"These are tears of joy": 9-year-old brother gives emotional speech at sister's wedding
Troy and Catie Hudson's wedding was going just as planned — until the reception, when a member of the wedding party stole the show.
"It wasn't something that we were necessarily prepared, emotionally, to hear," the groom said.
The bride's 9-year-old half-brother, Gus, gave a tear-filled speech. The two are separated by nearly two decades but are very close.
"I'm so happy that you guys got married today. And I know I might seem a little sad up here, but these are tears of joy. Catie, I love you so much and I'm so happy you gave me a brother-in-law," Gus said.
Gus said he wasn't planning on giving a speech, but he was swept up in the moment and couldn't stop the words from coming out.
"He's just like, 'I'm doing what I want to do. Here we go.' And he's passionate," the bride said.
Gus said his feelings became complicated when his sister got engaged.
"I was worried that she wouldn't spend as much time with me as she used to," he said. "So it was really stressful in that way because I didn't want to lose her."
Fortunately, he said, there's just something about a wedding ceremony.
"It's just kinda like magic. And most of my worries about them just kinda went away," he said.
As the holidays approach and far-off relatives begin to trickle in, Gus says his story should be a reminder to you to never let the word "extended" cloud the word "family."
"Don't let that separate you because you deep down love them and they deep down love you," he said.
It's toast-worthy advice.
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