Speech by Adrian Singer

Speech Type: Groom
Speech Creator: Adrian Singer
Speech Date: aug2002
My wife and I (pause) would like to thank you all for attending our special day. All we can say to each of you individually is, thank you for coming friend .We would especially like to thank Freya, who arrived a few weeks ago, and Josh who only arrived Friday morning but both have traveled over from Australia to be with us. Hopefully Josh is still awake after his long journey and this speech!

Regrettably a few people can't be with us today due to illness and our thoughts and prayers are with my Aunt Cora,June and Cathy and there partners Derek and Billy we both wish them a speedy recovery.

Debbie and I are amazed and very grateful at everyone's generosity .We will obviously be writing to you all after the honeymoon but we would like to publicly thank you for your gifts and cards.

We couldn't have asked for better weather and we thank Father Rodger for having a word with his boss and arranging it. I certainly enjoyed the bus ride and I hope those who took that journey did as well. It was certainly eye catching. We were very worried about the weather, as you will agree this stunning venue is really enhanced by the weather. If you do get a chance or need some fresh air, not now obviously, there are some spectacular views from across the road by the church,

We would like to thank George for his kind words and wishes. I am sure he was extremely proud walking down the aisle with his beloved daughter and I am honored that he let me walk out of the church with Debbie as my wife. I would personally like to thank George and Eileen and there partners Angie and Ron for all there support and help. They have always made me feel very welcome and part of the family and I enjoy their company immensely.

So many people have worked so hard to make this day a success it would be impossible to thank you all in this speech and if I do forget anyone please forgive me .It is my fault you were omitted as I wouldn't let Debbie read the speech.

Thanks to my Mum and Dad for all the moral and finical support over many years. I recently had the pleasure to watch my Mum and Dad playing with their grandson James in the garden of my sister's house .The display of love, devotion, kindness, care and patience. Well for those of you that know my mum when I am talking about patience I was referring to my dad. Seriously, it really brought it home to me how lucky I was. When I was James's age and to this day I receive all of the aforementioned attributes in abundance and for that I am eternally grateful.

As a token of our appreciation and thanks we would like to present our Mothers with the gifts that the ushers are brining in.They are wedding rose's for your gardens and hopefully they will grow as Debbie and I grow .

We also have some gifts for our Dad's and no they are not spades !

A big thank you to Angie for making the wonderful wedding cake please accept this gift from us and I know I can't wait to enjoy all your hard work,

Thanks to my god parents Peter and Paula for the readings and I am sure you will join me in congratulating Peter and Paula who celebrated their 40 th wedding anniversary last weekend. Thanks also to my ex landlords my sister and her husband. To Julie for the reading and her unswerving loyalty and to Andy for showing me how to drink a pint of Guinness in 3 mouthfuls!

Big thank you's to all the computer experts for help with the invitations, order of service and table numbers. Everyone who helped decorate the bus especially Auntie Jo and her gang of seamstress for the seat covers.

Many thanks to Marion Hobbs and all the staff on duty today who have worked very hard to enable us to eat drink and be merry. Marion please accept this bouquet on our behalf as a thank you for all your help, advice and calm efficiency which has helped to make the day run so smoothly.

Thank you to the two ushers, David and Paul who have done a sterling job in making sure people are in the right place at the right time. Please accept these gifts from Debbie and me.

Thank you to the people that offered advice on married life. I was a bit disturbed when we started to receive acceptance's with comments addressed to me such as “ are you mad?” and even one from one of the bridesmaids husbands who shall remain nameless, Adrian Rix, telling me “don't do it” and referring to Debbie as “ spinster of the parish”. Obviously I ignored all there kind words and find myself as a new husband .As a new husband I have too remember never forget Debbie's birthday but always forget her age. I also have to remember who the boss is my bestman Richard was only telling me the other week how he wanted to go for dinner and his wife Anita wanted to go to the cinema, obviously I asked if he enjoyed the film.

