I have not posted for a while because on May 2nd my Daughter got married. Everything went to plan and it was a wonderful day. While my daughter and I were sitting in the Hotel lobby waiting for the car to arrive to take us to the church a woman walked in with her small daughter.  “I hope you don’t mind but she said she had seen a Princess through the window and she wanted to see her better”. It happened just at the right moment because my daughter was getting nervous.  It made us both smile and relieved the tension.

The Princess

You can see why the little girl thought she had seen a princess!

I have to say I was a little nervous about my Father of the Bride speech but I need not have worried, as it seemed well received by everyone present. It did take some time and more than a few re-writes to get something I was happy with. I have reproduced it here in full in the hope it may one day be useful to someone else in need of ideas for their FOTB speech.

Speech
Ladies and gentlemen, as father of the bride, it’s my privilege to make the first speech, and I’d like to start by saying what a pleasure it is to welcome you all to Veronica’s & Neil’s wedding.

Today, I look at my daughter and I see an independent, attractive, elegant, stunning young woman.  She has worked tirelessly over many months organising everything, creating the handmade invitations, the Orders of Service, and the menu cards, I’m sure you’ll agree everything is first rate.

It does not seem but a moment ago when she was a little girl. I remember when she was about three. She accidently stood on a beetle and squashed it. She stepped back looked at squashed beetle then up at me and said ‘Daddy fix it!’  Another time we were in a shop and a lady asked her,  her name. She looked at the lady very seriously and said ‘Veroncicia, but my Daddy calls me Pest!’ I often wonder if she changed her name to Ronnie because it was easier for her to say!

One duty of the Father of the Bride is to give the new husband advice on married life.  As I am sure you do not want me to stand here for hours, I have thought of a simple illustration which I think sums it all up.

Veronica please place your right hand on the table, Neil please place your hand over hers…

Savour the moment mate… because it will probably be the last time you get the upper hand!

Now I would just like to leave you with this final thought…

The actor Richard Burton once said that ‘a woman accepts a man for what he is and then spends the rest of her life trying to change him.’… So, we should all take one last look at Neil, as we know him because Veronica’s remodelling work starts first thing in the morning.

Seriously, Veronica is a very caring and loving person. She’s my only daughter, and I love her and I’m very proud to have her as my daughter. I’m also pleased to formally welcome Neil into the family. Anyone can see that they’re made for each other. I’m sure you’ll agree they make a beautiful couple.

So please join me in raising your glasses in a toast to the Bride and Groom – Veronica & Neil.

I’d now like to hand over to my son-in-law – Neil.

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