Speech by Craig Hills

Speech Type: Groom
Speech Creator: Craig Hills
Speech Date: Jul 2002
In preparation for my speech, I asked many people for advice. Probably
the best advice given was that a good speech has a good beginning and a
good ending, whereas a great speech has the two of them very close
together. But since when have I ever listened to advice? It's times
like these when I really wish I had listened to what my Mum used to
tell me. I can't call on the benefit of that advice though, as I don't
know what she said, unfortunately I wasn't listening.

Actually, I did have a great speech worked out for you all today, but
seeing as I am married now, my good wife has told me everything I
should say instead. So as for the best speech you will hear today,
that will be given by best man Gary.

Well, as Henry VIII said to each one of his wives ‘I shall not keep you
long’.

Moving swiftly on, the last time I was at a wedding reception I was the
best man, sorry I was such a bad choice for you Andy. I feel as though
I've moved from the witness box to the dock, and am very worried about
what will be said about me in the coming speeches, none of it true I'm
sure.

Most couples on their wedding day describe it as the happiest day of
their lives. That really worries me as it implies that from tomorrow
onwards it's downhill all the way, so I'm making the most of today.
However, I must say that as I'm such a complete and utter nervous wreck
today, anything life throws at me later on, will seem like a walk in
the park in comparison.

This day has obviously been much anticipated by Yoko and myself and I
am happy to say that so far it has been simply perfect. Now with the
ceremony over the party to celebrate our married life with us can
begin. So please relax with us and enjoy the rest of the day we have
in store. It does promise to be a very special one and there are quite
a few people responsible for ensuring this to whom Yoko and I would
like to give our thanks.

(Thank You – Bride)
Which leads me on the most important person here today to whom I would
like to give my very special thanks. She is the one person in the room
to which I owe the most of all, my lovely wife Yoko. I still can't
believe that such a truly special and wonderful woman as Yoko chose to
marry me.

She looks absolutely stunning today, as I'm sure you'll agree. So I
would like to say thank you to my bride. You are beautiful,
intelligent, supporting, kind, funny, caring, patient, unassuming.
Sorry I can't read your writing, what does the rest of this say?

Seriously though, when I was offered the contract with Autoliv in
Japan, I never imagined for one moment that I would find that one
special person for life.

At this point I guess I should answer the question I have been most
frequently asked today, and explain the circumstances under which we
met. Sorry, but as with all good romance novels, this could take some
time, so I'm told.

We met through a couple I chanced across in a bar in Yokohama called
"Party Animals", the bar not the couple. A few weeks later, his wife
asked me if I wanted to go on a blind date with one of her friends. I
thought why not. I had only just moved in and didn't know many people.
Then she showed me a picture she had of said blind date, and I was
soon offering her money to set us up.

To sum up many wonderful months and memories together with Yoko, we met
in March last year, started dating that May, got engaged on July 4th
that same year, and now today, as you all know we are married.

Someone once said that a good marriage is at least 80 percent good luck
in finding the right person at the right time. The rest is trust. I
think this perfectly sums up how we met, and how our relationship has
since developed.

Yoko, you know everything about me, (even that which could get me
arrested and deported from Japan), but love me none the less. If it
were not for marriage I would never have known I had any faults, and
yet you still agreed to marry me. And as Yoko will be the first to
tell you, I'm often wrong, but in marrying you, I know I've made the
right decision.

I am extremely lucky to be the one to marry you today and I know this
is the start of many happy years together, because every day I wake to
find I love you twice as much as the day before. Someone once said
that we make a living by what we get, whereas we make a life by what we
give. Very true words indeed. You give me all of your love and so
much more with only one condition; that I give you all of my love in
return. This I gladly do. I am not marrying someone I can live with;
I am marrying the one person I cannot live without. To my bride, my
wife and my very best friend, Yoko, thank you very much for all
that you are, and all that you do.

To the beautiful Bride, ai mite no, nochi no kokoro ni, kurabureba,
mukashi wa mono o, omowazari keri.

The translation of which goes something like this, within you I lose
myself, without you I find myself wanting to be lost again.

As a special thanks I have a little something for you.

(Thank You – Brides Parents)
Kazahiko-san, I hope that I won't let you down, I am very proud to be
your son-in-law, and I hope that I will live up to your expectations.
Having been engaged to Yoko for 1 year now, I think I am prepared well
enough.

Thank you both, Kazahiko and Natsuko, for making me so welcome in your
family so quickly. I am normally an incredibly shy person, honestly,
but you have both made it very easy for me to fit in. You both always
make me feel very welcome when I come to visit. Most of all, thank you
for giving me your blessing to marry your treasured daughter, Yoko.

To Yoko's parents, komo kikai wo mochimashite ryokeno hei ha to kofuku
wo inori koun to shukufuku ni mareru koto wo kokoro yori negatte
orimasu.

