Speech by Mark Belden

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Mark Belden
Speech Date: 13/12/2013 04:20:44

Good evening everyone.  For those of you that don't know me, my name is Mark and I'm Desirae's dad and now Tim's father-in-law.  Becca and I would like to welcome you and thank you very much for being a part of this special day.  As the father of the bride I have the dubious pleasure of offering the first toast of the evening.

As I was pulling prepared index cards from my coat pocket I said;  It's kind of funny, I had 27 years to prepare for this moment….(holding up the index cards) and I ended up downloading this from the internet this morning.  I've not read it yet so I hope it's a good one.

First I'd like to thank Destany and the entire staff here at Mulligan's.  Your experience and guidance helped make the planning process much easier and less stressful and for that we are very thankful.   The room looks fantastic and if the appetizers were any indication, I'm sure the dinner will be excellent as well.

It's great to see so many friends and relatives here, some I haven't seen in a long time, and Becca & I hope to have an opportunity to catch up with each of you during the course of the evening.  Also some people have travelled from as far away as Kansas and Oregon to be here today.   But whether you've travelled a long ways to be here or live nearby we greatly appreciate any sacrifices you all may have made to be here today.  My only wish is that at the end of this evening, whenever that may be, I hope that as you are leaving you can say to yourself or a companion, “I had a good time I'm glad I came”.  If everyone can say that then we've met our goal and will know it was all worth it.

To Sue and the entire Zick family, you could say that today our family trees have sprouted a new branch.  You've raised a great son in Tim.  Whenever Becca and I have visited them in Oregon we've had a really good time and enjoyed ourselves immensely, and we are extremely proud and excited to welcome Tim and your entire family to our family today.

You know, I may have procrastinated about actually writing this speech but of course I've had quite a bit of time to think about it since they announced their engagement over a year ago.  As I would think about it I would start remembering the old days and then start feeling a little melancholy and the next thing you know I've pulled out the old photo albums and paper bags full of pictures that never made it into an album.  One time a particular photo jumped out at me from the pile.  Of course it was the typical picture of our darling daughter, on a rug drooling and reaching out towards the camera lens.  Desperately trying to stand on those wobbly little legs……(audible sigh here) we'll never forget her twenty first birthday.

But when I look at my daughter today, I see an independent, attractive, elegant and stunning young woman of whom I am very proud.

Now we should probably talk about Tim for a minute. 

I have no doubts about Tim's qualities as a husband but with them living out in Oregon I'm not quite sure what kind of a son-in-law he will be.  I mean, if they move back to Minnesota will he pop around on Sundays or will I continue to have to mow the lawn and wash the car myself?

Tim, marriage will teach you many valuable things.  Things like Loyalty.… Self-restraint……Obedience…… and the lessons never end.  Trust me; I'm still in daily training on these matters.

You would think after 40 years of marriage I would have some words of wisdom to share with you today.  And I thought about it a lot these past few weeks….… But I got nothin’.   Everyone has their own journey and it's really just about working hard at making it work.

So since I have no words of wisdom to share, I'll wrap this up by stealing the words of men wiser than I.

Tim, a great philosopher once said, “A man who gives in when he is wrong, is a wise man.  A man who gives in when he's right….is married”.  And I say a very wise man.

Desi, the only advice I can give you is, if you want something from Tim just ask for it.  Remember he's a man and hints just don't work.

The actor Richard Burton is credited with saying “A woman accepts a man as he is and then spends the rest of her life trying to change him……… so if we could all take one last look at Tim as we know him.  Because Desirae's remodeling starts first thing in the morning.

I've kidded a lot about women trying to control and change men but actually I believe the only time a woman truly succeeds in changing a man, is when she is born.

So ladies and gentlemen please be upstanding and raise your glasses to the bride and groom.  To Desi and Tim, the new Mr. & Mrs. Zick.