Speech by Richard – Stanhope

Speech Type: Best man
Speech Creator: Richard – Stanhope
Speech Date: 21/08/2015 20:26:12

Ladies and Gentlemen,  It goes without saying and I am sure everyone will agree that Rosie looks absolutely fantastic, there has been a lot of work gone into making today special and I hope you are both enjoying your day, you can now relax!!!

So I would firstly like to thank Scott for asking me to be his best man, he said if I do a really good speech today, I can also be best man next time he gets married.

Everyone here may not know me, so let me set the scene a little, being the eldest brother Scott has a lot to thank me for. When my parents had me, they couldn't wait to have another. Then on the 16th February 1984 they gave birth to Scott and said enough's enough and my dad moved to Africa.

I tried to link Scott's birth date to some major world event, but it seems that nothing much else happened that day… although the hospital staff at Bishop Auckland still refers to that day as “Ugly TUESDAY”.

When it comes to choosing a best man it's a difficult task and sometimes one that people really don't want to do.  He asked someone who was reliable but they couldn't do it, so he asked someone good looking but they also couldn't do it, he asked someone good looking and charming, but again they couldn't do it. However once he asked me for the 4th time I gave in and accepted.

You know during the service today I couldn't help thinking it's funny how history repeats itself, I mean it was 29 years ago that Pam and Steve were sending their daughter Rosie to bed with a dummy………and it's happening all over again today.

At this point in my speech I would have liked to have told you about the stag do, but the law of the stag does not allow me to do this, and besides Scott's solicitor has advised caution until the charges are fully investigated.

However it did involve Scott dressing up and fair play to him for wearing it most of the night. I don't think he can remember leaving Allendale never mind the following 5 hours in Newcastle. They say a picture paints a thousand words,

It's customary that I think of a story or two to tell about Scott at this stage, and thankfully, I have plenty to choose from….

One story I can remember was in Primary School. I was in Class One, whilst Scott was in Class Two. I recall one day being in the class, probably around 9 years old when our teacher Mr Thomas was summoned from our class room.  We all sat there wondering what was happening, always hopeful we were going to get to go home early or that something special was going to happen. Mr Thomas arrived back into our classroom and cast his eyes around the room. Suddenly his eyes stopped at me and he asked me to leave the classroom. At the time I can remember thinking this is great, I've been chosen to do something. Perhaps an award, a prize or some sort of treat. As I walked down the corridor I noticed Scott stood further down next to the teacher. As I got closer Scott turned around, all of my hopes of an award were dashed… I was greeted by Scott standing there with half a red crayon stuck up his nose and trying to blow the thing out. At this stage I had no idea what I was meant to add to the incident other than to laugh, for which I was quickly taken back to the classroom and took great pleasure in telling the rest of the class what he had done.

One night the lads decided to head over to Carlisle for a night out. It was well planned a couple of weeks in advance and it's fair to say everyone was looking forward to it.

They got to Carlisle at around 7.30pm and whilst they headed to the bar, Scott got a double Sambuca, downed it in one and headed straight for the dance floor.

As the lads watched Scott dancing as if the floor was on fire, they noticed him slow down a little. At which point he ended up spewing everywhere and headed home at 8pm. His night out lasted around 30 minutes.

Being married myself, I thought it may be good to offer a few words of wisdom and give you some advice, since you're a mechanic I think the best way to do this is to compare marriage to car ownership: 1. Now you have chosen the model and make you must stick with it, yes you will often fancy a trade in, but trust me that's going to be expensive. 2. You must ensure you keep the car clean; the days of filth have long gone. 3. When you think the car has a problem, you will be correct, it will be time consuming to fix and offering a good service will not help to sort it.  4. Over the years, if the airbags deflate, never mention it. 5. Whilst we know how important a good service is, you must accept that a weekly once over with the dipstick has long gone and be grateful for an annual service.

In all seriousness, one thing I am sure of is how much of a great dad Scott is to Ella, whilst Scott doesn't give much away I could tell how excited he was when he found out he was going to be a Dad and I don't think that excitement has worn off yet.  Although you are my younger brother I still look up to you and you should be proud of what you have achieved, I know you have found your soul mate in Rosie.

Everyone here wishes you all the very best for the future, we hope you have long and happy lives together and we wish you all the luck in the world and we are all thankful that we are able to celebrate this special day with you both. On that note, I would like everyone to be upstanding… To Rosie and Scott…