The translation of which goes something like this, may good fortune be
upon us and favour us with many blessings.

So as a thanks to you for all of your love and friendship, we have a
small gift for you both.

(Thank You – Best Man)
Yoko and I would personally like to thank Gary, who kindly agreed to be
my best man today. You have done an excellent job today, and certainly
helped the proceedings go smoothly. Although the trouble with being
the best man at a wedding is that you never get to prove it.

Poor guy, he's been very busy as well with the wedding preparations and
arrangements. Needles to say there's been a lot trouble, many tantrums
thrown, plans dashed at the last minute, worries finally exploding in
shows of never before seen emotion, not to mention all the trouble on
the stag night. That's a lot to cope with, but I don't mind, he is my
best man after all.

But joking aside, I have to say that I couldn't ask for a better best
man. As my younger brother, you've had to put with a lot from me over
the years, but never doubted my reasons or intentions. You've always
believed in me and offered me praise and congratulations at the
earliest opportunity for everything I have done or that was important
to me. You've been a shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with, a
place to stay, of course a great drinking compatriot, but most
importantly of all, my very best friend.

To Gary, may the most you wish for, be the least you get.

So in thanks for all of your help and support I have a small gift for
you.

(Thank You – Grooms Parents)
I would like to give a very special thanks to my parents, Tony and
Hilary, who should really receive a medal for perseverance and
endurance. We love you both very much and appreciate all your help
with today's festivities, the preparation, all the running around and
chasing around you have had to do in order to arrange for the flowers
and the cake, the suits, the horse and carriage, the limo rental, the
booking of the church and the hotel, the meal and drinks, as well as
for all the favours, and not forgetting, the financing of the whole day
as well. The list is endless. Unfortunately, though I seem to have
mislaid the bill.

Today also represents a great occasion for both my parents, being the
culmination of many years of planning of a different sort. They have
the chance to be with me as I take the biggest step towards a new stage
in my life.

They worked especially hard to teach me the difference between right
and wrong. Thank you both so much, I now know exactly which it is I am
enjoying at any given time!

To my parents, it is written that when children find true love, parents
find true joy. Here's to your joy and ours, from this day forward.

So as a thanks to you Mum and Dad for all of your love and guidance, we
have a small gift for you.

(Thank You – Bridesmaid)
Next a big thank you goes to our bridesmaid Ayako. Thank you for
travelling such a long way to be here as Yoko's bridesmaid. We would
like to say how lovely you look and thank you for doing such a
wonderful job today.

So as a thank you I have a small gift for you.

(Thank You – Flower Girl)
Thank you as well to our lovely flower girl, my cousin, Bethany. You
look absolutely wonderful today, and we are so happy you agreed to help
us out on our big day.

So as a thank you I have a small gift for you.

(Thank You – Usher)
Yoko and I would also like to thank our good friend Andy for being our
usher today. I've known Andy for a lot of years now, and he has been
and will continue to be a great friend. I have seen Andy go through a
lot of changes in his life, all of them he has taken on readily and
without fear of the consequences. I admire that in you, and wish you
all the best for the future whatever may come, and what ever you choose.

So as a thank you for your help today I have a small gift for you.

(Thank You – Guests)
I know that some of you have travelled very far in order that you might
share this very special day with us, and both Yoko and myself are
honoured that you could make it. Especially Yoko's family and friends,
who have travelled all of the way from Japan, and also those of my
friends who have travelled from Germany, and other parts of England.
Mind you, most of them will go to any lengths to get some free food and
drink.

Unfortunately, there are some people very special to us who cannot be
here today, other members of our families and friends. But we know
that their thoughts are with us, and they that ours are with them.

We would like to thank you all very much for your cards, kind thoughts,
wonderful gifts you all have kindly given to us. Here's to all of you
who are all very special people to us, may we all have a great day.

(Thank You – Other)
We would also like to give a special thanks to Amanda & Simon from
Toppers for all of their help with designing and printing all of the
beautiful menus and name cards. Thank you as well to Tina Asprey for
making us such an incredible cake. If it tastes as good as it looks,
I'll never hear the end of how I let Yoko eat at least 4 slices. Also,
thank you to Barnabys for supplying and arranging all of the beautiful
flowers.

We'd also like to thank the Reverend Jacky Page of the Holy Trinity
Church, the hotel staff and caterers of the Cromwell Hotel, and all of
those who have helped in making this a very special day for us both.
Thank you all for your help and support with today's special event.

(Closing Part)
Now I'm not going to stand here and give you a load of stale old jokes,
that will be done by the best man.

But, I must say that isn't it funny how history repeats itself? Almost
27 years ago, Yoko's Mum and Dad were putting her to bed with a dummy,
and now it's happening all over again!

And so ladies and Gentlemen, I think I've gone on for quite long
enough! Once again, a huge thank you to you all, hope you enjoy the
rest of today and this evening.