Where does our story start? Well for years my family could never understand my loyalty and devotion to Chelsea Football Club traveling all over the country and Europe in all weather and conditions to watch my beloved team play. Well it all came good on the 30th January 2000 when Chelsea beat Leicester 2-1 in the 4th round of the FA Cup. After a couple of cold beers to try and warm up on a cold afternoon I was on my way home when fate interfered. I seriously was on my way home but my friend persuaded me that we should go in the Slug and Lettuce on Fulham Broadway for one more drink. After much arm-twisting I reluctantly agreed to join him for one more drink.

As we entered a very pretty, in fact gorgeous, sensationally dressed, stunning, modest ………( point to the paper) sorry Debbie I can't read your writing to well ,what does that say ??

Seriously, I saw this very attractive young lady and after some Dutch courage decided to make an approach. With a back catalogue of legendary killer chat up lines, the build of Jean Claude van Dam the charm and stature of Cary Grant I glided over and said ……………………………..… Alright!

Obviously this was all to much for Debbie she must have been stuck by lightning at this vision of beauty in front of her which is why it took her about 5 minutes to respond but reply she did eventually and said ………………………What!

After a rather nervous start we did manage a conversation of sorts. When you are playing the dating game there is usually a mental score card you keep of bad, good, very good and excellent. The conversation somehow got onto Scotland where I discovered Debbie had attended university at Edinburgh ( very good obviously intelligent and educated) so you studied nursing and now you specialize in piedatritcs ( nurse eh !!!!! excellent) Oh right so you work at Chelsea and Westminster do you have far to travel ?? No , you live next door in the staff accommodation ( hang on that's 2 minutes from Satmford Bridge !!! youuuuuuuu beauty !!!!!!!!! ) The next question was inevitable, well you would guys, does your father own a brewery ?? For those of you that know George he like me may not own a brewery but we have stopped a few from going bankrupt in our time.

Debbie at first was reluctant to give me her phone number but thanks to her friend Nat. Cheers Nat!! I managed to get her mobile number. I don't think Debbie was to impressed by this and told me “ Only call me if you are having a party” thinking that I might have some desirable friends. I did call and no I didn't have a party but managed to eventually persuade Debbie to come out for a drink.

Well a drink every 2 weeks became a drink a week to meeting up every 2 or 3 days and with London in a sunny summer as a backdrop we fell in love. We got engaged on a beach in Mauritius in the September and started planing today from then.

To my wife, firstly thank you for turning up and not too late!! You look absolutely beautiful and I am sure you stole many hearts along the way I am just glad that my heart is the only one you want to keep. Thank you for letting me know how it feels to be the luckiest man alive as you take me on as your husband with all my faults and yet you still love me. I really am looking forward to the our lives together as I am sure we make a good team,

Talking of teams it is again through my support of Chelsea that I got to know Richard my bestman. As a couple of spotty 11 year olds, well he was spotty I had glasses and nice hair cut, that our friendship started. He has and continues to be a great friend and we now have season tickets together and I thoroughly enjoyed spending Saturday afternoons in his company. Richard, thank you for coordinating my stag night. I had never been to a lap-dancing club and I am glad to say after my stag night I can still say I have never been to a lap-dancing club. I am sure due to length of our friendship he has 1000 and 1 scandalous and mostly untrue stories about me all I can say in my defence is as he was usually as pickled as me at the time of the alledged incidents he is probably talking about himself . Before I let him start his assanation of my good name there are two people Debbie and I wish to thank Tracy and Leslie the bridesmaids ,

Thank you both so much for looking wonderful and for all the help and assistance you have given Debbie. I hear the hen night you guys organised was a great success well the obviously censored story I was told . You have both been a great help to Debbie and I know she really apprecited your support and input when Debbie had a few stressful moments ,

Ladies and Gentlemen please be upstanding for the bridesmaids

Before I hand you over to the best man as I was writing this speech it occurred to me how history repeats itself . 20 odd years ago George and Eileen were putting Debbie to bed with a big dummy and now it's happening all over again,

Over to you Richard