So you are a bridesmaid and want to give an awesome bridesmaid speech? Then you have come to the right place. These days everyone wants to speak at the wedding. Traditionally the groom, best man, father and mother of the bride would speak. However various members of the bridal party these days have decided to contribute to the speeches. It is no surprise that the bridesmaids are wanting to speak and toast to the happy couple.
From time to time we have various brides or their bridesmaids contact us to get some advice on how to present a great bridesmaid speech. As mentioned above that this is entirely optional and is considered on par with a groomsman speech in that everyone is more than likely speak except for bridesmaids and groomsmen. As a result Pink Caviar decided to sit down and give a helpful guide for a bridesmaid’s speech as well as other options available.
Bridesmaid Speech Guide
Like all other the speeches listed on this site please review scroll down below for the handy hints and tips for speaking at a wedding. The one main thing to take away if you are to remember nothing is that any speech at a wedding should be between 3 – 5 minutes. This rule applies to an individual speech. If it is a collection of group speakers then each speech should only be 2 minutes at best. If it is a group effort then you are allowed a bit of extra time to speak so everyone can have a proper go (eg 10 minutes). Below are a couple of ideas and options that can be used for individual speeches or in a collective effort:
Going Solo
Think of the bridesmaids speech as a lighter version of the maid of honours speech (if there is one on the day). The only difference is that unlike the bride focusing on her relationship with her now husband, you are focusing on the bride and the positive impact the groom has made on her). While the groomsmen speeches generally mirror the best man speech, the bridesmaid speech can be anything from humorous to caring. Generally speaking the bridesmaids speech focuses on the how the bride met the groom and the impact he has made on your friend. It is a great time to throw in any other stories that have not been mentioned already 🙂
Group Speech
Just like the groomsmen’s who choose to work together on an a joint speech or act, so can the bridesmaids. It can be anything for each of the individual bridesmaids to speak for a brief moment each (generally for a minute or 2) or join together to do an act such as singing, a dance or playing an instrument. It can be culturally specific or something you have a shared interest in.
Get the Groomsmen Involved
It may also be possible (depending on the group) to get the groomsmen involved and working together to have a combined speech or act. The great thing about involving the groomsmen is that there are more people showcasing and can create something amazing. A great example is if you decided to sing together then it would look amazing on someone’s wedding day where the entire bridal party worked together to create something special for the bride and groom.
Getting The Bride & Groom Involved
While having a bridesmaid (or groomsmen) speech is a relatively newer idea, one exciting aspect is to not only involve the groomsmen as well but also the bride and groom as well. It will be a complete surprise to the audience to literally have the entire bridal party showcasing an act as well. This part is entirely optional and sometimes the bride may want to do an act just like when Melissa Molinaro had her and her bridesmaids do an act for the groom.
Practice Practice Practice
Lastly the key is to practice and be accommodating if others are joining you on this. It does not matter if it’s a speech, musical instrument, act or singing. You all need to make time to harmonise, get the jokes timed and iron out the kinks.
If all goes to plan the bridesmaid speech (group or solo) is something you can give back to the happy couple and something unique. Just like the maid of honour speech, the same helpful hints apply to the bridesmaids as well. These are to not drink too much beforehand because it can affect your speech. The last thing you want to do is leave a negative impression when your intention is to do something awesome. While we do not have a recorded bridesmaid speech video, check out the Pink Caviar Events YouTube Channel for other wedding speeches to take inspiration from.
Check out the maid of honour speech below as inspiration for your wedding speech along with this guide.
Feel free to check out our other wedding speech guides down below. Here we give you guides for the perfect speech on your wedding day (or anyone else speaking).
- Wedding Speech Handy Hints – A great straight forward guide for all wedding speeches
- Groom’s Speech
- Best Man Speech
- Father Of The Bride Speech
- Father Of The Groom Speech
- Bride Speech
- Maid Of Honour Speech
- Bridesmaid Speech – You Are Here
- Groomsmen Speech
- Wedding Guest Speech
- Cringy And Worst Wedding Speech Guide – A basic guide of what NOT to do
Did you find this bridesmaid speech guide handy? Have you heard an awesome bridesmaid speech? Did they do anything similar above or something different? Join the discussion below 🙂
Dimitri Cassimatis is the Marketing Manager at Pink Caviar Events, a corporate event management and styling company based in Sydney, Australia. With a background in marketing and communications, Dimitri brings a wealth of expertise to his role, including strategic planning, branding, and digital marketing. He is passionate about creating engaging content that resonates with Pink Caviar’s target audience and helps to drive the company’s growth. Dimitri is also committed to staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in marketing, and regularly attends industry events and conferences.
