Speech by Alex Hansford

Speech Type: Groom
Speech Creator: Alex Hansford
Speech Date: 02/09/2012 20:59:16

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family…

It gives me great pleasure to say “on behalf of my wife and I” – thank you for coming and making this day so special. We're so happy to have so many friends and family here to share this special day. You've been a constant source of support, fun, occasional reason and laughter for both of us – so thank you. Tim, thank you for your kind words this afternoon and your support over the past six years and for many more to come. Thank you for helping to raise such a beautiful, smart and strong-willed daughter – she certainly keeps me on my toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

You've made me so welcome and part of the family for so long that I'm really delighted to call you ‘father-in-law’ at last – or as my wife prefers “Dadda-in-law”.  I've always been in awe of your skills as a carpenter for film and TV over more than 30 years – I was delighted to learn of your involvement on The Fifth Element, as Matthew will attest – it's one of my favourite films and was played on repeat at Uni. Your anecdote about Bruce Willis still makes me laugh to this day and only makes that film even more special to us both. Sadly I don't share your expertise, patience and eye for detail when it comes to DIY around the house – so, now that you have retired, we may need your help now and again to fix one or two of my ‘bodge jobs’. Amy will be in touch with a list in due course. Please accept this gift as a token of our appreciation] [Gift to Tim and flowers to Penny] Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my Grandma Warren for her support when I was younger and being the glue which kept our side of the family together. I've learnt so much from you while I was growing up – I rarely swear, always finish my plate at dinnertime (and Amy's too often) and sigh for no reason. Thank you Grandma, you've helped made me the man I am today. [Flowers to Grandma]

Meeting Amy

As you might know, Amy and I met online over six years ago. Within a few days of being matched, we had exchanged several long emails and Amy cut to the chase and said we should meet. It was a rainy evening in Oxford Circus, and we went for dim sum and cocktails – it was the perfect mix of food, cocktails and butterflies in my stomach. I found out about her love for TV, theatre and Rocky Horror – and she found out my love for movies and running. By the end of the night, we'd shared a kiss and I knew I'd found someone special. Six years later, I'm so lucky to be able to call her my wife.

Thanks and toasts

I'd like to thank the bridesmaids for helping to get Amy to the wedding on time, keeping her immaculately presented and entertaining our daughter with bubbles whenever the need arose. And well done for managing to look quite presentable too considering all of the above. Particular thanks must go to Dee, our Maid of Honour, who arranged a great Hen weekend for Amy – as well as ensuring that Amy has kept her marbles whilst organising the wedding. Thanks Dee, I now have them with me for safekeeping. Please accept these gifts as a token of our appreciation. [Gifts to Dee and bridesmaids] 

So, let me offer a toast to the bridesmaids – ladies and gentlemen, to the bridesmaids This wouldn't have been possible without Hannah Synan-Jones, who did the make-up for the bridal party. Thank you for making my wife and the bridesmaids shine today. A thank you also goes to Ellie for making the charming jewellery for the bridesmaids; as well as to John, Paul and Chloe for helping to make the ceremony special with their musical serenades and to Lauren for the lovely reading. Thank you to Amanda for making the lovely brownies, which I'm sure have been devoured by most people. Amanda can't be here today, as she's at the Burghley Horse Trials this weekend, but we have a little something for Elsie to pass on along with our thanks.

As some of you will know – I'm not much of a dancer, but it will come as a surprise to some that I've been instructed by my wife to apologise in advance for both our dancing this evening. Amy is planning on strutting some serious moves on the dance floor this evening – whilst her amazing dress may limit some of her more acrobatic moves, hopefully some of the guests can pick up where we leave off. My wife and I would like to express our thanks to the groomsmen for helping us to ensure today has gone so smoothly. And making sure that I didn't get up to too much trouble on my Stag do – although after surviving a zombie apocalypse relatively unscathed does put things in perspective somewhat. I'll talk a little more about the best men a bit later, but in the meantime I'd like to thank our excellent usher of ceremonies, Paul, for handling the proceedings today. There's very few people who can command the attention of our guests, learn the accordion on their summer break as well as introduce a bit of class into the day. Paul has done a great job. Thank you Paul. [Gift to Paul] So, let me offer a toast to the groomsmen – ladies and gentlemen, to the groomsmen

Absent friends

This brings me to the part of the day when we remember those who can't be with us today. For Amy and I there couldn't be two more important people missing in our lives – our mothers. Now I've promised that this won't be the part of the speech when I reduce my wonderful wife to tears (that's coming later), so I'd just like to raise a glass and spend a moment remembering those who couldn't be here today. Ladies and gentlemen, to absent friends and family

Our daughter

Of course, there's a little someone who hasn't been mentioned yet this evening – and who lights my heart with sunshine whenever she smiles. I'm talking about our lovely daughter and flowergirl Lara. The birth of our daughter was one of the happiest days of my life – and I'm so glad that she could be part of another one of the happiest days of my life. Much like today, it was a pretty scary day too – when we took Lara home for the first time, it dawned on us: we were on our own! For those of you who don't have kids already – that's a lot of responsibility! Yet with Amy by my side, anything seems possible – and together we have raised a bright, funny and happy girl. We're looking forward to watching her grow into an amazing young woman – and we will both always be there to pick her up when she falls down, help her with her homework or whenever she just needs a cuddle. Lara – there's more toys to keep you entertained on our honeymoon – and there's always time for more bubbles. In the meantime, here's something to keep you out of trouble… [Present to Lara]

Amy

And now onto the highlight of today's proceedings. I'm not referring to the popcorn, but to my stunning wife Amy. When I saw Amy walking down the aisle this afternoon, my heart skipped a beat. I still remember the first time I told her I loved her; the mix of butterflies and excitement in my stomach and the way she looked into my eyes and everything was good. From that moment on, I knew we would be together. Since then, we've filled our lives with fun, support, tenderness, laughter and celebrated the geek inside both of us. We've shared many an inappropriate joke, supported each other through tough times, managed frequent changes to our lives, made some new friends and lost touch with others. Throughout these changes, we've been at the centre of it all, together – in our own little bubble. Our bubble has now grown to include our daughter, Lara too… and I couldn't be happier having two people who I care for to wrap my arms around whenever the need arises and tickle whenever the impulse grabs me. In short, I can truly say that I am in awe of the woman I'm lucky to call my wife – Amy, I love you with all of my heart and I couldn't imagine sharing my life with anyone else. Thank you for saying yes and making me the luckiest man alive. [Kiss and hug]

Best men

I'm left with a final task this evening, before I start eying up the cake and strutting my funky dad dance moves on the dancefloor – to introduce the best men. Matt and John have come from different backgrounds to be an important part of my life and kept me on the straight and narrow. I've known Matt since I went to Uni, and I've terrorised his life ever since. Growing up in our twenties, Matt and I sampled the nightlife between Uxbridge and Upminster – I have fond memories of drunken nights dancing in the Redback Tavern and I'm still trying to erase some of my memories of our lads holiday in Ibiza. – But I'm giving too much away, I'm sure he'll fill you in on the details shortly. John has known Amy since Uni too – in fact, they actually dated for a while, so if anyone know's what I'm going through, it's John. He was a great support to me when we moved up to Milton Keynes and isn't afraid to say I'm a dick, when I need to hear it. He also had the privilege of arranging my Stag Do with the help of Paul – and the zombie experience was one that I certainly won't forget. Mainly because of the look on his face when we left him to be devoured by the zombies. But I digress. Thank you all for being a part of our special day, and I'll pass you onto Matt and John. Thank you.

[Pass onto Matt, Best Man]