Speech by Andrew B

Speech Type: Groom
Speech Creator: Andrew B
Speech Date: 28/08/2016 22:25:17

Thank you Barrie, my new shiny father-in-law. I knew your speech would be hard to follow…and I was right, I could hardly follow a word of it!

My speech is a lot like my dad… Short and not very funny…and actually not that short… (Show stack of paper)

Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, freeloaders… IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO SAY… ON BEHALF OF MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE AND MYSELF, that we are over the moon to have so many people here sharing this amazing day with us. We have people who have come from all over the globe to be here today including the USA, Hong Kong, Spain, and even Glasgow. It really means the world to both of us that you have made the effort to be here, although it would certainly be a lot less stressful to make this speech to an empty room.

You will be the envy of all your friends when you head home after today, as you are all about to witness a unique event in history. The very first, and very last time that my new wife is going to let me speak on behalf of both of us. It is a privilege and an honour to do so. I just hope that, so soon into our married life, I don't let Heather down.

ABSENT FRIENDS AND FAMILY

We are truly honoured to share this day with so many of you but unfortunately, it's not been possible to have everyone we love here with us today. We know they're here with us in spirit and they're not only in our thoughts today, but more importantly they are always with us in our hearts.  So, with them in mind, this brings me to my first toast. Would you please all stand, raise your glasses, & join me in a toast to absent family & friends. TO ABSENT FAMILY & FRIENDS

HELPERS

As you can imagine we have been planning this wedding for quite some time now… Well, I say “we”. I can take absolutely no credit! One of the best things about being a man is that weddings just seem to organise themselves. All I organised was the weather and (if hot – and what an excellent job I have done if I do say so myself. These things are tough to organise but when the stakes are this high…) (if cold – and I couldn't even get that right!) I'm sure you will all agree that Heather and Alison have done an amazing job but this day wouldn't have come together without the help of so many others. To them we are truly indebted as this special day wouldn't have been quite as special without their help.

To the band, lead superbly by Jan. Thank you for filling the Kings Hall with such wonderful life and sound.

Tim – thank you for your superb piping skills today, adding some true Scottish flair to this occasion.

Colin – your words today were kind and encouraging. Thank you for getting our marriage off to the best possible start.

Lindsay – We thank you for your reading and prayer today but more importantly I want to thank you for your love and support through what has been a very stressful few months. From organising seating arrangements to a kind word of encouragement here and there, your experience and guidance has been invaluable. Thank you.

Finally, I'm sure you have all seen Lindsay's better half, Meg, snapping away to try to immortalise this joyous occasion. The pictures you capture today will ensure we can look back on this day with the fondest of memories. A priceless gift. Thank you from both of us.

There are undoubtedly other people who have had an impact on us and helped us in some way or another, and I would need hours to mention you all, but please know that your words, encouragement, love and support mean the world to us.

This brings me to my second toast. Please raise a glass to the sung and unsung heroes of this wedding, the helpers. TO THE HELPERS

BRIDESMAIDS

Everyone looks fantastic today, and there are so many beautiful women here, but I want to mention three in particular; Heather's Bridesmaids and flower girl. You all look stunning and I know Heather has appreciated you being there by her side. A special thank you goes to Kayleigh for helping with all things make-up related this morning and over the past few weeks. (Possibly about putting on with hands)

Chelsea – You have been a rock for Heather over the last year of planning but, more importantly, thank you for always being there for Heather when she needs to vent after I have done something particularly ‘man-ish’. I'm pretty close to perfect but I don't always get it right and I know Heather appreciates your help!

Laura – It makes me so proud to have you involved in our big day. I think we have a different relationship to many other siblings. Having lived abroad for such a large part of our lives we regularly only had each other for company. Whether we were playing Polo in the pool, or doing some questionable dance moves to the YMCA in front of a video camera, we always found something to do. I am so privileged to have you as a sister and also as a best-friend and can't thank you enough for today and for everything.

Frankie – you were fantastic today and looked absolutely beautiful. Thank you for doing so well. For those of you that don't know, Frankie is a brilliant gymnast and she would be happy to show you any and all of her moves later in the evening. A word of warning though… she will encourage you try them for yourself, and whilst she makes them look easy, they are not…trust me!

So for the third time, please be upstanding and join me in raising a glass to the Bridesmaids and Flower Girl…TO THE BRIDESMAIDS & FLOWER GIRL

USHERS

As I said, everyone looks fantastic today, but once again I want to mention 3 people in particular. 3 very sharply dressed individuals sat on the table in front of me… My ushers.

Tom, thank you for giving me some of the best years of my life as part of our band ‘We Could Be Heroes’. I like to think we almost made it! I'm so glad that you are carrying on the dream. For those of you that don't know Tom is a singer/songwriter and will be doing a couple of songs for us later tonight. Thank you for being part of today and don't forget me when you are famous!

James, thank you for coming all the way over from New York to be here today! It means so much to both of us. Some of my fondest memories are with you from our time at Gigg, and more specifically – high tanks! Thank you for being here.

