Speech by Steve webb

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Steve webb
Speech Date: 03/08/2010 10:47:54

Good afternoon everyone, for those of you who may not know me I'm Steve and I'm Lyndsay's dad (and now Adam's dad in law!). As the father of the bride I have the pleasure of making the first speech and paving the way for the star speakers, the groom and best man. I'm sure they are itching to get up!

On behalf of my wife Deborah and I, I would like to welcome you all here today in celebrating the marriage of Lyndsay and Adam and I know that your presence here is important to them.

I want to start by apologising for Adam and Lyndsay being late……….well it has taken them more than 6 years to get here today!

At least I've had plenty of time to prepare this speech!

I would like to take this opportunity to mention that it's mine and Deborah's 30^th wedding anniversary next month – I would like to thank her for putting up with me all these years and blessing our marriage with 3 wonderful children………

At this stage I would like to propose the first toast of the day. Sadly there are many family members on both sides who are no longer with us here today. I would also like to particularly remember one of our dear close friends Dave McGough who lost his brave fight for life last year. They may not be here in body but they are certainly here in spirit, so ladies and gents please be upstanding – to absent friends and family.

1982 was a memorable year for a few things. Argentina invaded the Falklands, Italy won the World Cup and Stevie Wonder had a hit with “Isn't she lovely”. This latter event was quite relevant to us as because in February that year we were blessed with the arrival of a beautiful little girl Lyndsay and she was indeed quite lovely.

I was reminded by Deborah recently that due to her red hair I nicknamed her Steve Davis after the snooker player but she was very cute all the same.

When she was growing up it was fairly evident that she was going to be a fairly independent and strong willed character with a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve in life.

This particularly trait first appeared during an early family holiday in Skegness when she had just learnt to walk. She wanted to walk everywhere and trying to get her back in the push chair was nearly impossible. It always took two of us to wrestle her back into it and fasten the straps while she screamed at the top her voice and tried everything she could to avoid it.

At the time we had a double pushchair with her brother Andrew sat next Lyndsay. He couldn't talk at the time but if he could I'm sure he would have said something like “why on earth do I have to site next to this nutter she's giving me a headache.”

During these episodes she had a particular vein on her forehead that used to stand out and all I can say to Adam is if you ever see this vein beginning to colour up then run for cover.

However, I would say that this independent streak has served her well in later life and Deborah and I are extremely proud of what she has achieved recently in establishing her own business.

Lyndsay and I share a love of Leeds United football club and we had a season ticket at Elland Road for several years so I was quite pleased when she told me recently that she'd bought a copy of a video cassette entitled “Leeds United The Glory Years”. I was shocked however when she said that she'd paid £102 for it – so I said how come it was so expensive and she replied the video cassette was only £2 but the 1970’s Betamax video recorder to play it on was another £100!

Joking apart.… I have always known that Lyndsay is a beautiful woman and , but I have never seen her look quite so beautiful or so radiant as she does today. I know I am biased but I have to say Adam, I think you are a very lucky man!

I'm not sure if it's my role to compliment the bridesmaids but I will anyway as I think they all look absolutely stunning – I think a big thank you is in order to Wendy who put so much effort in to making these lovely outfits.

Turning to Adam now I would say that every Father hopes his daughter will find a smart, sensible, reliable and considerate partner. I think Lyndsay has made the right choice.

Of course he's not getting off that easily although I promise not to mention his fetish for wearing high heel shoes – particularly red ones, but I do have the photo's to prove it! And as for Hairy Mary – well the less said the better about her but for those of us who went on Adams stag do I'll think you will agree in no sense of the word was she a Brazilian.

I must say that Adam today is pretty good at DIY but that wasn't always the case. I shouldn't embarrass him by recounting the call I got at work shortly after they moved in to their beautiful new home. But it went something like this

“Dad it's Lyndsay – Adam's been using his new drill and now we have water spurting all over the carpet in the lounge”

“Don't panic just put Adam on the phone”

“He can't he's got his finger in the wall”

“Well can you two swap fingers and put him on”

And it went on like that as the entire water supply from the central heating system emptied itself over the living room carpet.

The reason I re-count that particular story is that in April 2008 Adam and I were doing some DIY at his house and he sheepishly came up to me and said could he ask a question. I was thinking he was going to ask where the stopcock was or something similar but he said “I would like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage” which floored me for the moment. I recovered my composure and shook his hand and said I would be delighted and I couldn't wish for a better son-in law …..… I resolved to stop calling him driller killer from that day on.

Although I was in on the secret until he could propose to Lyndsay, he still managed to surprise me with the short break they took to get engaged. If anyone doesn't know, he chose probably the most romantic place in the world to pop the question – Venice in Italy. When I asked him later how it had gone he said it was really wonderful with the only downside being that there had been a flood before they got there……..not Adam's fault I can assure you!

Seriously, I am delighted to welcome Adam formally into our family – he's very welcome and I know he will take good care of Lyndsay in the years to come.

Now that Adam and Lyndsay have tied the knot, I'd like to pass on one of the keys to a happy future – it is good, clear communication. This is something that took Deborah and I some time to perfect. A good example of this was when we returned from our honeymoon (which was a two centre holiday ……..in other words half a day in Bridlington and half a day in Flamborough), When we got home I told Deborah that I liked black underwear … from that day on she stopped washing my underpants.

I would now just like to read you a quotation about marriage that I found whilst researching material for this speech. It certainly struck a chord with me and will probably do the same with a few others in this room.

“The greatest institution that man has created is marriage. One plus one equals one. The fusing of two souls is the greatest possible joy and may also be the cause for great annoyance. At times, you will be constantly stepping on each others feet and irritating each other. At other times you feel so in love that being together is the greatest joy on earth. Within its folds lies that greatest contentment that it is possible to achieve in this life.”

I would like to end now by saying that I wish Lyndsay and Adam all the best for the future and in the hope that married life brings them all the happiness in the word.

Ladies and gentlemen we have a radiant bride we have a handsome groom. Please be upstanding once again and join me in a toast to Lyndsay and Adam.