14 Maid Of Honor Speech Ideas From Jane Austen

If you’re anything like me, you probably turn to books to help you with everything from figuring out why that check engine light on your dashboard won’t turn off, to amping up your chicken wing game Chrissy Teigen-style, to coping with love and loss, to answering some of life’s biggest existential questions (seriously, you can find anything in a book). So it only makes sense that mere minutes after your BFF’s beau puts a ring on it, you’re scouring your bookshelves, searching for some inspiration for your maid of honor speech (and secretly hoping for a long-ish engagement, to give you enough time to write it).

The good news is, finding maid of honor speech ideas in books is a whole lot easier than figuring out how to rewire your vehicle or whip up John Legend’s favorite wing sauce (there’s got to be a secret ingredient). And let’s be honest: when it comes to literature, no one writes romance and friendship quite like the lady who penned Pride and Prejudice, which is why you’ll definitely want to check out these maid of honor speech ideas from Jane Austen, to help you get started.

Here are 14 Jane Austen-inspired maid of honor speech ideas, bound to make your best friend’s big day even more special.

1. To Remind Your BFF How Much You Love Her

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”― Isabella Thorpe, Northanger Abbey

2. And To Give The Happy Couple Some Short-And-Sweet Advice

“It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”― Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility (Screenplay)

3. For Reminding Your Gal You’ll Be There For Her During Those Rocky First Months (aka Years) Of Marriage

“Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.”― Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

4. If You Knew They Were Meant For One Another From The Start…

“There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison.”― Jane Austen, Persuasion

5. …But Still Need Her New Mate To Know You’ll Be Watching Him Like A Hawk

“My good opinion once lost is lost forever.”― Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

6. If You’re The Maid Of Honor Who Is Just So NEVER Getting Married Yourself (And Feels Like Everyone Needs A Reminder)

“The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!”― Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

7. Because A Few More Well-Chosen Words Of Wisdom Never Hurt Anybody

“Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience — or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”― Mrs. Henry Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

8. If You’re Unsure How To Begin, Just Do As Austen Did

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

9. If The Happy Couple Had A Super-Speedy Courtship…

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.”― Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

10. …Like Maybe One That Started In A Las Vegas Nightclub?

“To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.”― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

11. …And Possibly Ended In A Las Vegas Wedding Chapel?

“It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy; it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.”

― Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

12. If You Really Think Marriage Is Just The Worst, But Want to Be Supportive Anyway

“Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.”― Emma Woodhouse, Emma

13. Or If You’re Getting Really Choked Up And Need To Make A Quick Exit

“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”― George Knightley, Emma

14. And, Finally

“We are all fools in love.”― Charlotte Lucas, Pride and Prejudice (Screenplay)

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