Congratulations to the silly happy lovely couple! I used to follow Kristen on writerTwitter, and got to experience vicariously the falling in love phase. These two deserve all the happiness!
Best wedding speech in memory was the one my dad gave at my second-and-final wedding. I married a German man in Switzerland, and our guests were from everywhere (Germany, US, Italy, Greece, Russia, Slovakia, France, Czech Republic). My dad spoke in English, and purposely used simple sentence structure and wording so everyone would understand (my mum told me about him reviewing and rewriting his notes on the flight over). I should note it is traditional in German-speaking areas for the father of the bride to give The Speech. He said he supposed the the tradition comes from the father “giving away” the daughter, but that does not apply at all because I was not his to give, but a strong woman who makes her own choices. (yay dad!) He talked about parents “letting go” and pointed out that the wedding was not even a milestone in that, because he and my mum had been practicing that for years already. A decade earlier, they watched me resettle in Europe, and now they were surrounded by the life I had built for myself, full of love for me and the man I chose. He talked about how proud he was of me and of being part of this community. It was a brilliant speech and there were laughs as well as tears. Friends who were there commented on it years later. And that I remember so much… heck, it was 24 years ago.
One of the profound pleasures of my life is to listen to my wife research, write, and deliver eulogies—that other signal public tribute. Encapsulating a life, holding and even shaping a person’s memory, is a profoundly meaningful task.
She also does weddings, and listening to her get to know couples and help couples get to know one another always improves my tenuous understanding of love, and gives me optimism for humanity.
I’m glad you had this opportunity and grabbed it as a writer, friend, and human!
Congrats to Kristen and Kayla! And I love that thought, that it’s so great to have the chance to celebrate your friends. Maybe we should all do that more.
Congratulations Kristen and Kayla! Your wedding sounds like lots of fun, and one of my favorite things in life is to get to see two women marry each other.
I haven't written a wedding speech, but I tend to be the go-to for obituaries. I've written 4 (I think?) of them in the last two years. This is not a statistic I am proud of because it comes at times of grief, shock, and sometimes anger for the families and friends. I ask them to tell me stories and then I work those into the obituaries which, in the end, makes the family & friends smile a little. These are usually the most rewarding words I write.
Congrats and Hooray--may our freedoms continue, forever and ever. Weddings are the best. We had an open section, following my childhood Quaker background, where anyone could get up and share poem, thoughts, song, whatever, as happens in Quaker meeting. The tributes were astonishing. I felt so honored and loved, and so did my spouse. Your tribute will stay with them for a long time, I'm guessing.
Love this story! Once you get the bug for saying a great speech at a wedding, you know what the next step is, right? Officiating! I've officiated at several friends' weddings by becoming a reverend with the Universal Life Church -- a simple way to become legally able to marry people in most states. It is SUCH an incredible honor. I generally start with a speech about the couple, how they met, why their love is so special. I get some laughs before going in for the awwwww moment. Then on to the ceremony type stuff. I write it all out and in cut and paste the "script" into a little black journal that I use during the ceremony. I sweat over this writing as much as anything ever because I don't wanna screw up on someone's big day. But it's totally worth it if you ever get the chance!
Congratulations to the happy couple! May their union be blessed with health, prosperity and an abundance of laughter. I seem to be called upon to give public tributes on a regular basis, but more often at funerals than weddings. Perhaps it is my life stage that sends me to the pulpit rather than the banquet table, but the pressure is similar. Like your use of Kristen's DMs, I tend to start with a piece of writing as my inspiration. I read from one of my beloved aunt's birthday cards to me and lecture notes from a talk my father had given -- both pieces handwritten, my relatives alive again in their pen marks on the page. This weekend I will read from the texts that my young cousin sent from what turned out to be her deathbed. Sad, yes, but also oddly inspirational. The circle of life continues.
Congratulations to the beautiful brides! I love love in any form shape or color. Cheers to your friends for finding each other and taking a leap to forever💕
There is nothing better than a good wedding speech, and nothing worse than a bad one. And I have witnessed both. The worst I’ve ever seen was a maid of honor who gave a drunk, rambling, self-obsessed speech that was only tangentially about the couple getting married. It was so excruciating that people were debating how to get the mic away from her. And I am biased but my father and stepmother sang (beautifully! A cappella!) More I Cannot Wish You from Guys & Dolls at our rehearsal dinner. Not a dry eye. Personally, I got to give a speech at my cousin’s rehearsal dinner that was wonderfully fun. Mostly because his wife’s name is Liz and early in their courtship he mistakenly sent ME several (too many!!) PG-13 emails intended for her. And I kept them. And read them aloud.
Congratulations to the silly happy lovely couple! I used to follow Kristen on writerTwitter, and got to experience vicariously the falling in love phase. These two deserve all the happiness!
