Speech by Phil Dargan

Speech Type: Best man
Speech Creator: Phil Dargan
Speech Date: sep 2003
I'm going to try & keep this as short as possible because I know the last thing you all want to do is hear me waffle on… that's the best man's job.

I would like to thank Emma's parents for the kindness that they have shown me and for welcoming me into their family. I'd also like to thank them for bringing up such a beautiful and intelligent daughter. I'll leave you to argue over which trait comes from who.

I also owe a huge thank you to my own parents who quite literally made me into the person I am today. They've put up with years of moaning, tantrums & huffs, and this is the pay-off.… Now it's Emma's turn to put up with it…

Thank you to Glyn for being my best man. I am very grateful for all the hard work and effort that you have put in over the last few weeks. When we were younger we used to fight a lot. That stopped when he grew bigger than me… He's grown into a fantastic father & great friend.

Joe, my new brother-in-law who's always been more like a younger brother to me, especially as he came along on our first official date… Ladies, you may be pleased to know that he's currently single. He's also not very fussy as we discovered on the stag do.

Bevan, who although he lives 6000 miles away, has always been a true friend ever ready with some good advice & a place to stay, has made the transition from friend to family as I now consider him to be a more a brother than a friend.

A special note of thanks for the bridesmaids for all their help today. I'm sure you will all agree, they all look stunning.

Barbara, My only sister, it took me a while to figure out how you had two brothers & I only had one… I have to say as we grew up Barbara could be extremely annoying as only a little sister can be, I've only started to appreciate you fully in recent years & not just for the cheap haircuts !

Carol & Carol, the two of you started out as excellent friends first of all to Emma & then became friends of the two of us, your support & friendship has been gratefully received at all times & we hope it will long continue. Just because she's married now doesn't mean she can't keep going to Tomangos, except tonight if you don't mind…

Jamie & Amanda, we'd like to thank you for your very special assistance today in the church. I would like to thank all of you for attending and sharing this special day with us. Some of you have traveled hundreds of miles to be here and having you all here has helped to make this the most memorable– and happiest day of our lives.

This brings me to my wife…

I first met Emma nearly nine years ago when she picked me up in a bar. I would have married her two weeks later, but it took me that long to talk her into going out on a date with me…

As for me…

Well, the second I met her I knew we'd end up getting married, I just didn't know how long it would take…

I love you, and not in a friendly way. Although I think we're great friends. I love you, very simply & very truly. You're everything I've ever looked for in another human being.

There isn't another soul on this whole planet that has made me half of the person I am when I'm with you.

I am forever changed because of who you are and what you mean to me.

Most of you will be unaware of this, but films have always played a very important role in our lives, from our first date to the quote on the front of the invites here today… I'd like to paraphrase a quote from a couple of my favorites…

Love won't obey our expectations; its mystery is pure and absolute.

Life is like a box of chocolates… you picked the nutty cluster… & on a more serious note…

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible. The rest of our lives start right now.

The more observant of you will have known the movies that the quotes came from. For those who didn't you might recognise my closing words…

Here's looking at you kid…