Are you the sister of the groom and have been tasked with writing and reciting a wedding speech for your brother? If so, you’re likely overwhelmed with how to structure the speech, decide what to include, and make an impactful impression while at the mic. 

Don’t worry. I’m a professional wedding speech writer who is here to help you prepare a sister of the groom speech that your brother will love and guests will rave about.

Just follow this sister of the groom speech writing guide and you’ll feel prepared by the big day. 

Tip #1: Reflect Back on Your Relationship 

Before you start writing your wedding speech, take some time to consider what stories, emotions, and points you may want to capture within the toast.

Here are a few sister of the groom speech writing questions that can help you determine a direction to take with your toast:

• What childhood stories do you still retell to this day?

• How has your relationship evolved over the years?

• How would family members describe your sibling dynamic?

• Why do you think your brother asked you to give a speech at his wedding?

• How do you want your brother to feel during your speech?

• How has he been there for you? 

• How have you changed because of his influence in your life? 

Write down responses to each of these questions and then review your notes. Having this baseline of material to work from is a lot easier than just sitting down and attempting to write your speech from scratch.

Tip #2: Talk with Your Brother

Understand if your brother has any expectations for the sister of the groom speech. This way, you’ll know what to include and exclude from your wedding toast.

Questions to ask your brother:

• How many minutes should my speech be? (FYI: Most sister of the groom speeches are between two to four minutes).

• Are there any topics or stories you’d consider off-limits?

• Are you looking for me to give a funny wedding speech, something more serious, or a mix of the two?

• Am I reciting my speech at the rehearsal dinner or the wedding reception? (This is important to know because the event will dictate what details you include).

• Are there any housekeeping items I should include within my speech? (For example, sometimes the sister of the groom will be responsible for thanking certain guests, welcoming folks, or introducing the next speaker).

Tip #3: Organize Your Notes

Now that you’ve compiled a list of ideas and have details from your brother, organize all of this information to make speech writing an easy task. 

Steps for organizing your sister of the groom speech notes:

• Step 1: Using a pen, circle any of your notes that you definitely want to include within your speech.

• Step 2:  Highlight each note using a different color to differentiate points. For example, use blue to highlight notes that represent stories. Use yellow to highlight housekeeping items like introducing yourself and thanking specific guests. Use pink to highlight personality traits you want to exemplify about your brother. 

• Step 3: Make connections. Now that you have a clear picture of the parts of your speech, it’s time to make connections. This is key in stringing these seemingly random ideas together into a cohesive speech that flows nicely from one idea to the next. 

How do you make connections from your notes?

Look at each highlighted section and see what could work well together. 

For example, perhaps one story you want to include is how your brother covered for you when you threw a party in high school. You may have also highlighted that a trait of his you want to show off is his strong sense of loyalty. These two different points work really well together. 

I’ll show you how to connect these two separate ideas using this example.

Example: 

Somehow I convinced myself that it was a smart idea to throw a party when my parents were out of town. 16–year-old me failed to realize that if I didn’t want to get caught though, I should probably wake up before noon to pick up the smattering of red solo cups that carpeted our living room floor. 

Lucky for me, when my own common sense failed, my older brother always came through. 

He woke me up with the sun to clean the entire house before our parents pulled into the driveway later that morning. 

And in that moment, I learned three valuable things that I still carry with me to this day:

One: I have the coolest older brother. Josh covered for me when he could have turned me in.

Two: I have the worst older brother. What kind of human being puts someone who is terribly hungover to work??

And three: Never mix whiskey and wine. Just. Don’t. Do. It.

But really, Josh managed to show his unwavering loyalty while also being the protective big brother. Because I had to smell stale beer while hungover all morning, I never drank again in high school.

Only someone as thoughtful, caring, and conviving as Josh could manage all of that in a single moment.

So here’s wishing Josh and his new spouse a lifetime of moments that allow you both to grow into the best versions of yourself.

Tip #4: Use a Sister of the Groom Speech Writing Outline

Not sure how to format your speech? Follow a speech writing outline to help organize your ideas.

Example of a sister of the groom speech writing outline:

1. Introduce yourself

2. Talk about your brother

3. Talk about his new spouse

4. Share wishes for their marriage

5. Close with a toast

Tip #5: Consult with a Speech Writing Expert

Too overwhelmed or busy to tackle writing your sister of the groom speech? Consider working with an expert wedding speech writer. 

As the owner of Katelyn’s Wedding Words, I’ve worked with sisters of the groom to write thoughtful, custom, and heartfelt speeches.

Get in touch to see how best we can work together. 

Tip #6: Practice Reciting Your Speech Out Loud

Writing your speech is the first step but your job doesn’t end after the last line is composed. Once your draft is finalized, it’s time to practice reading it out loud. 

Whether you have a fear of public speaking or not, it’s time to polish up your public speaking skills.

Tip #7: Gift Your Speech

Giving a heartfelt sister of the groom speech is one of the most thoughtful and meaningful ways to honor your brother and his new spouse on their wedding day. 

Want to give even more meaning to the moment? Turn your speech into a wedding gift. 

You can work with a local artist or search sites like Etsy to have your speech transformed into artwork for the newlywed’s home. This way, the words you write will forever live on well past the wedding day.