Best wedding speech in memory was the one my dad gave at my second-and-final wedding. I married a German man in Switzerland, and our guests were from everywhere (Germany, US, Italy, Greece, Russia, Slovakia, France, Czech Republic). My dad spoke in English, and purposely used simple sentence structure and wording so everyone would understand (my mum told me about him reviewing and rewriting his notes on the flight over). I should note it is traditional in German-speaking areas for the father of the bride to give The Speech. He said he supposed the the tradition comes from the father “giving away” the daughter, but that does not apply at all because I was not his to give, but a strong woman who makes her own choices. (yay dad!) He talked about parents “letting go” and pointed out that the wedding was not even a milestone in that, because he and my mum had been practicing that for years already. A decade earlier, they watched me resettle in Europe, and now they were surrounded by the life I had built for myself, full of love for me and the man I chose. He talked about how proud he was of me and of being part of this community. It was a brilliant speech and there were laughs as well as tears. Friends who were there commented on it years later. And that I remember so much… heck, it was 24 years ago.
congratulations, kristen and kayla!!
Congratulations Kristen and Kayla!
One of the profound pleasures of my life is to listen to my wife research, write, and deliver eulogies—that other signal public tribute. Encapsulating a life, holding and even shaping a person’s memory, is a profoundly meaningful task.
She also does weddings, and listening to her get to know couples and help couples get to know one another always improves my tenuous understanding of love, and gives me optimism for humanity.
I’m glad you had this opportunity and grabbed it as a writer, friend, and human!
Congrats to Kristen and Kayla! And I love that thought, that it’s so great to have the chance to celebrate your friends. Maybe we should all do that more.
Congratulations Kristen and Kayla! Your wedding sounds like lots of fun, and one of my favorite things in life is to get to see two women marry each other.
Congrats to Kristen and Kayla!
I haven't written a wedding speech, but I tend to be the go-to for obituaries. I've written 4 (I think?) of them in the last two years. This is not a statistic I am proud of because it comes at times of grief, shock, and sometimes anger for the families and friends. I ask them to tell me stories and then I work those into the obituaries which, in the end, makes the family & friends smile a little. These are usually the most rewarding words I write.
Congratulations to Kristen and Kayla!
Congrats and Hooray--may our freedoms continue, forever and ever. Weddings are the best. We had an open section, following my childhood Quaker background, where anyone could get up and share poem, thoughts, song, whatever, as happens in Quaker meeting. The tributes were astonishing. I felt so honored and loved, and so did my spouse. Your tribute will stay with them for a long time, I'm guessing.
Congrats! Any happy news is oh so welcome, especially a love story!
I love the idea of thinking about people in our lives and honoring them with heartfelt words
Love this story! Once you get the bug for saying a great speech at a wedding, you know what the next step is, right? Officiating! I've officiated at several friends' weddings by becoming a reverend with the Universal Life Church -- a simple way to become legally able to marry people in most states. It is SUCH an incredible honor. I generally start with a speech about the couple, how they met, why their love is so special. I get some laughs before going in for the awwwww moment. Then on to the ceremony type stuff. I write it all out and in cut and paste the "script" into a little black journal that I use during the ceremony. I sweat over this writing as much as anything ever because I don't wanna screw up on someone's big day. But it's totally worth it if you ever get the chance!
Congrats, Kristen & Kayla! We've never met, but I feel as though I know you.
Via Jami, who I've never met, but feel as I though I know.
Weird theme there, huh.
Congratulations to the happy couple! May their union be blessed with health, prosperity and an abundance of laughter. I seem to be called upon to give public tributes on a regular basis, but more often at funerals than weddings. Perhaps it is my life stage that sends me to the pulpit rather than the banquet table, but the pressure is similar. Like your use of Kristen's DMs, I tend to start with a piece of writing as my inspiration. I read from one of my beloved aunt's birthday cards to me and lecture notes from a talk my father had given -- both pieces handwritten, my relatives alive again in their pen marks on the page. This weekend I will read from the texts that my young cousin sent from what turned out to be her deathbed. Sad, yes, but also oddly inspirational. The circle of life continues.
Congratulations to the beautiful brides! I love love in any form shape or color. Cheers to your friends for finding each other and taking a leap to forever💕
There is nothing better than a good wedding speech, and nothing worse than a bad one. And I have witnessed both. The worst I’ve ever seen was a maid of honor who gave a drunk, rambling, self-obsessed speech that was only tangentially about the couple getting married. It was so excruciating that people were debating how to get the mic away from her. And I am biased but my father and stepmother sang (beautifully! A cappella!) More I Cannot Wish You from Guys & Dolls at our rehearsal dinner. Not a dry eye. Personally, I got to give a speech at my cousin’s rehearsal dinner that was wonderfully fun. Mostly because his wife’s name is Liz and early in their courtship he mistakenly sent ME several (too many!!) PG-13 emails intended for her. And I kept them. And read them aloud.
Also congrats on writing a wedding speech!
Congrats to Kristen and Kayla! (Kayla = former student of mine in high school!). Sending love to them both!