Speech by Robert J. Eaton

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Robert J. Eaton
Speech Date: 07/11/2012 15:58:34

Wow, what an emotional wedding – even the cake's in tiers!

For those of you that don't know me I'm Rob and I am Crystal's dad and as the father of the bride I have the dubious pleasure of making the first speech   –  I am the warm-up act for the star speakers and their words of wisdom –  the Groom and Best Man.

I would like to start by on behalf of the brides mother, myself and grooms parents giving a warm welcome to all the relatives and friends who have joined us to celebrate Rob and Crystal's wedding. I know that many of you have travelled long distances to be here. Thank you all for coming to help celebrate this very special day. As I look around the room I realise how many friends Rob and Crystal have and I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon and evening.

I must at this moment also make a special mention of Absent love ones who are now looking down on us from the best seats in the house – Crystals Grandparents Tom and Joyce and Alf and Rose

A toast to absent loved ones.

Accustomed as I am to giving Father-of-the-Bride speeches as this is the second daughter I have given away in the past few weeks, I gave a lot of thought about how to make this one different but still special and memorable. That didn't work so I thought I'd pretty much follow the same format this time. For those who were at the last wedding you may remember I started nervously, dropped to a lull in the middle, peppered with forgetful pauses and a couple of long silences and then trailed off into incoherent rambling. So here we go…”

As I said, this is the second time I have had the honour of walking a daughter down the aisle and each time has been magical if not tinged with a little sadness – magical because I felt like a King escorting his Princess into the next part of her life and a little sad because she no longer will be my little Princess, now being fully committed to another man. I am truly blessed to have not one but two truly wonderful daughters, both of whom Elaine and I are immensely proud. Of Course, we cannot move on at this point without pointing out that we are equally proud of our son Craig, who after two Weddings is now a fully trained Usher and he comes at very acceptable rates in case anybody else in the room is considering getting wed.

Whilst preparing this speech I got a little sentimental and decided to look through some old photos of Crystal, tears welled up in my eyes, and one picture stood out, It was the striking pose of my precious daughter lying on a rug, dribbling and pointing at the camera lens. What a treasure she looked trying to stand up on those little wobbly legs……..… we'll never forget her 18th birthday!!!

Crystal has been a wonderful daughter to Elaine and myself and at this point of our parting with her into another's keeping we thank her for all the unbroken years of joy that she has given us. Although I don't count the first year because there was nothing joyful about changing her nappies.

Seriously though Crystal.. there are really only two qualities we as parents can ever hope to give our children…one is roots and the other is wings. .you have deep roots to our family that will never be broken and now…you have found your wings and flown the nest.. I am pretty satisfied that Elaine and I did a good job.

All parents want their children to have a good education and give themselves a good start in life. Crystal went to University and passed out…not literally,  …she passed with an honours degree and became a very successful and prominent solicitor.

Our Crystal is a determined and dedicated individual, we, in our family have been amazed but not surprised to see her reach the level she is at now in her professional career, of course the amount of sheer hard graft and studying she has put in has reaped its dividends.

She has also made extreme sacrifices along this educating road, illustrated by renting a very dubious bedsit in a very undesirable part of Birmingham when she took her LPC Course. We all knew she was unhappy with this situation but she still put on a brave face. We were all very relieved and excited when she passed with excellent results and came back home.

Today, I look at my daughter and I see an independent, attractive, elegant, stunning young woman. She obviously takes after her mother.

Being Olympic year I thought I would relate marriage to the Olympics – This is a marathon and not a Sprint, with plenty of Hurdles along the way, but as long as you strive and work as a Team you will achieve the success you truly deserve. This wedding is a prime example of their teamwork, they have virtually done everything themselves even the very small detail, so as you can see with this ability to work together there is nothing stopping them getting what they strive for and desire, Crystal and Rob, there is no I in the word team so bear this in mind and there will be many Gold medals along the way.

Both Crystal and Rob's adventurous destinations are reflected in your table names – from Florence to Milan to Prague etc and surely the list will grow in years to come, not to mention the little matter of the fact that they fly off to Australia tomorrow for three weeks. Rob, Crystal, if you want someone to carry your bags, Elaine and I are available.

At this point I'd like to welcome into the family formerly our new son-in-law, Rob.

Obviously during the time we've known Rob we've come to realise how much he means to Crystal. He is to us a calm, clever, humorous and generous person well when I say generous I of course refer to his fanatical behaviour with discovering Vouchers, 2 4 1’s and BOGOFS, to which we have benefited from on many occasions, so keep hunting Rob.

Rob, if you were not aware is also a highly respected Solicitor so we are blessed not with one but two highly successful professional solicitors in the family. Crystal practises in Personal Injury, Rob in Family Law, so we have it covered if the wife decides to sue me for running headlong into the rolling pin she was holding innocently outstretched in my direction.

My new son-in-law loves ‘Star Wars;’ and as he starts his new life today as a married man, I would like to quote him from the film. Rob, ‘May the Force be With You.’

Rob advised me prior to the wedding that he wanted the speeches after serving of the food, this goes a little against protocol and my personal choice as I would have preferred to get it over with prior to the meal, but then it hit me, Rob loves his food, his character certainly changes if he is not fed on time he starts to resemble ‘The Hulk’ and his speech would have been something like, thanks for coming, love you Crystal, now serve the food.

I have no doubt of Rob's qualities as a husband, but as a son-in-law we'll have to see. Will he pop round to see us every Sunday, or will I continue to have to mow the lawn and wash the car myself?

We're also delighted to welcome into the fold two extremely nice people without whom Rob wouldn't be here today, Rob's parents, John and Julia.

John and Julia you must also very proud of Rob, you too have done a great job in your raising of Rob to the status he now enjoys, Crystal and Rob make a great couple and are made for each other as everyone can see.

Marriage will teach you many things… loyalty…self restraint…obedience… Rob,  I am still in daily training on these matters.

There is no challenge in a marriage that can't be overcome by one or more of the following:

I was wrong! You were right! Yes Dear I love you!

Finally, Never go to bed in the middle of an argument – be a man stay up and fight and watch some sport…You've lost anyway so you might as well get it over with.

I would just like to leave you with these thoughts…

The actor Richard Burton once said that ‘a woman accepts a man for what he is and then spends the rest of her life trying to change him.’… So, if we can all take one last look at Rob as we know him because Crystal's remodelling work starts first thing in the morning

To Rob – A great philosopher once said, a man who gives in when he's wrong is a wise man: A man who gives in when he's right….is married!

To Crystal – Crystal when you want something from Rob, just ask for it – don't forget he's a man and hints don't work!!

I can't stress enough how proud I am today, and how good it is to have you all here.  I hope you have a fabulous time this evening. 

Now it is my pleasant duty to propose a toast to the happy couple and I know that everyone here will want to join me in raising your glasses in a toast to a long, happy and healthy future together, filled with the sound of laughter. 

Here's to the past, for all that you've learned.

Here's to the present, for all that you share.

Here's to the future, for all that you look forward to together.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please be upstanding and raise your glasses to the Bride and Groom

 … Crystal and Rob the new Mr & Mrs Colwell