‘I’ll Only Screw It Up’: James Brolin on Making a Speech after Barbra Streisand Serenaded Him at Their Wedding

Legendary singing powerhouse and actress Barbra Streisand, 81, has built a respectable and illustrious career in the entertainment industry. Her incredible success has seen her achieve numerous prestigious accolades, such as becoming an EGOT winner.

Besides her countless professional accomplishments, Streisand has built a beautiful life with her loving husband of over two decades, American actor James Brolin, 83. The pair have been together for years after finding each other later on in life.

Inside Barbra Streisand and James Brolin’s Wedding: She Sang Him Love Songs, and He Didn’t ‘Screw Up’ His Speech

In 1998, Streisand and Brolin, who met each other later in life, tied the knot. With no official public announcement of their intention to wed, paparazzi who snapped pictures of the enormous white tent pitched on Streisand’s property alerted the broader public that the “Funny Girl” star was set to wed her dashing beau.

July 1, 1998, the second anniversary of their first date, was the day the couple said their I do’s. Streisand dazzled in a Donna Karen original with crystal detail and an incredibly lengthy sheer veil as she walked down the aisle created in her decked-out living room in her Malibu abode.

The star-studded guest list of 105 attendees included John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Donna Karan, Sydney Pollack, and Quincy Jones, to name a few. Brolin and Streisand were joined together in matrimony by a Rabbi officiating their wedding.

Now, having been married to Brolin for over 25 years, the couple remains embedded in love and bliss.

After exchanging vows, Streisand and Brolin shared a passionate kiss as all their friends and family applauded and swooned over them. Of the wedding and the undeniable and profound love distinctively apparent between the happy couple, Brolin deemed himself the most joyful person around, while one of Streisand’s longtime friends asserted:

“In all the years I’ve known Barbra, I’ve seen her happy, but always with a cloud. This time it was a clear blue sky.”

A clear blue sky that covered extravagant floral arrangements of 4,000 roses, 200 lilies of the valley, 2,500 stephanotis blossoms, and 500 gardenias, swaying to the musical stylings of a 16-piece orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. The ceremony, decorated with ballroom chairs, fancy vintage cream-colored tablecloths with seat covers and napkins to match, and French-designed porcelain plates and silverware, was held indoors.

Other elements of the wedding, which was kept under wraps, included 750 roses used to decorate the stairs where Streisand descended and a swimming pool filled with pink water lilies and candles. As guests sauntered into the stunning venue, they sipped lemonade and iced tea. They nibbled on delicious hors d’oeuvres, inclusive of smoked salmon served on warm corn cakes, vegetable wontons, sushi, and ricotta-filled blintzes.

Perhaps even more special than the beauty of the decorations and the tasty cuisine was when Streisand sang two love songs dedicated to Brolin. The moment was equally as sentimental as it was incredibly rare and special because, in a previous interview, Streisand spoke about how she doesn’t usually just sing for any reason:

“…I don’t sing around the house or anywhere. I never sing unless it’s for a purpose, like fundraising or making a record.”

As if things could not get even more endearing, Brolin followed his wife’s beautiful dedication with his own to her. He read a touching speech filled with love, although before doing so, he quipped:

“You expect me to follow that? I don’t think so. I’ll only screw it up.”

How Barbra Streisand and James Brolin’s Love Story Started

Years before singing songs and expressing their profound love through touching speeches, the two met after Streisand’s friend and mother of her godchild expressed that the two would hit it off. At the time, “The Way We Were” singer tried convincing her friend that she was far too busy to indulge her request to attend a dinner.

She even said she called her editors to wait up for her as she didn’t intend on staying at the dinner long. However, when she arrived and met Brolin, Streisand ended up staying:

“…it was just…we were just totally interested in one another. And at a certain point in the evening, I had to call them…and told them I wasn’t coming back.”

In terms of Brolin’s perspective on how it all went down, he mentioned how he had seen her twice before the couple’s mutual friend (Streisand’s godchild’s mother) called his manager to see if he would be interested in Streisand. When the two ended up at dinner together, he remembered how he was smitten with Streisand’s honesty.

Brolin had shaved off most of his hair before they met, and when the emboldened artist saw this, she was very upfront in her delivery of how she asked him what happened to his hair. Of the moment, Streisand recalled:

“…He later told me that’s when he fell in love with me. My fella likes to hear the truth, which is unusual.”

Streisand and her hubby met each other at the right time after both had ended their previous marriages. In fact, the EGOT winner was dating Brolin at the same time she had finished a movie that had a theme about finding love through complication. So when the interviewer asked her whether or not she believed in the heart being able to rebound, she disclosed:

“…people do find each other at later ages…In a way, my getting together with [Brolin] is life imitating art…Once the movie was done and I could relax and edit the movie in my house…I was open to a relationship again and it manifested itself.”

Now, having been married to Brolin for over 25 years, the couple remains embedded in love and bliss. A couple of months ago, Brolin sat down for an interview, and during the discussion, his ever-lasting love with Streisand was brought up.

When one of the interviewers asked Brolin what his and Streisand’s secret is to their decades-long relationship, the “Westworld” actor highlighted the importance of being able to negotiate.

As it turns out, Streisand and Brolin have figured out how to negotiate pretty well, as the couple has been together for 27 years, a milestone that some never reach.