Brother Of The Groom Speech Advice

What You Need To Think About…

• Modern Brother of the Groom Speech Etiquette 
• Your Building Blocks of Content
• Structuring Your Speech
• Your Crucial Opening Lines 
• Writing Your Speech
• Editing Your Speech
• Rehearsing & Delivering Your Speech
• Becoming A Speech Legend 

Yes, so tip number one.

Writing a great speech takes effort. It’s not something you can easily knock out in a weekend. You know all those comedians who ad lib all those quips on panel and talk shows? Well, they’ve spent weeks on those (and we might have written some of them ourselves).

Even as professional comedy writers, a speech takes us time. We need to get the best possible material, create a narrative theme, write a good speech and then spend time honing it down and crafting those punchlines.

So, rule one – get started. (And googling ‘brother of the groom speech’ doesn’t count as actually ‘getting started’).

Brother of the Groom Speech Etiquette

Your speech is a glorified best man speech with extra intel. And as such, there isn’t actually a lot of etiquette for you to consider. Winner!

The groom & father-of-the-bride (or equivalent speaker) will deal with welcoming the guests and thanking individual members of the wedding party. Your speech is purely to entertain. We’ll get to how you do that soon, but for now, here are a couple of points of etiquette to consider:

• There’s no longer a need to address friends and family as ‘honoured guests’. There’s generally no need to be overly formal at weddings these days. A friendly ‘Hello, everyone!’ will do. Gendered language is also becoming a bit old school these days.
• If you’re part of a traditional speaker line up (father, groom, best man) you may find the bridesmaids get a lot of attention, and if the newlyweds thank them, there’s no need for you to mention how gorgeous they look too (unless, of course, you fancy them).
• Of course, there is a must do for any best man. Compliment the bride (or groom) and try to do it sincerely. Extra points if you can talk about her awesome personality, drunken party tricks, and ability to put up a tent quicker than you can, rather than just saying the normal best man cliches about her looking gorgeous (though she will appreciate that too!).
• Your speech, of course, needs to end with a toast. It should be directed to the newlyweds and try to make it personal to the couple if you can…‘Here’s to the bride and groom – and a love made from Jagerbombs’. 

Brother of the Groom Speech Content

So as well as the usual embarrassing anecdotes, drunken stories and questionable fashion sense that a lot of best men focus on, you’ve also got the childhood ammunition to play with too.

Get your folks involved. Shove dad up the loft and get out the old report cards. Find his beloved old teddy.

Consider yourself a Scandi-noir detective hunting down the most embarrassing anecdotes known to man.

And sk yourself some probing questions…

• Did you grow up squabbling or were you always as thick as thieves?
• Was one of you clearly the favourite growing up?
• Who was it who got all the grubby hand-me-downs?
• Who was always the funnier / smarter / sportier brother?
• How did you get each other into trouble / lead each other astray? 

It’s time to dish the dirt and get your own back. And not just on your brother, but your parents too.

Remember how they wouldn’t let you watch Hollyoaks or eat sugar after 4 pm? ‘Well, mum, there’s a three-tier cake over there with our name on it, and YOU can’t do anything about if we choose to shove our faces in it later.’

Check out Speechy’s Best Man Advice Page for more ideas on how to gather great content for a best man speech.

🎤 7 Opening Lines for a Brother of the Groom Speech

Not sure how to kick things off? Here are seven opening lines tailored to different types of brothers — each funny, specific, and designed to hook your audience from the start.

1. The Older Brother

“As his older brother, I’ve watched [Groom’s Name] grow from a snot-covered toddler who couldn’t say ‘spaghetti’ into a man who now makes his own pasta from scratch and calls it ‘artisan’. I take absolutely no credit.”

2. The Younger Brother

“Being the younger brother means I’ve spent most of my life stealing his clothes, his PlayStation controller, and once, unintentionally, his girlfriend. But today I genuinely mean it when I say: I’ve never been prouder of him – and don’t worry, [Partner’s Name], you’re safe.”

3. The Sporty Groom

“We’ve played on the same rugby team, run a half marathon together, and even once did Tough Mudder. But the bravest thing I’ve ever seen him do is try to organise a wedding seating plan with both sides of our family.” (only to be said when family politics are NOT an issue!)

4. The Bald Brother

“He started losing his hair in sixth form, but refused to accept it until he was 28 and still combing it sideways with hope. Now he’s bald, bold, and somehow married up. Give the man a round of applause – mainly for embracing his scalp.”

5. The Rich, Successful Brother

“You know you’ve done well when your brother asks you to be best man, and then reminds you to ‘keep it classy’ because some of his clients are here. Don’t worry, [Groom’s Name], I won’t mention the jet ski incident. Or the stag do tattoo. Or the fact you own a velvet dressing gown.”

