Mother of the bride speech examples that don't sound copied
Every part marked up, so you can see how the speech is built.
Examples
Mother of the bride speech examples
Written to be said out loud, not read. Each one a different voice, so you can hear which sounds like you.
Funny2 min
The night before second-grade picture day, Molly cut her own bangs. With the kitchen scissors. In the dark. I found her in the morning, very proud, with half an inch of bangs on one side and none on the other. I got out a headband. She took it off and said, "I like them." I'm Trish, Molly's mom, and that picture has been on our fridge for twenty-three years. Bill wanted to hide it. I never let him. It's my favorite picture of her. She's known what she wanted ever since. She picked her college from a brochure and never visited. At thirty, she decided to go back to school for nursing. She
Glenn and I flipped a coin to decide who would give this speech. I lost. He's been smiling for three weeks. I'm Monica, Tess's mom, and for the record, I wanted to do this. I just didn't want him to know that. When Tess was little, she hated losing more than anyone I've ever met. Board games, races to the car, who could stay quiet the longest. She once cried for an hour because her brother guessed her birthday present. It was a bike. It was in the garage with a bow on it. He didn't have to guess. Then she met Ravi, the only person I know who's more competitive than she is. The first
The first thing Isabel ever cooked was pancakes, for me, on Mother's Day, at five in the morning. I woke up to the smoke alarm and a nine-year-old standing on a chair, waving a dish towel at it. The pancakes were black on one side and raw on the other. I ate three. I'm Rosa, Isabel's mom, and I would eat them again. She kept at it. Pancakes, every Mother's Day. They got a little better every year, and by sixteen she'd mostly stopped setting off the alarm. This year she's thirty-one, she works nights in the ER, and she still drove over at seven in the morning, after a twelve-hour shift, to
For eleven years, it was just Jade and me, and a green Honda Civic whose back window stopped rolling down in 2014. We drove that car everywhere. To school, to her swim meets at six in the morning, to my second job on weekends, where she'd do her homework in the passenger seat. We had one rule in that car: whoever was sad got to pick the music. Some years, I picked a lot. I'm Helen, Jade's mom. I raised her on my own, and the truth is, a lot of the time she was raising me too. The year I lost my job, when she was fourteen, she made a budget on notebook paper and taped it to the fridge. It had
Harriet is the only girl in the history of the 4th Harrogate Brownies to be sent home for organising a strike. She was eight. They'd cancelled the camping trip, which she thought was unfair, so she got every girl in the pack to sit down on the floor and refuse to sing. Brown Owl rang me at work. I've never been so proud and so embarrassed at the same time. I'm Gillian, Harriet's mum. Colin and I would like to welcome George's family, and thank Roger and Val for driving all the way up from Devon. Harriet has been standing up for people ever since. She's a union rep now, which surprised
Hi, everyone. I'm Wendy, Kim's mom, and I've been told I have one minute. I've been told this by Kim. Several times. Kim, when you were little, you made me a card for every holiday, including a few that aren't real. I have one that says "Happy Tuesday." I still have all of them. Aaron, last week Kim came home to a card on her pillow. From you. It said, "Happy Tuesday." Please raise your glasses to Kim and Aaron. Happy Tuesday.
Why it works: Her first line is one she comes back to later: the best things happen when you least expect them, and for her it happened twice. The story then starts with a birthday card she was told to open early, on Mother's Day.
Why it works: How Brodie asked for Carly's hand, told in order: the sunset, her struggle with a selfie, and his line, “I've been trying to get you alone all week.” The question comes last, so the room hears it the way she did.
The result: the room applauds the question, and at laughs at “a really bad sign.”
Why it works: She tells the room the two things she wanted for her daughter, then tells Brodie he has both. Her first line comes back here: this is the thing she least expected.
The result: Carly waves it off, then puts a hand to her mouth. At the room applauds her thank-you.
Why it works: She welcomes Brodie into the family, then jokes that what they really value is his electrical work. She takes it back, then adds that she always said they didn't need more lawyers.
The result: the room laughs, and at laughs again at “lawyers”.
Why it works: One detail says who Carly is: before moving to London for two years, she wrote her mom a book of the 50 things she loves about her. Then a joke about raising a first child with no instructions, and a plain “I really am very proud of you.”
Why it works: She thanks them for including her, and tells Carly that she and her two siblings are “the very best part of me.” Then a wish for the couple, and glasses up to both names.
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”.
“At my own wedding, my mother didn't say a word. Nobody handed her a microphone.”
“The first time Emma mentioned Daniel, she said his name three times in one sentence.”
“Emma's car died on the highway at midnight. Daniel beat the tow truck.”
“At seven, Emma ran a bake sale and charged extra for napkins.”
“Daniel's aunt and uncle drove eleven hours to be here. They brought their own cooler.”
“At our first dinner with Daniel's parents, his mom and I ordered the same thing and both apologized.”
“When Emma was fifteen, she told me I was doing marriage wrong.”
“Emma's veil spent fifty years in a cedar box in my mother's closet.”
“Three weeks ago, Emma and I moved her uncle around the seating chart six times.”
“I still have Emma's voicemail from the night Daniel proposed. Forty seconds of screaming.”
Closers
How to land the toast.
“My mother never got a microphone. I'm glad I did. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
“Daniel, she still says your name three times a sentence. Welcome to the family. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Daniel, you beat the tow truck. Keep beating it. Glasses up, to Emma and Daniel.”
“She still charges extra for napkins. Daniel, pay it. To Emma and Daniel.”
“Marriage is a long drive, so pack a cooler. Everyone, glasses up. To Emma and Daniel.”
“We're going to be ordering off the same menu for a long time. To Emma and Daniel.”
“She told me I was doing marriage wrong. Your turn, sweetheart. To Emma and Daniel.”
“My mother kept that veil for fifty years. Some things are worth keeping. To Emma and Daniel.”
“We moved everyone around that chart for months. Daniel's seat never moved. To Emma and Daniel.”
“I'm saving that voicemail for your twenty-fifth anniversary. Please raise your glasses to Emma and Daniel.”
Questions
Good questions, quick answers
Does the mother of the bride give a speech?
She can, and more mothers do now. Traditionally the father of the bride gave the toast, but there's no rule: she can speak with him, instead of him, or on her own as one of the hosts. If you'd like to say something, tell your daughter early so it goes into the running order.
Should I speak with the bride's father, or instead of him?
Either works. If you speak together, one of you leads and the other adds a few lines, rather than trading sentences back and forth. If you speak separately, compare notes first so you don't tell the same story twice, especially if you're no longer married.
When does the mother of the bride give her speech?
If the bride's parents are hosting, they often open the reception with a welcome. Otherwise the parents' toasts usually come after the best man and the maid of honor, and if you're speaking alongside her father, you'd usually go right after him. The couple or the planner sets the order, so ask on the day.
What should I say to my daughter?
Pick one story that shows something about her that's still true today, and tell it properly. Then say plainly that you're proud of her. Skip embarrassing stories and anything that needs a family history to follow. A short toast is fine too: one story and the toast can run a minute.
How do I welcome the groom and his family?
Speak to him by name and describe one thing you've seen him do for your daughter. Then thank his parents by name for raising him and for making your family feel welcome. A few sentences is enough; the story does the rest.
How do I mention her father if he has passed away?
Ask your daughter a few weeks ahead whether she wants him mentioned, and how. If you're speaking in his place, you'll often go first, so say so simply and early. Keep the tribute to a few sentences with one real detail about him, so it stays a toast and doesn't turn into a eulogy.
