Speech by Ken Howard

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Ken Howard
Speech Date: Jan2005
Good afternoon, there are probably a few people sitting here, who are not quite sure who I am, my name is Bill and I am Faith's father, and as father of the bride, it is my privilege and honour to make the first speech.

I would like to start, by saying how much pleasure it gives me to welcome Dave's parents, Alan and Gay, together with relatives and friends of both families, to this VERY special occasion,

I guess that many of the men here would rather have be watching football, rugby, golf or some other sport, or even having a nice quite drink in a pub, this afternoon, and I am sure that several of the ladies could be spending quite a lot of money in the shops, but like me, you are not, you are here, and here you stay!!!

Earlier this afternoon you all witnessed a very beautiful wedding ceremony, and then had what I thought was a really delicious meal, washed down with some exquisite wines, but now, you have to sit there, for a little longer, and listen to me rambling on.

While I am going on about today's events, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Jill for the beautiful wedding service: and HIM up there for providing perfect weather for the photographs. My thanks also go to Carole and Mike and of course all the other staff here at the Limpley Stoke Hotel. I am certain that they will continue to help make this a day to remember.

If I can take you back to the year 1970. Many of you may remember that Jimmy Hendrix died, then Paul McCartney left the Beatles and formed, together with his wife, another group called WINGS, and I am sure you must have seen the showing of the 1000th episode of Coronation Street. Well, something else happened just prior to that year, and I have been trying and trying to find out what it was, but as a result, 9 months later, in June 1970, my name was entered onto a certain Birth Certificate, that of Denise. So you see, the reason WHY you are all having to sit here, is totally my fault, and I apologise most sincerely.

My wife Jean and I live nearly 1500 miles away in Spain, and some of the benefits are, 1. There is a good Health system, good transport system, good road system, good weather and very good prices. Perhaps some of you here may still remember those days in England. 2. You re-discover what it is to relax and enjoy yourself, and 3. You tend to forget lots of things, like for instance, organising a wedding. It doesn't get done by itself, and clearly, events like today's takes a lot of work and effort – I think you will agree that Faith and Dave have done a fantastic job of organising their wedding, right down to the smallest detail. When I first heard that Faith was thinking of having this wedding in a Hotel, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But today has so far, exceeded anything I could have imagined.

Jean and I first met Dave approximately 3 to 31/2 years ago, Faith came over, with her son, Jack, for a 2 week holiday, but just before they flew out, about 1 week prior, Dave decided he could not go 2 weeks without seeing Faith, so he decided to get a flight, and also visit us, but only for one week. That was fine as his flight happened to be the next one after Faith's, so we could all wait for Dave to arrive, but of cause it couldn't be that simple. What happened? Dave's flight got to Alicante airport before Faith's. Panic!! What the heck does Dave look like? Faith had not told us much about Dave's looks, except he was a big guy, about 20 stone, and played rugby, so, with this picture in mind we were scrutinising all the single guys as they came through the terminal exit, when suddenly we saw a person whom we thought might be Dave, “SURELY NOT”!! we said, looking at each other, but it could be. So we just let him walk around a bit longer, to see if he got that “Oh, were the Hell is Faith” look, because at that time he hadn't realised that his plane had landed before hers. We watched and waited. Then our fears were realised, he was looking bewildered, confused and lost. So we did the decent thing and introduced ourselves. Yes it was Dave.

Since that first meeting we have got to know Dave a lot more, and we are so very happy for Faith, as we know she has at last met her Mr. Right, and in doing so has brought this very special guy into our family.

That brings me to another special person to welcome into the family – Rebecca, Dave's daughter, who we met for the first time today, although we have spoken to her on the phone. She is so lovely and bright, what a credit she is to you Dave.

Faith was telling me earlier this week, how worried Dave was getting, thinking that she may be late for the wedding, but surely it's a ladies prerogative to be late, she was even late at her own birth, 1st to arrive was her twin sister Heather and then this long, long drawn out 10 minute interval while we waited for the next one – it was Faith. Was the wait worth it? Well, I am sure you can all see for yourselves, how beautiful she has turned out to be, and not only that, also quite clever and bright. So you can all understand why Jean and I are so very proud of her.

By now you are probably aware that Faith is only half of a double act, and I am sure that you can easily identify her sister, Heather, she is sitting just on the right of me and now probably blushing.

They where only at a young age of 5, when they suddenly became part of the single parent family syndrome, but as you can see they have survived. Mind you, their older sister, Susan, was very good with them, although she is only 2 years older. It was hard work for her trying to keep the pair of them under control!! But, she did have her deterrent, ‘STINGERS’, and if you want to know any more details about that, then you had better ask them. I think I may have said enough already. I am sure Faith is sitting there, thinking what else am I going to say? Well not much more, except——-

It wasn't an easy life for any of them, having to live in several different homes and attending various schools. This was mainly due to my work, which required having to move a few times, and I do not want you to read anything else into that. There were many interesting events over the years, but I think one in particular is worth mentioning, it was when they were between 7 to 8 years old and attending a school in Plymouth. Faith and Heather used to try and dress differently, but it was mainly by colours, not style, as money was at a premium in those days. Now, in this particular school I requested that they were put into separate classes, they were also given name tags to wear so that the teachers could easily identify them. Well, you can guess what happened, yes, and I am still certain it was for dares by some of the other children, they used to swap name tags and go into the wrong classes, and as far as I could assume, the teachers never did notice any difference.

If Faith and Heather were to dress alike now, I would probably be the only person here that could really identify them, even from the back. So Dave and John, John by the way, is Heather's husband. I just hope these two girls have not been up to their old tricks again. Are you both sure that you have married the right sister!!

Dave, I have only one piece of advice I can give to you, never, never under- estimate a woman, especially when she is being exceptionally, kind and very good to you. I say this, because only several months ago something occurred that really brought this home, and it was during a game of golf.

I was playing this particular game of golf with three other players, two of whom happened to be a married couple. Everything was fine for a while, when suddenly, out of the blue the woman hit a bad shot and her ball went into an area of very rough grass with lots of trees. While we where looking for her ball, we noticed this frog caught in a trap. So straight away she went over, and started to bend down to free it, when suddenly the frog spoke, “please release me, and I will grant you 3 wishes”. As she released the frog, he thanked her and then added “Oh, I forgot to tell you, everything that you wish for, your husband will get 10 times better”.

“So what is your 1st wish”, the women took a while to think, then finally she spoke, “I wish to be the most beautiful and attractive women in the world”. “OK”, said the frog, “but before I grant this wish, you do realise that your husband will be 10 times more handsome”. “No problem”, she replied, “as I will be the most attractive and beautiful women in the world, he will only want me”. The frog frowned and then asked, “So what is your 2nd wish”. “I would like to be the richest women in the world”, “but” said the frog, “you do realise that your husband will be 10 times richer”, “Again, I have no problem with that” said the women “what I have is his and what he has is mine”. “Fine, now what is you 3rd wish”, the women replied, “I would like a mild heart attack please”.

I think now is the time to quit and toast the Bride and Groom, so will you all please fill your glasses and be upstanding.

Faith, Dave:

May God always be there for you?
May you live as long as you wish, and have all you need, for as long as you live,
May the road you choose be smooth, and your burdens light,
May your joys be everlasting, and may all your pain ..… Be Champagne.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr and Mrs Giles