Speech by Daniel Joleys

Speech Type: Groom
Speech Creator: Daniel Joleys
Speech Date: Jun 2009
Thank you Eric for your kind words.

Distinguished guests, relatives, friends and freeloaders

On behalf of my wife and I, thank you all for joining us today to celebrate our marriage!
It's a privilege to be in the company of so many people that are important in our lives and we're delighted to welcome you here to share our special day with us.
It's great to see you all and I can honestly say it would not have been the same without you.
For my new father in law it would have been a lot cheaper, but that's beside the point.

We would like to thank you all for your generosity and the fantastic gifts you have bought for us. I can't tell you how much they mean to us……… I will however be informing you in due course once I have had chance to list them on eBay!
To those of you that have given us a cheque, thank you..
No, I really do mean thank-you, we will be using your account details from the cheques and setting up direct debits paying our utility bills for years to come.
Who said identity fraud was a bad idea?

On a serious note, events like today don't just happen. We have been planning this wedding for some months now. Well, I say "we", Ceri actually did all the work, as one of the best things about being a man is that weddings seem to organise themselves. So to Ceri and everyone else who has helped organise today I would like to say a big thank you. Coincidentally, it won't be the only time this year my wife does all the work. For those of you that hadn't already noticed, we are expecting our first baby at the end of October In fact the due date is Halloween. Ceri, You always said I`d give you a devil child.
Now as is custom, there will be a few toasts during my speech, so please don't neck the whole glass at the first toast…mentioning no names, MUM
To start with, I would like to take this opportunity to say that unfortunately, there are some people close to our hearts who cannot be with us today. I know they would have enjoyed it immensely. Our thoughts are with them and we know that their thoughts are with us.
Ladies and gentlemen… please raise your glasses to ABSENT AND LOST, Family and Friends
On behalf of my wife and I, we would now like to thank both sets of parents as we wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for them. If we can become half the parents they are to us then I'm sure we won't go far wrong.

To Eric and Olive
Traditionally I am supposed to thank you both at this point for welcoming me into your family, but it seems strange for me to do that today as you have both made me feel like a part of it for many……many years now. I genuinely could not have asked for nicer in-laws, and thank you for bringing Ceri up to become the women that I have married today. I would also like to thank you both for allowing me to marry your beautiful Daughter. I love Ceri with all of my heart and will do everything I can to continue to make her happy. As a token of our appreciation please accept these flowers.
So, Ladies and Gentleman please raise your glasses in a toast to two of the nicest people you will ever meet Eric and Olive.!

To my Mum and Dad, A special thank you for all your love and support over the years. You've always been there when I've needed you. You've got me through thick and thin. I feel extremely lucky to have such wonderful parents. You have both taught me so much and have always encouraged me to make the most of every opportunity I have had. I really believe that you have made me the person that I am today, and I thank you endlessly for that………………It must be very hard to come to terms that you raised such a perfect son. As a token of our appreciation please accept these flowers. Ladies and Gentleman, please raise your glasses, to my Parent's. Mike and Judith.

That leads me on to the star of the today, my gorgeous new wife Ceri – you look absolutely stunning.
When thinking how best to describe my feelings for you now that we are married , I tried to take inspiration from a variety of sources, but for some reason I always ended up back with the Big Man. The true light, my guiding spirit, the one who has a following of millions. When questioned about marriage, he responded
“Marriage is like being married to your best friend, only he lets you play with his boobs”.
Thanks for that one Homer I thought that was great
On a serious note, I want everyone here to know how lucky I feel to be here right now.
Ceri, I love you in so many ways and for so many reasons, you know me and understand me like no one else ever could, you believe in my dreams and care about my feelings, you make me laugh so hard and smile so often, you have a way of bringing out the very best in me, but mostly because you're my very best friend, my soul mate. I love you with all my heart. Thank you for marrying me and making me the happiest man alive and for loving me as much as I love you. I know this is the start of many more happy years together. Ladies and Gentlemen, please be upstanding, for the most important toast I'm ever likely to make, TO MY WIFE, MY BRIDE AND MY ABSOLUTE WORLD,TO CERI.
Tradition now dictates that I now tell you an amusing story or two about Ceri. However, “her indoors” as i shall now be calling her, dictates that I do no such thing. But I will say this. On Sunday, we will have been together for 11 years and in that time I've learned a very valuable lesson.
Whenever I`m Wrong – Admit It!!
Whenever I`m Right – Keep Quiet!! And If you believe that you`ll believe anything.
To our bridesmaids, Nicola, Donna, Michelle and Elizabeth I'm sure everyone will agree that you all look stunning today. Thank-you for your help and for being there for my new wife. I know how much support you have all given Ceri up to and including this day. A big thank you also to our favourite Niece Evie for being our flower girl I'd like to just ask everyone to raise your glasses and join me in a toast
"The bridesmaids and flower girl”
We have gifts for you all , so if the ushers would kindly give them out

To the 2 Ushers
Now apparently there is an unwritten rule at weddings that no one should look as beautiful as the bride or as handsome as the groom. And I am pleased to say that I have certainly had no competition on that score from you both.
On a personal note Luke thank you for introducing me to my new wife all those years ago.

To my brother, thanks for sorting the car for me today and giving me a bed last night. Can you believe I was kicked out of my own house.

Finally To my best man Ian I personally, would like to thank you for agreeing to be my best man ,I couldn't have asked more from you. We have of course also got you a gift to say thank you but will be keeping hold of it until I've heard your speech. Last week he told me he was more nervous than me, so please feel free to heckle him during his speech.
However, those who know him will realise he`s not normally bothered about making a fool of himself on a Friday night… so why change the habit of a lifetime.
That's enough from me
I would like to thank you all once again and hope you have a great evening
It now gives me great pleasure to hand over to Ian.