Being asked to give a speech at your brother’s wedding is a great honor and privilege. Along with the honor, however, writing a wedding speech for your brother can also be a difficult responsibility.
Since you are presumably pretty close to your brother, you will want to balance the sentimental side of your relationship with some humorous anecdotes. You have known your brother longer than pretty much anyone around, so capitalize on that knowledge for your speech.
Whether you are a younger or older sibling will also have an impact on the wedding speech you deliver. If you are older, you can give your speech from an advisory position. If you are younger, you can discuss what you look up to in your brother.
No matter the words you choose for your wedding speech for your brother, remember that your primary goals are to express your love for him and to invite his bride into the family. While you are giving the speech for your brother, his bride just gained you as a sibling too.
Where to start your wedding speech: Making a wedding speech for your Brother
As an immediate family member, you should start your speech by welcoming the guests to the wedding on behalf of your family. Even though your father or mother may have already give a speech, it is not a bad idea to repeat the welcoming and thanking sentiments.
The beginning of your speech is also where you can introduce yourself. While the family friends at the wedding will probably know you, you brother’s personal friends may not. Introduce yourself and tell everyone the relationship between you and your brother.
It is also appropriate to talk a little bit about your childhood memories with your brother at the beginning. If you never got along as children, make some comments about how far you have grown. If you have always been best friends, tell everyone!
Part of the reason childhood memories work so well at the beginning of your speech is that they set the stage for your current relationship with your brother. Not only does it give people some background other than “I’m his sibling,” but it also shows where you came from.
You will also want to use the beginning of the speech to formally welcome your new sibling-in-law into the family. Sincerely tell them how excited you are to have them and make sure you convey that your brother’s happiness is not the only thing to celebrate that day.
What goes in the body of your speech:
Since you spoke about your childhood memories with your brother already, the body of your speech can be devoted to the recent past and present. This is a good place to share some more current memories with your brother.
For instance, if you recently had a wedding yourself, talk about how he was there for you then too. It can instill a nice theme of mutual support throughout your speech. If you did not have a wedding recently, choose another story about when your brother was there for you.
The body of your wedding speech for your brother is also a nice place to talk about your relationship with his new wife. Telling the story of how you first met her is a nice addition, but there are certainly other routes to take.
Another way to incorporate your brother’s new bride in the speech is to talk about how she has changed your brother for good. Maybe he learned how to cook since meeting her or is simply a more positive person. Either way, this is a nice way to pay homage to your sister.
One lovely addition is to describe the time when you knew your brother had found “the one.” Whether it was him overtly telling you or simply something in his voice or attitude, this can be a great sentimental story to share.
How to end the speech:
When it comes time to close out you wedding speech for your brother, the first thing you need to do is ask everyone to stand. The actual toast is the universal sign of a speech ending and it also invites the guests to participate in the well-wishing.
Once everyone is on their feet, you will want to keep the toast fairly short. There are a number of traditional options for toasts to choose from, but you can also make it more personal if you choose.
If you decide to go the traditional route, a simple “to the bride and groom” is always elegant. If you want to go a more personal direction, try incorporating something you said earlier in the speech. For instance, something regarding your sibling relationship can be really lovely.
Although the toast is the shortest part of your speech, you do not want to rush it. The toast should be the final frosting to your speech, so take time when crafting it.
Conclusion and recommendations:
Although delivering a wedding speech for your brother is a great honor and privilege, it can also feel like a bit of a chore. Based on your own comfort level with public speaking, it can be the most stressful part of the wedding day.
There are, however, a number of resources that can make your life easier and ensure that your speech wows everyone. Wedding Speeches for All, for instance, offers a number of great packages to help you write and deliver the perfect speech.
In particular, the best man and maid of honor speech packages have great sections on writing speeches for your siblings. Those packages will help you craft the perfect speech no matter the relationship.
Wedding Speeches for All will help you craft a custom wedding speech for your brother that will deliver the maximum impact. It will help take the guesswork and stress out of the process so that you can focus on your brother’s important day.
Even if you feel totally confident in your writing abilities, you may still struggle with public speaking. Wedding Speeches for All will even help coach you on the delivery side of the speech making, making your wedding speech for your brother well-rounded and memorable.
