Speech by Baker Peeples

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Baker Peeples
Speech Date: 25/09/2016 01:14:16

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who may not know me, I'm Baker Peeples, Susanna's father, and on behalf of my beautiful wife Ellen, I'd like to welcome you to this wonderful occasion, to celebrate the marriage of Natalie and Susanna, and to thank you all for coming, some from great distances.

Today, of course, is a celebration, not just of the love that has united Natalie and Susanna, but also of the two families that have brought up and influenced the lives of these two amazing young women. So I would like to say what a privilege and pleasure it has been for Ellen and me to get to know Anne and John, and we extend a warm welcome to relatives and friends of both families. Thank you all for joining us on this very special day.  A wedding is a time for celebrating, for happiness and fun, with family and friends gathered to see the happy couple off as they start their new life. But it also is a time when our thoughts inevitably turn to those people who have watched you both grow and cannot be here to share your happiness. I am not going to mention anyone by name, but around the room you will know who they are. So, would you please raise your glasses and join me in a toast: to absent friends and family – thank you.

Susanna was born on June 20, 1987, a rare occurrence, because it happened to be her actual due date. In itself, that would not have been of much consequence. But it also happened to be the day of my debut as conductor with the Lamplighters, in a production of The Pirates of Penzance. I had thought it was a pretty safe bet that the two dates would not coincide, but fate sometimes plays strange tricks. Well, in the end Sus was considerate enough to arrive at 3pm, so that we all had our celebration, and baby and mother could both get cleaned up and back to their slumbers in time for Dad to slip away for an 8pm downbeat! It would be tempting to say that ever since that fateful day, punctuality hasn't been one of Sus's things. But that's not really true: Sus is actually pretty punctual, most of the time!

Looking at how stunning she looks here today, it's easy to forget what an active child she was – running, scrambling, climbing. I remember when she was about five, Ellen and I were amazed to see her shinny up the inside of a doorway, and then hang from the upper molding, a feat of astounding dexterity and upper-body strength.

And she was fearless, sometimes even when a little fear might have been a good thing. She saw the insides of a lot of ER's around the Bay Area. She once fell off the top of a playground structure and lay motionless in the sand. Our hearts sank. Did she break something? Was she paralyzed? But she picked herself up, dusted off the sand, and climbed back to the top, not having learned what I thought was the lesson – be careful when you are up high.

“Stubborn” is a word that comes to mind. But I think “committed” or “determined” is more like it. She sees what she wants, or what needs to be done, and figures out a way to do it, and does the work to get it done. Add to that her genuine desire to help others, an affectionate and sweet disposition, only rarely seasoned with an outburst of a dramatic, or dare I say operatic, nature. Susanna is one of the most genuine, honest, loving people I know.

And now, Natalie. What a find Natalie is! When Sus called to tell us about Natalie, one of the first things she said to me was, “Guess what Natalie's favorite movie is? The Court Jester!” She said her whole family had it memorized, just like we had. This told us a lot: this movie is sweet, old-fashioned, brilliant, hilarious, clever — we are finding all of those qualities in our new daughter. And now we can say, “The pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle” and just know that she will come back with “The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true!” Natalie has even begun to learn the particular language of Gilbert and Sullivan; she recently signed my father's day card, “Your daughter-in-law-elect.”

I recently read somewhere, “When children find true love, parents find true joy.” I think that says it all; what more can we wish for our children? And I am thankful that we live in a time and place where these two beautiful, thoughtful, loving young women can express their love completely and openly, and that we can all be witness to their commitment in this beautiful marriage.

A couple of weeks ago, John asked me if I would be singing at the wedding. I said, “No, I'm just going to be a dad.” But I thought about it, and decided that I wanted to sing a song from “Guys and Dolls.”

“Velvet I can wish you for the collar of your coat, And fortune smiling all along your way, But more I cannot wish you Than to wish you find your love, Your own true love this day.

“Mansions I can wish you, seven footmen all in red, And calling cards upon a silver tray, But more I cannot wish you Than to wish you find your love, Your own true love this day.

“Standing there, gazing at you, Full of the bloom of youth, Standing there, gazing at you, With a gleaming eye, and the glow of truth.

“Music I can wish you, merry music while you're young, And wisdom when your hair has turned to grey, But more I cannot wish you Than to wish you find your love, Your own true love this day.

“With a gleam in her eye, and the glow of truth, And the strong love that carries you away!”

I am absolutely certain that they have found their own true love. Will you please rise and join me in a toast, in the words of an old Irish blessing:

“May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back, The sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

To Natalie and Susanna!