Speech by Stephen

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Stephen
Speech Date: 05/09/2017 15:57:13

Friends and relatives, as the father of the bride, it is customary and my privilege to speak first.

 I am Steve and I am the very proud father of this beautiful bride.

To make sure I do not overlook anyone or anything, I compiled my thoughts and prepared these pages that I will read and share with you.

Kathy and I would like to offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of those who have worked so hard and long to make this day the special occasion it deserves to be. I want to extend a special thanks to our wedding planner Jane and the team, the officiant Father Tony and the members of the Church, the coordinator Kelsey and the rest of Madden's Staff, Sam's parents Rick and Cind, all of our professional vendors, and of course you, our family and friends. What a beautiful ceremony and such a fantastic setting for our celebration.

Today is a celebration of not just the love that has united Stephanie and Sam, but also of both families that created, brought up, moulded and influenced the lives of these two very special people. I want to thank Sam's parents Cindy and Rick for raising such a fine upstanding young man. Sam, your parents have the right to be proud of you and you are a credit to them.

Kathy and I feel fortunate you found Stephanie and we want everyone to know what a great pleasure and privilege it has been to get to know you along with Cindy and Rick and all the family. A new branch has sprouted from our family tree and Kathy and I want to formally welcome your family into our family.

As the father of the bride, it is also customary and my privilege to boast about my daughter.

There are two things which we as parents try to give our children, one is roots and the other is wings. It is said: when children find true love, parents find true joy. I am delighted to see my daughter looking so happy, beautiful, bright eyed and bushy tailed. On September 22, 1991, I witnessed the birth of our first born and I held Stephanie in my arms for the very first time. Kathy and I will cherish forever the memories of watching her blossom from a gorgeous baby daughter to the woman we see before us today and she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

We remember Stephanie driving her little Barbie Jeep with her younger brother Jesse beside her and we remember her playing with her toy kitchen set with Grandma, we remember her swinging on the monkey bars till she had blisters on her hands. Stephanie has always loved to be in or around water and if she could not be in the lake she was in the yard playing in the sprinkler. We remember looking at colleges and moving her into her dorm and apartments and moving her to Atlanta. Stephanie, we love you! Of course, parents are naturally biased with respect to their children, but in Stephanie, we see a self-motivated, independent, intelligent, beautiful young woman. A daughter who, throughout her life, was ready to work hard and she always had the courage and determination to face a challenge.

Stephanie is very intelligent but sometimes she is just “really so blond”; we've had many good laughs with this, like when we were driving past the Frazee sign that says “The world's largest turkey”, and she said so seriously, “wow, we better go see it before it dies!” (Some of you may not be familiar with the town of Frazee, but their claim to fame is a 22′ high turkey statue.)

Stephanie is fun to be around, well-liked and respected by everyone who meets her. Stephanie likes to plan and set goals for herself and others. She has a special charismatic ability to generate enthusiasm while motivating others to take action. Kathy once said about Stephanie, “You're a wonderful girl, a real delight and everything you do has to be ‘Just Right’”.

We feel Stephanie deserves a good husband and she was determined to make the best choice. Stephanie is a daughter to be truly proud of and I am sure Sam is proud to call her his wife. Sam, you are a terrific man and now that Stephanie is married we think of it as not losing a daughter, but gaining a son.

Stephanie likes to ask her Dad for advice; however, I have noticed she usually asks for my advice after she has already made up her own mind. As Stephanie and Sam begin a new life together there will be another man to whom Stephanie will ask for advice after she has already made up her own mind.

Sam and Stephanie are alike in a many ways. They even chose the same day to get married.     (Pause) I believe Sam's personal core values are similar to Stephanie's. In the time we have known Sam and his family, it is clear to us he respects, loves and values his own family, and that gives strength and support in starting their own future lives together. I would say that every father hopes his daughter will find a true gentleman like you Sam who is hardworking, talented, ambitious, smart, courteous, sensible, amiable, reliable and considerate. You are calm and collected and you are a man with vision and good judgment. Kathy and I feel a sense of confidence, gratefulness and pride having you as our Son-in–Law.

As the father of the bride, it is also customary and my privilege to offer advice to the new couple.

Marriage is like wine – it gets better with age and speaking of wine;

My wife Kathy was enjoying a glass of wine one summer evening on the patio with me. I heard her say, “I love you so much. I don't think I could ever live without you”. Wow, I thought and asked Kathy, is that you or the wine talking? She replied, “It's me and I am talking to the wine”. 

As the elder speaker here today I want to pass on some wisdom to Stephanie and Sam about maintaining a healthy marriage and living a happy life. Marriage does not require that either person is a perfect person. Success in marriage does not come by merely finding the right mate; success in marriage requires that we be the right mate.

Old successfully married couples have learned the secret to a happy marriage. They discovered a fulfilling marriage is a participation game that requires unconditional love and attention along with lots of patience, tolerance, and forgiveness.

A wise man once said, “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” 

A marriage may be made in heaven, but the maintenance must be done on earth. A successful lifelong relationship between a man and woman is not born but must be made. We must understand love is a choice and a commitment. Lasting love is not primarily a feeling – romantic love, feelings, and emotions are fickle and circumstances that give rise to them can be fleeting and temperamental.

There is a much more lasting and empowering way to love and be loved. Love requires that we be grateful and it requires that we take action if love is to become our basis for marriage and happiness. To attain true love we must reinforce and fulfil our commitment by making an ongoing choice to unconditionally love this person today and every day of our life, regardless of their faults.

Stephanie and Sam, marriage is a wonderful thing between two special people and to keep it special, say to each other every day these three little words  =  I  LOVE  YOU.  

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

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, we can all take one last look at Sam as we know him because Stephanie's remodelling work starts first thing in the morning.

To Sam, you must consider the words of Oscar Wilde, “Women are meant to be loved, not understood.” When Stephanie feels a need to have a talk restrain your male instinctive attempts to fix her and learn to just listen.

To Stephanie, You are fortunate to have found a husband like Sam.

To Sam, You are fortunate to have found a wife like Stephanie

To Stephanie and Sam, you are fortunate to have each other.

The vow to love, honour, and cherish is the beginning of a journey the two of you now share. Tomorrow, you will wake as husband and wife and the person next to you is yours for life.

As the father of the bride, it is also customary and my privilege to propose a toast to the happy couple.

To everyone please stand up and raise your glasses to the Bride and Groom.

To Stephanie and Sam

Here's to the past – for all that it taught you
Here's to the present – for all that you share
And here's to the future – for all that you can look forward to together
Ladies and Gentlemen tip your glasses, I give you Stephanie and Sam the new Mr And Mrs.

Please put your hands together and give them a big round of applause.