Stu – Never above us, never below us, always by your side. Those words from our Clansmen days will stay with me forever. It really is a bond that can never be broken. Thank you for making the long drive up from Cardiff and for helping us setup the church yesterday morning. It was greatly appreciated.

It wouldn't have been the same without you all here with me today, so can everyone please raise a glass to these 3 great guys, the ushers…THE USHERS

PARENTS

Barrie & Alison – Traditionally I am supposed to thank you both at this point for officially welcoming me into your family, but it seems strange for me to do that today as you have both made me feel part of the Walker Clan for a long time now. You both made me feel so welcome and very much at home from the first time we met and I will always be grateful for that.

I will also always be grateful for what a fantastically funny, strong and intelligent daughter you have raised and allowed me to marry. You heard Heather and I exchange our vows earlier today, and whilst this is a covenant between Heather and myself, they are also promises I am making to you. I promise to protect, encourage, and make Heather laugh for the rest of our lives. Thank you for Heather and thank you for accepting me into your family.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you, from both of us, for this amazing day. Not only have you paid for and organised so much, but in between your jobs and other commitments you have found time to hand make and write all of the invitations, cut and sew the orders of surface, create, code and maintain a website as well as managing to keep Heather sane! There is so much you have done to make this day extra special and it is something Heather and I will remember for the rest of our lives. Mum & Dad – You both deserve a pat on the back. Look how well you've done! I can't even begin to thank you for everything you do and have done for me, and nothing I say can come close to how truly grateful I feel to have you both as parents. You have given me so many opportunities that have helped make me the man I am today and the man Heather has chosen to marry.

You have supported me through the good, but also the bad. More notably some very questionable hairstyles – Mum you were always so supportive and told me to be myself. Dad, you took a slightly harder line saying that I would look back and regret these style choices. I would respond in typical ‘Kevin’ fashion with “och you are so ancient’ ‘you don't know what's cool’. Dad, I can admit now… you were right. I suppose the point I'm trying to make here is that without this balance in my upbringing I may have never tried out different things, or worse I may have still been walking round with a greasy peacock quiff on my forehead!

You have done so much to get me where I am today, and I, quite literally, wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you, your support, your love and your guidance. So Heather, if it doesn't work out you know who to blame!

So please join me in a toast to 4 fantastic people… THE PARENTS

HEATHER

Heather, my wife – When you walked into the church this afternoon your beauty took my breath away. You look absolutely stunning today and I really am the luckiest chap in the world. One of the first times Heather and I met was outside one of Stirling's infamous watering holes, Dusk Nightclub. She came out exclaiming ‘I need a hug’ and I chimed in with ‘I'm good at hugs’. We embraced and I must have made a really good impression on her because we then didn't see each other again for nearly a year!

When Heather and I eventually did start going out we quickly realised that we were very different to each other. I referenced this in my vows but I wanted to share with you all the passage that Heather and I relate to in many ways:

“There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You'd think the dreamers would find the dreamers, and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not, the opposite is true.  See, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun.  And the realists?  Well, without the dreamers, they might not ever get off the ground.”

We are a team, we have each other's back. Yes there will be some bumps along the way but  As my Dad read today “Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and, when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

So now onto the most important toast I am ever going to make…please stand and raise a glass to my beautiful wife…to Heather – TO HEATHER DAVID

They say being the best man is like snogging the Queen… it's an honour but nobody really wants to do it.

I am so fortunate to have David as my best man. He has been absolutely fantastic from the first time I mentioned I was thinking of popping the question, to organising my stag do, to sorting us all out with bacon rolls this morning. Top class from start to finish.

However I have to get a shot in at David before I let him loose on you all. We travelled down to Newcastle for my stag do, which I'm told I enjoyed very much! On the morning we were to head down I got to the station in plenty of time and was relaxing with my first beer when a call comes through from David, who was travelling from Stirling, with 4 words I didn't want to hear. “I've missed my train”. It turns out David had left the tickets in his bedside drawer and was at the Station when he realised.

Long story short, we miss our train and have to fork out for new tickets. Now, I can forgive this mistake. It all ended well, we made it to Newcastle and had a fantastic time.

On the morning we travelled back we were again very organised. Woke up in plenty of time, packed up our room, I even checked under the bed! We checkout, say our goodbyes and head our separate ways. We get out of our taxi at the station and are wondering over to the door when I look back to see David frantically patting himself up and down. I thought, ‘this can only mean one thing’ and sure enough, very sheepishly David admits he has left the tickets…again. In his bedside drawer again. A mad dash back to the hotel and David just managed to rescue the tickets from the cleaners bin!

So twice in as many days David had forgotten an essential piece of a very important puzzle. Thankfully I could remain in charge of the rings until the very last minute this morning!

David you have been fantastic and we really couldn't have done it without you.

Now before I handover to David it is worth mentioning that he actually lives in a parallel universe which causes him to invent fanciful stories. He really does believe these stories to be true and I thank you for humouring him during his speech!

So without further delay, my best man, David Maxwell.