Speech by James Walker

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: James Walker
Speech Date: 22/06/2015 13:54:33

Good afternoon everybody!! To those of you that know me & for those of you that dont my name is James & i am the Father of the beautiful Bride.

I started working on my speech a few weeks ago & thought it was a good idea to email Susan a copy to confirm facts & dates etc which she did & she only had one criticism she thought it was abit long so duly noted i made some asdjustments to shorten it. So here we go!!!

I would like to start by saying public speaking is not my forte & i am sure when i hand you over to The Best Man he will make a far better job of it in fact the only time i can remember having to speak in public was probably at my own wedding which after a few beers for dutch courage i dont remember much about so for how that went you would have to ask the lady to my left!?

I would like to begin by welcoming you all to the Hilton Hotel to celebrate the wedding of Sue & Shane & we would like to thank all the staff here today for making it a special occasion & we hope you all have good time.

I think you will all agree it was a lovely service & we would like to thank Father Malcomb at the very lovely St Peters Church & as for myself i was a very proud father today to walk my Daughter down the aisle & a day i will never forget.

As some of you will be aware the lady sat to my left is my ex-wife Diane & Susans mother who i have to thank for my 2 wonderful children & i know that she is as proud & happy for Sarah today as i am!?

I believe it is now time to speak about Sue with some fond memories & stories but i have been instructed not to embarrass her to much. So here goes!!

Sue was always drawn to music & singing she sang in the school plays from a young age & could pick up a musical instrument & always manage to knock out a tune or 2 but singing was her 1st love she sang at one of my close friends wedding. Luckily for us we will get away with that one today as shes abit busy!?

I thought of my 2 children it would be Sue that would be with me the longest but much to my surprise she decided at the age of 21 to leave home for Bristol with a group of her close friends. Perhaps because i was over protective & either my son Kevin or myself usually managed to scare off any boys that ever came knocking on the front door!!

I will admit i was not very keen at 1st more from a selfish point of view than anything else as i new i would miss her very much but as Bristol is only 20mins down the road!? Well the way i drive anyway!! It was time to let her off the leash & it helped knowing i was not far away & that she could always come home but once again she surprised me she found work & was never out of work she rarely rang me for any help financially or otherwise she stood on her own 2 feet & for that i am very proud of her but she new i was always there if she ever needed me!!

She continued with her commitment to singing entering several competitions & while working at Sainsburys the hole family went to the Birmingham Bullring to watch her in the final of there Charity talent show they called The S Factor!! I think she should have won but she came runner up prbably because we had to buy balls to vote that went to the various charities!! Obviously my lot were to tight to buy enough balls but that might be me being bias!?

She joined a girl group called Vanilla in 2009 & sang at many venues including the opening of Next at Cribbs Causeway & went on to make several recordings but never got that lucky break & Vanilla dispanded in 2012

Good afternoon everybody!! To those of you that know me & for those of you that don't my name is James & I am the Father of the beautiful Bride.

I started working on my speech a few weeks ago & thought it was a good idea to email Susan a copy to confirm facts & dates etc. which she did & she only had one criticism she thought it was a bit long so duly noted I made some adjustments to shorten it. So here we go!!!

I would like to start by saying public speaking is not my forte & I am sure when I hand you over to The Best Man he will make a far better job of it in fact the only time I can remember having to speak in public was probably at my own wedding which after a few beers for Dutch courage I don't remember much about so for how that went you would have to ask the lady to my left!?

I would like to begin by welcoming you all to the Hilton Hotel to celebrate the wedding of Sue & Shane & we would like to thank all the staff here today for making it a special occasion & we hope you all have good time.

I think you will all agree it was a lovely service & we would like to thank Father Malcom at the very lovely St Peters Church & as for myself I was a very proud father today to walk my Daughter down the aisle & a day I will never forget.

As some of you will be aware the lady sat to my left is my ex-wife Diane & Susan's mother who I have to thank for my 2 wonderful children & I know that she is as proud & happy for Sarah today as I am!?

I believe it is now time to speak about Sue with some fond memories & stories but I have been instructed not to embarrass her too much. So here goes!!

Sue was always drawn to music & singing she sang in the school plays from a young age & could pick up a musical instrument & always manage to knock out a tune or 2 but singing was her 1st love she sang at one of my close friend's wedding. Luckily for us we will get away with that one today as she's a bit busy!?

I thought of my 2 children it would be Sue that would be with me the longest but much to my surprise she decided at the age of 21 to leave home for Bristol with a group of her close friends. Perhaps because I was over protective & either my son Kevin or myself usually managed to scare off any boys that ever came knocking on the front door!!

I will admit I was not very keen at 1st more from a selfish point of view than anything else as I knew I would miss her very much but as Bristol is only 20mins down the road!? Well the way I drive anyway!! It was time to let her off the leash & it helped knowing I was not far away & that she could always come home but once again she surprised me she found work & was never out of work she rarely rang me for any help financially or otherwise she stood on her own 2 feet & for that I am very proud of her but she knew I was always there if she ever needed me!!

She continued with her commitment to singing entering several competitions & while working at Sainsbury's the whole family went to the Birmingham Bullring to watch her in the final of their Charity talent show they called The S Factor!! I think she should have won but she came runner up probably because we had to buy balls to vote that went to the various charities!! Obviously my lot were too tight to buy enough balls but that might be me being bias!?

She joined a girl group called Vanilla in 2009 & sang at many venues including the opening of Next at Cribbs Causeway & went on to make several recordings but never got that lucky break & Vanilla disbanded in 2012