Speech by John Denley

Speech Type: Groom
Speech Creator: John Denley
Speech Date: Jul2007
First of all I would like to thank all of you for coming and sharing the day with us. Many of you have travelled a long way to be here today and we appreciate every mile travelled and hour spent in getting here to celebrate our marriage. It is often said that the truest measure of a person is the company that they keep and if that is the case then Suzanne and I are blessed indeed.

I would also like to thank Tony for allowing me marry his beautiful daughter. It is an honour and a privilege to become part of your family and I promise you that I will devote my life to ensuring that Suzanne wants for nothing. It is a great sadness of mine that I never had the privilege of meeting Suzanne's mum as I would love to have been able to tell her how much I love her daughter and to give her the same promise that I give to Tony. Her absence is leaves a huge hole in our special day but I know that she is in our hearts and that she is with us in spirit on this special day. I am sure that she would be immensely proud to see her daughter looking so beautiful and I would like to think that I am speaking for both of us in the next section of my speech.

Above all I would like to thank Suzanne for agreeing to marry me and for all of the effort that she spent to make this such a magnificent day. I would be the first to admit that I am not the easiest person to love and you more than anyone know my faults and failings. I am incomplete without you and I had no comprehension of how empty my life was until I met you and you filled it with excitement and interest. Things that had always seemed so daunting now feel so natural and everyday I know and love you more. You are more than my wife, you are my inspiration and I am overwhelmed by your strength and passion. You look absolutely beautiful today and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you as together we take the road less travelled and make all of the difference.

I now have some gifts to present to the grooms party and first up is our page boy Davey who has done a sterling job today, I was a bit concerned when he was drinking his third pint before the service but for a ten year old he can definitely hold his beer.

Next I have gifts for my two ushers Ben and Richie. Wherever I have lived and worked I have always found that most people to ‘think in’ and analyse the minute detail of a situation to find meaning. Ben and Richie are two people who think differently and they have been instrumental in helping me to think out at life and situations to see things from a wider perspective, which has led to some truly enlightening and life changing discussions. In Ritchie's case these conversations tend to have been in the back of a police car and mercifully those with Ben have not.

That brings me on to my best man Rich who has been like a brother to me over the last eight years. While neither Rich or I are the most devout of Christians we both live by a very strong Christian ethic and in a world that full of machoism and overexageration is an honour to have such an interesting, honest and reliable friend.

Finally I have gifts for Suzanne's bridesmaids, Caroline and Shannon who look fantastic and have made this day even more special for the both of us.

And before I finish I would like to ask you to join me in a toast to Suzanne and the bridesmaids.