Speech by Pete Cleverley

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Pete Cleverley
Speech Date: Dec2007
Ladies and Gentlemen, relatives and friends.

It is with a great feeling of pride and contentment that I have the honour to thank you for attending Emma &amp Matt's big day and welcome you to the wedding breakfast. For those of you who don't know me, I am Pete Cleverley, the father of the bride and husband of the delightful Lesley, without whom I am just another little lost boy! We trust you are having a wonderful time. It has been a really fantastic day so far and it is not over by a long chalk!!

You will have to bear with me as I haven't given a speech of this importance before, but I take great comfort in the knowledge that this is not the first time today that I have got up from a warm seat with a piece of paper in my hand!

Today is a happy occasion for our families, but it is also tinged with sadness… There are those who cannot be with us for various reasons. My mother and Father Emma's Grandparents who are both not well enough to travel from their home in Cornwall. Matts Grandfather who can't be with us, also because of the travelling… Frank and Jean, who are trying to come to terms with some bad news… Our dear Nephew Robert Halford who was so cruelly taken from us in January of this year. Just give a thought to those and any one else who couldn't make it and we will raise a glass at the end of the traditional speeches.

Pause for reflection

As I look at my beautiful daughter, it brings back so many memories. I remember well on the day she was born, the midwife brought her over to me and said. “Mr Cleverley, she looks just like you”. She quickly realised her mistake and turned her the right way up.

Just like her older brother, Phillip, she was a born water baby and turned out to be a good swimmer. Phillip and Emma were and are inseparable and Phillip was fiercely protective of her. Yes, they argued, almost constantly some days, but watch out anyone who upset Emma or tried to come between them. Phillip, thank you for helping Emma become who she is today. As she grew, I remember her crawling on the floor, being sick and wetting herself, but I said I wouldn't dwell on her 18th birthday, so we'll leave it there!!!!

She gave us her fair share of frights…

The worst one for me was when I was at home while Emma was out with her friend Loz… Loz came running back to our house and said “Come quick, there has been an accident” I shouted “where's Emma?” “Up the road, she said”…

My knees went weak and stomach cramped, but then came the adrenalin rush.. I ran towards the park area and saw a large Volvo estate in the middle of the road! As I drew level, I saw Emma in front of it, perfectly OK. Just in front of her was a fox. A car had hit it and drivers kept driving over it. Emma being Emma went out into the road and protected that fox. The Volvo driver had parked there because Emma refused to move. I had to call the RSPCA and get a vet to put it down before Emma would come home. We were very lucky that the Volvo driver looked after our little girl

And how lucky we were, from a little pink bundle into a happy toddler and tomboy, through her teenage years and into the lovely woman she has grown to be, sitting here beside her chosen partner. But as you all know, beauty is only skin deep. It is no indication of a persons real worth. Our good fortune is that Emma is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

Matt came into our lives on the 12th December 2004 and quickly became “one of us”. He has always been someone who we looked on as a friend and not just a potential son in law. He was a little shy at first, but soon started taking the mickey out of me! That's when we knew he was here to stay… We hope he feels as comfortable with us as we feel when he is with us.

I often say to the lovely Lesley, “If we could have chosen our ideal man to take Emma off our hands… Err to look after our little girl, we could have done no better than Matt. In saying that, I would like to formally welcome Matt to our family. Welcome son…

When I got up this morning, to a house full of mayhem, I wondered what I was going to do! This was the day that most fathers of daughters dread, the day when they have to entrust the care and love of their “little girl” to the man she has chosen to spend the rest of her life with. Silly really, I have not been the one to run and comfort her when she is hurting, to give her a shoulder to cry on when she is upset or to be the first to share in a joke or a great memory for a long time.

The sadness that this is the end of a chapter is there…until you realise that she has met someone who has made her happy, happy enough to want to spend the rest of her life with him. And when I looked at her getting ready, doing all the stuff women do when they are on an important mission, I realise just how happy she is. I realise just how much this day means to her… I realise that this is what we are all aiming at as parents… To see our children settled and making a life for themselves.

Last year we were lucky enough to welcome Tona into our family when she married our son Phillip. She has become an essential part of the Cleverley family. This year Matt joins us and we would like to assure them both that there may be “in-law” on the back of son and daughter, but for us there is no distinction, they are real family.

Well, you have suffered me for long enough so I will sit down and let the Best Man have a say, but before I do that, I would like to propose a toast. I would like you to raise a glass to the Bride and Groom and wish them many happy years together and to assure them that they both have new family who will support them in their new lives together…

The Bride &amp Groom

Thank you