Maid of honour speeches are already a highlight at any wedding lucky enough to have one. But, as good as the tributes are, they’re EVEN BETTER when they rhyme.

Yes, poetic speeches are officially a wedding speech trend. They’re a surefire winner, combining wordplay with wit and they always elicit a great response from the audience.

The Speechy Team have worked with numerous of mates of honour and sisters around the world; helping them add an awesome moment to their bestie’s day and adding a bit of Beyonce style sass.

Here’s our cheat’s guide to writing the perfect wedding verse.

(*Of course, check out our speech edit or bespoke speech writing service if you’re looking for more than simply advice. We’re professional TV comedy scriptwriters by trade and we’re rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot). 

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Maid of Honour Speech Inspo

If you’re not sure what a maid of honour wedding poem goes like, here are a couple of examples. Firstly…

This is a sweet, concise and funny speech, encompassing her friendship with the bride and how she met the groom.

We especially like the ‘edit/credit’ rhyme. Plus, how she ties in her policeman groom being perfect for her due to her canny ability to pick up speeding tickets. Little observations like this really make a poem stand out.

Like the previous example, this poem focusses on the maid of honour’s recollection of the bride meeting the groom and, subsequently, the maid of honour meeting him.

It’s only a couple of minutes long, but works perfectly, showing you don’t have to add verse after verse just for the sake of it.

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So how do you write a great poetic speech?

1. Treat it like a normal maid of honour speech – It’s worth checking out our guide on how to write the perfect maid of honour speech because, despite it being a poem, you can still encompass everything in here. The maid of honour doesn’t have to thank anyone. Your job is to pay tribute to your friend on her special day with some funny anecdotes from your life together along the way. Plus, some words on the groom, of course. This will work just as well in verse form as in prose.
2. Keep it simple – If it was us, we’d stick to the typical, funny poem structures. AABB (four-line verses within which each couplet rhymes), ABAB (four-line verses where alternate lines rhyme) or AABBA (which is typical of limericks).
3. Don’t write too many verses – A typical maid of honour speech is about five or six minutes long – but don’t panic – you don’t have to write a poem that goes on as long as that. A minute or two is perfect, as you’ll probably spend a couple of minutes setting it up anyway. As with all good speeches, don’t fill the poem out for the sake of it, just choose the créme de la créme of your endless stories about the bride.
4. Don’t panic if you get stuck – Everyone does it. No writer can just knock out gold in one go – even the best ones. Go on a walk, do some exercise, have a bath! Push it to the back of your mind and inspiration will strike when you least expect it.
5. Read the poem out loud – You need to ensure everything really does rhyme and the poem has a rhythm to it. Rehearsal is doubly important with poetic speeches as it’s harder to recover from verbal-fluffs!

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Speechy’s Maid of Honour Example

Those are the tricks. But how does a maid of honour wedding poem look written down?

Well here’s an example of a maid of honour/sister of the groom speech that was read at the wedding of Speechy’s Heidi & Rog (and yes, he really did treat Heidi to all those ‘amazing’ dates)…

So, I believe that you met on a girl’s night out,

Rog fitted in well with his lip balm and his pout.

He soon fancied Heidi from the One Show crew,

And the feelings were mutual, after a drink….or two…?!

With a wish to impress his lovely new beau,

To romantic Nandos they did go.

A half roasted chicken, no sides, was the main,

And to all our surprise, she saw him again.

For date two Rog took Heidi to a Tapas place, 

She went along, armed with her spray can of mace.

And after dinner, she said ‘Well, that was great’, 

Was it was Rog’s charm? No just amazing whitebait. 

Soon they were dating & Rog was super keen,

But then Heidi learned about his full moisturising routine.

And the dental floss, mouth guard and anti-wrinkle cream, 

Not really conducive to love’s young dream. 

But Rog didn’t give up, wanted to be Heidi’s boyfriend, 

He decided to whisk her away… well, he drove her to Land’s End. 

He erected a tent, thought that should do the trick, 

Then he took her to a nudist beach to show off his… suntan. 

Weirdly this sight didn’t immediately repel 

Despite his looks and personality, Heidi fell under his spell 

His kindness, his humour, Heidi clearly saw, 

And today, I’m delighted she’s now my sister in law. 

ETC … 

As you can see, it’s easy to create original humour with the poem. Remember the adage ‘it’s funny because it’s true’.

Read our How To Be Funny Guide and you’ll pick up plenty more tips.

Finally, have fun writing your speech, but, most importantly, enjoy the applause you’ll get after you deliver Wedding Speech Expert

How Speechy Can Help You…

If you want to deliver a legendary speech, work with us. We’re professional comedy writers at the top of our game and we’re ‘excellent’ rated wedding speech writers on Trustpilot.

And, of course, in the world of Zoom, Whatsapp and Death Wish Coffee, we work with clients around the world.

Give us a call if you want to find out more about how we work, the services we offer and our DELIGHT GUARANTEE.

We’re happy to give you 15 mins of our time with no obligation to work with us.

WhatsApp us, call Heidi on 07971 224 245, email hello@speechy.com or request a callback.