Speech by Tom Smith

Speech Type: Father of the bride/groom
Speech Creator: Tom Smith
Speech Date: 28/09/2014 20:13:18

Ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon, On behalf of my wife Lesley and I, I would like to welcome you all and thank you for coming to this very special occasion to celebrate the marriage of our daughter Kayleigh to Brian. Today is of course, a celebration, not just of the love that has united Kayleigh and Brian in marriage, but also of the families that have created, moulded and influenced the lives of these two special people. So Lesley and I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Elizabeth and Ken and their family, and to relatives and friends of both families. Thank you all for joining us in celebrating this very special day. Also great to welcome members of our emergency services that have been able to join us, here's too our Nurses and too our Fire Service…..we all appreciate the work that you do. I must at this moment also make a special mention of Absent Friends who had played an important part in Kayleigh life and are now looking down on us from the best seats in the house – Kayleigh's Granddad and her Aunty Mary. They will be very proud of their princes and little monster. So Please A toast to absent friends. Our Kayleigh thinks I am going to make a fool of her, However anyone who knows our Kayleigh will know she is more than capable of doing that for herself. Although Kayleigh was born in 1989, her story began back in 1985 .… Sunderland had just lost a League Cup final (no change there) and Marrion were number one with a song called ‘Kayleigh’. That's where her name comes from. Kayleigh's interest and connection with music has continued, from the years of dancing lessons as a child and I am sure we see the results of those lessons on the dance floor tonight. Too the ongoing impressions of the Bee Gees of course, where does the high notes come from???. She loved those dancing lessons including the numerous shows and dressing up. The shows extended to our house where the Spice Girls were a regular fixture, isn't that right Lorraine and Charlotte…Girls the noises were !!!!!!!!!!.Kayleigh was the 6th Spice Girl apparently….GOBBY SPICE. There's the talking, They say tongue is the sword of a woman, well with Kayleigh it will never get rusty. I must mention her famous blond moments when I'm sure she gets a brain freeze when she comes out with classic one-liners, I remember just before she went to university or was it secondary school???, we sat her down to explain about Santa Clause. She took it all in and there was a long silence____ well a long silence for Kayleigh before she asked ‘so what about the tooth fairy then??? Her naivety always gives us laugh. Only weeks ago she asked Brian if they have a fire engine in his new job. HOW else do you put fires out? Buckets????  Seriously Kayleigh is a bubbly, kind, caring, intelligent, beautiful young woman the first in my family to go to university. She will brighten up any room by just walking in. As you have gathered, Lesley and I are very proud, proud of what she has achieved in life, proud of what she has achieved with Brian and we are love her dearly. What a year, Lesley and I have just celebrated 30 years of marriage, that's 3 decades or 2 life sentences. Our first grandchild was born only last Month, here's to you Daniel. We also beat Newcastle TWICE, And now today, although I was prepared for what to say, was not prepared for seeing you Kayleigh in that dress at home this morning. Then there was that glance we shared at one another before I walked you down the aisle. It's one of my proudest moments and I'll cherish the memory forever. Fathers are naturally biased about their daughters but I'm sure you'll all agree that Kayleigh looks absolutely stunning.  Brian, I would like to formally welcome you into the family, even though you have been part of it for years now and you know what's mine is yours literally although please bring my garden gear back sometimes. You are a great lad who clearly loves Kayleigh and obviously make her very happy. I don't need to ask you to look after Kayleigh because I know you will. I remember Brian asking me to go for a pint one Saturday afternoon, I had my suspicions as to the purpose of this, which were confirmed when we met in the Station and he asked my permission to marry Kayleigh. I couldn't be happier and of course I said yes although I pointed out the no return policy attached to this agreement.  Brian — You are hardworking and ambitious… I find you to be reliable and considerate…and I enjoy your company, However despite all your very positive attributes there is still that one problem!!!!!! Whilst I appreciate you are a lost cause…..there is always hope for the next generation. On a more serious note it the done thing to offer some guidance on marriage, so I found something with a more realistic message – A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person of course and Success in marriage is not about finding a person that you can live with… It's about finding the person that you can't live without…I know that.

Thats about all I have to say However:- My final duty and very great privilege is to propose a toast to my daughter and new son-in law. So would you please stand and join me in a toast to the bride and groom. Here's to their future and all that you look forward to together. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Kayleigh and Brian THE BRIDE AND GROOM.