Need brother of the bride speech ideas? We talked to experts.
Your speech crafting is about to get a lot easier thanks to Shayla Kelly, the director of marketing at Complete Weddings and Todd Vandehey, an acclaimed dating expert, offering their best brother of the bride speech ideas. You can thank us when your sister confirms your speech was so good she needed the best cry-proof wedding makeup to get through it.
“Sibling speeches always tend to feel a bit more special at weddings as the siblings share bountiful memories throughout each other’s entire lives,” shares Shayla. “The brother of the bride speech ideas need to be respectful of his sister’s lifetime lover. The brother of the bride plays a crucial role in helping the groom be welcomed into his wife’s family, and brother of the bride speeches can often come with youthful, semi embarrassing stories, but the best are filled with a heavy dose of good old brotherly love.”
The experts agree that the best brother of the bride speech ideas all incorporate the following elements:
Showcase your respect and admiration for your sister. Shayla stresses this point, and focuses on positivity at CompleteWeDo.com — she reminds us that positive content always wins hearts and minds.
Highlight what makes the bride and groom’s love so great. Maybe they’ve been together for years and years with undying admiration, worked on monumental projects together, or have significant accomplishments. Focus on those as a source of inspiration.
Welcome the groom to the family with full support. Don’t harp on the little things you don’t like — the best brother of the bride speech ideas are loaded with love and encouragement, and will go a long way to even potentially meld damaged or broken fences. Use positive words, smile, cry, and high five if you have to.
Do practice in advance and have notecards as a backup. “This is not the time to wing it,” says Todd of Todd V Dating. “It should look like you put thought, effort, and time into your speech, which means you actually should. Write down your speech (or prompts) on notecards and practice it before the big day. It’s also a good idea to keep your notes in your back pocket during the speech in case you need a little assistance.”
Do err on the side of caution. A good, or even mediocre, speech will keep everyone at the wedding happy. This is not the day to take risks. All you’ll risk is having your terrible speech ruin the wedding, perhaps in addition to your relationship with your sister and her new husband. Your parents and your grandmother might not be too happy with you either.
Todd also put together a significant list of brother of the bride speech ideas to NEVER try:
Don’t talk about her past relationships. Old boyfriends have no place in your speech. The day is about her life with her current partner, and former flames will only embarrass her (and maybe make the groom jealous). This is one of the most important brother of the bride speech ideas to stick to — you won’t win any affection from either side of the aisle by drudging up the past.
Don’t make it about YOU. This goes for any speech given at a wedding, but even if you’re tempted to talk about yourself, the day is about your sister and her husband. The idea is to make her feel special, not stroke your own ego.
Don’t get too drunk. While it might help with your nerves, drinking too much will make for a sloppy, disorganized (and maybe even crude) speech. Drinking could also make it more likely for you to do some of these other don’ts…
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Don’t talk for more than three minutes. Most people’s attention spans wane after this amount of time, and remember, you’re probably not the only person speaking at the wedding. Keep it brief, concise, and punchy, so everyone, including your sister, can get back to enjoying the wedding festivities.
Don’t insult the bride—or anyone else you’re related to. Airing out dirty laundry might be okay at a bachelor or bachelorette party, but saying mean stuff, even if it’s designed to get a laugh, should be off limits at someone’s wedding. Emotions are running high, and even the most innocent digs could result in years-long grudges and hard feelings. It’s a toast, not a roast!
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