on the first day: ‘Oh. You're Emma's sister.’ It was never a compliment.”
“I learned to do eyeliner by watching Emma through the gap in the bathroom door. She knew. She did it slower.”
“Emma and I had a code under the dinner table. One kick meant ‘don't.’ Two kicks meant ‘Mom already knows.’”
“The first photo I ever saw of Daniel was a screenshot, zoomed in on his face, captioned ‘be honest.’”
“Our bedrooms shared a wall. Three knocks meant ‘you awake?’ Emma always knocked back.”
“I was four when they brought Emma home from the hospital. I had one question: when is she leaving?”
“Mom used to say, ‘One day you two will be best friends.’ We were nine and twelve, fighting over the remote.”
“Emma wore my black prom dress to her junior prom. I found out from the photos. On Facebook.”
“Emma kept a diary with a lock. I found the key in two days. She moved it. I found it again.”
“In every family photo until high school, Emma is standing on her tiptoes so she'd look taller than me.”
Closers
How to land the toast.
“For thirty years I've been ‘Emma's sister.’ Tonight I get to say it on purpose. To Emma and Daniel.”
“I've watched you get ready for everything, Em. Tonight I got to watch you get ready for this. Glasses up, to Emma and Daniel.”
“Daniel, you're at the table now, so here's the code: two kicks. Mom already knows. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
“Em, you asked me to be honest. Yes. Please raise a glass to Emma and Daniel.”
“Daniel, you're on the other side of the wall now. Three knocks. She'll answer. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Thirty years later, she's finally leaving, and I've changed my mind. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
“Mom, you were right. Please don't bring it up at Thanksgiving. Everyone, to Emma and Daniel.”
“Em, keep the dress. Daniel, check the tags on everything she owns. Cheers, to Emma and Daniel.”
“Em, I never read past page three. Daniel, the key's yours now. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Tonight, for once, she doesn't need the tiptoes. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
Good questions, quick answers
What should I say about my sister in a maid of honor speech?
Pick one thing that's true about her and tell one story that shows it, from the version of her nobody else in the room knew first: the shared bedroom, the borrowed clothes, the fight you still remember. Then turn to her partner and say what you've seen them bring out in her, so the speech is about both of them.
How do I make it funny without embarrassing her?
Aim the jokes at the rivalry, not at her: the stolen clothes, the bathroom schedule, the fights over the front seat. Leave out anything she'd wince at, old relationships, and family arguments that aren't settled. The best sister jokes end by showing how strong she is.
What if I'm her older sister, or her younger one?
An older sister has a view nobody else does: you knew her first, and you can talk about watching her grow up. A younger sister can talk about looking up to her, borrowing her things and following her lead. Either way, end on who she is now, not who she was at twelve.
What if my sister and I aren't close?
Don't claim more than is true. Ask your parents for a childhood story that has her in it, or ask her partner what they love about her, and build around that. A short, warm speech about what you've seen of the two of them lands better than an invented closeness.
I'm married. Does that change the speech?
Only the title: a married maid of honor is a matron of honor, and the speech has the same shape. You can add one line from your own marriage if it's genuinely yours, but skip the stock advice and keep the speech about her, not you.
My sister and I are both maids of honor. One speech or two?
One, written together and kept to the same two to three minutes a single speech gets. Split it by story rather than by sentence, one funny and one tender, and say the toast together at the end. If you give two separate speeches, read each other's drafts so you don't tell the same story twice.
Speaking in a different seat?
Your turn
You've seen how other speakers did it. The story only you have is the part we ask you for, and we build the speech around it.
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