6. The Tech-Loving Groom

“I’ve watched [Groom’s Name] fall in love with many things – a Raspberry Pi, his VR headset, that one charging cable he treats like a family heirloom — but none quite like he’s fallen for [Bride’s Name].”

7. The Brother Who Was Always in Trouble

“Writing this speech was tricky. Turns out the Venn diagram of ‘honest’, ‘funny’ and ‘won’t get me disowned by Mum’ is just one tiny dot.

Best Man Speech Structure

Writing a wedding speech should be approached in the same way you would a business presentation or a university thesis. You need to consider the fundamental building blocks you want to cover. Then, work out your thesis statement, present that at the top, and go about proving it in the rest of the speech.

The hardest part of writing your speech is coming up with that central thesis idea. There are lots of terms for this – the narrative hook, the story-theme – but it’s that central idea that flows through your speech and brings together all the different elements. It’s what stops your speech from being a list of random insights and anecdotes and transforms it into something more meaningful.

Our Brother of the Groom Speech template has the choice of four different speech themes for you to choose from and work with but hopefully, you can come up with your own. Once you’ve got it nailed, the next step is structuring your speech…

• Hello and introduce yourself / your relationship to the groom
• Get an early laugh and establish the theme of your speech
• Humorous account of your brother through childhood / adult years
• Shock at him meeting his partner
• Tribute to his partner
• Thoughttful tribute to your brother
• Sweet & humorous conclusion to the speech – summing up the theme of the speech and wishing the couple the best for the future
• Toast

Or if you want to work with your very own speechwriter to help you theme & structure your speech, how about us? Have a look at our Bespoke Speech Writing or Edit Service.

Writing & Editing Your Brother of the Groom Speech

Some writer tips:

• Prove, don’t just tell. Don’t just use adjectives. If he’s a sensitive chap, reveal how he always cries at ET – even in his 30s.
• Find the qualities that make him unique – his photographic memories of the Nando’s menu, his unusually short T-rex arms.
• Humour in the first 15 seconds of your speech. It will immediately relax you and your audience. Read our How To Make Your Speech Funny Guide to make sure you deliver original jokes and don’t resort to googled wedding gags. Getting the humour right throughout your speech is key so it really is worth a read. Remember, don’t go ‘edgy’ and never bother with stag do stories (all grooms get drunk and embarrass themselves).
• Only three fifths of your speech should be an affectionate roasting of your brother. The rest of it needs to be a loving and insightful tribute to him and his partner. Again, prove, don’t just tell. When you say he’s always there for you, remind him of the time he picked you up from the train station at 3 am after you lost your wallet. For the second time that year.
• And when it comes to his new spouse – celebrate them for the individual they are rather than resorting to cliches and platitudes about them making your brother a better man. Yawn.  
• Less really is more. Once you’ve written your speech try to edit it by a third. We guarantee it will feel punchier, funny and more meaningful with the waffle cut out. The maximum word count for a best man speech is 1,300. It’s important to be able to deliver your speech within ten minutes (including pauses for laughter).

🤖 If you’re stuck getting started or want to see what a great speech could sound like, try our SpeechyAI Wedding Speech Generator. It’s like having a witty writing buddy who doesn’t judge your typos.

Rehearsing & Delivering Like A Pro 

Delivering with confidence is half the battle. If you look like you’re enjoying your time on the mic, others will too. Here’s what you have to do.

Plan to deliver

• Assume you’ll use notes. Why not? This isn’t a test of your memory and notes are not a sign of weakness; simply that you’re prepared. As the public speaking expert, Alan Berg says in ‘The Modern Couple’s Guide to Wedding Speeches’, ‘I’m never impressed by a waitress who doesn’t write the order down. Jot it down so I’m not worrying you’ll forget it. Write it down, get it right.’
• Although you’ll have notes, plan only to refer/glance at them, rather than read them! Rehearse your speech so often that it becomes second nature. In the shower. Just before going to bed. Record yourself and listen to your speech on your commute. Make your speech your soundtrack of choice for a fortnight. Here’s our full blog on how to memorise your speech.

Deliver

• Talk at a conversational speed.
• Smile. It’s literally infectious.
• Laugh at your own jokes.
• Pause when you expect laughter. (Sometimes people need a moment to get it)
• Extend the laughter with facial expressions and gestures. (Sometimes an eyebrow raise can elicit as much laughter as a cracking punchline).

Read our ultimate guide to delivering your speech like a pro. or shout if you fancy a bit of one-to-one coaching. We’d love to help you nail this.

🎤 Best Man Speech For Your Brother – Examples & Quotes

• Goodreads – Quotes About Brothers – for sentiment or humour about sibling bonds.

• Hitched – Wedding Speech Tips – a few good tips

• YouTube – Brother of the Groom Speech Videos – visual inspiration with a caution to borrow ideas, not steal words.