“You don’t marry the man you can’t live with, you marry the man you can’t live without” – Bride Speech by Sofia

Speech Type: Bride
Time to Read Aloud: 9 minutes
Our Favourite Line: “Thank you for raising Iain and rest assured, I will look after him and love him just as well. Am I right to say that there is no warranty card for him? No? Worth a thought!”

I know it’s not traditional for the bride to make a speech at her wedding, let alone before the groom, but anyone who knows me knows how hard it can be to keep me quiet and today is no exception! However, I’ll try to keep it short as I know the day is full of speeches and I’m also quite keen to see my dad on the dance floor!

Firstly thank you all for coming and thank you for all your wonderful gifts – we look forward to opening them when we come back from our honeymoon.

I know most of you took time off work and travelled a long way to be here and I want to say how much it means to us to share our day with family and friends that love us. I know for the majority of you it meant making huge efforts to rearrange your personal lives as well as arrange travel and accommodation. We appreciate that more than you realise. Weddings can happen anywhere and at any time but it can only be a true celebration when all the people you love are there to share it with you, so you really have made our day.

Today I also gain another set of parents, J & B. From the first day I met you, I felt welcomed and accepted. I’m very lucky to have such great in-laws. Thank you for raising Iain and rest assured, I will look after him and love him just as well. Am I right to say that there is no warranty card for him? No? Worth a thought!

I’m so pleased that my mum and dad can be here with me today. I know it has been particularly difficult for you, Dad, to get here from Greece, and for you to be able to give me away today, well it means more than I could put into words.

A massive thank you to my maid of honour, K, my sister-in-law. I’d like to thank you for accepting to be my maid of honour. You’ve been helpful, supportive and all the things a bride could ask for. Thank you for accepting me into your family, you have been there for me like a true sister. Thank you for doing my lovely hair-do and being there with me choosing my wedding dress.

A thank you to my lovely flower girl for making my wedding entrance special! You were a little star, very pretty and charming!

I would like to also thank my sister and my best friend who were my bridesmaids. It wouldn’t be the same without you two here today. Now, the only problem is that they all look so completely stunning in their dresses today that I had to sit them as far away from me as possible!

I’d like to thank my cousin for coming so early in the morning to do my fantastic make-up. I think I may need a touch up after the speeches.

I would like to say a big thank you to our friend, L, for a wonderful reading during our wedding ceremony. A big thank you to you and K for arranging my fab hen do and being a great hostess.

I do have two things to say to the best man and ushers, no mushy stuff, guys, so don’t sweat it. Thank you for letting Iain survive the stag do and thank you for getting him here today on time! That’s all that matters to me, you did your job, well done!

By the way, just to warn you all that this could be the start of an emotional bit, so if I start blubbing please feel free to throw me a tissue! We all know that there are a number of people that we would have liked to be here with us today but couldn’t be for whatever reason. Also, there are people who aren’t with us today who are greatly missed. My Granny D, Auntie P and Iain’s Dad P who are all sadly no longer with us. It’s fallen to me to propose a toast for them so if you could all raise your glasses and join me drinking to “absent friends and family”.

And finally a word or two for my dear husband Iain (wow! I can say that now!). Iain came into my life and completely changed it – more grey hairs and worry lines for a start! It means so much to me standing here as his wife. You are my favourite man in the world, the love of my life, my best friend, and now my husband! I want to thank you for a wonderful day. Thank you for your hard work in realizing our dreams, today has been so perfect. Thank you for putting up with me and coping with my fabulous mood swings! Thank you for loving me and being there for me. You have done this by being yourself and loving me. You know my Nan used to say to marry a rich man – I couldn’t have married a richer man then Iain. He is rich in inner strength, understanding and kindness, in forgiveness and patience. I know that life won’t be a bed of roses, but I can promise you now that I will always be there by your side as your wife and your best friend.

I haven’t been able to find the right words to express how I feel about this man that now is my husband today so I’m going to recite this poem in the hope that it might let him know just how much he means to me.

I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what You have made of yourself,
But for what You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand into my heaped-up heart
And passing over all the foolish, weak things
that you can’t help dimly seeing there.
And for drawing out into the light
all the beautiful belongings that no one else
had looked quite far enough to find.

I love you

because you are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern but a temple;
Out of the works of my every day
Not a reproach but a song.

I love you
Because you have done more than any creed
could have done to make me good,
And more than any fate to make me happy.

They say you don’t marry the man you can’t live with, you marry the man you can’t live without and, for me, that’s Iain. If it is true that men are like stars, with so many to pick from but only one who can make your dreams come true, then Iain is my one true star and I can’t wait for the rest of our dreams to come true.

I love you with all my heart and I know for certain that will never change. I must be the luckiest person on earth and I know that we are going to have an amazing life together.

Iain you are my everything and I’m very proud to be your Mrs. I’d like to propose a toast to us – the best is yet to come. To my gorgeous, caring husband, to Iain!