May 2017
This speech is the result of an amazing and hilarious jounrey. Watch the background documentary first!
May 2017
This speech is the result of an amazing and hilarious jounrey. Watch the background documentary first!
This hilarious 'making of’ documentary was submitted via submission tool by Vireo Films.
That guy right there. Standing on the precipice of history. That's me. And I'm about to give the best man speech at my best friend, Don's, wedding. A speech that could end up being...
Voice Over: The best speech of all time.
Don and I have been best friends since high school. Even through going to college in separate parts of the country, and living on separate coasts. In fact, Don gave the best man speech at my wedding in 2014. But this particular journey began in 2018, when I got a call from Don.
[Phone call]
Hey, what's up man?
Don: Yo.
What's up.
Don: I just wanted to ask if you would be my best man at my wedding.
Really? Several thoughts are now going through my head. Don is my best friend. Many of my other friends are already married. And the rate of marriage among millennials is steadily declining. These things lead me to one conclusion. This is my only shot to make the greatest best man speech of all time. And to honour my friendship with Don.
Yeah. Whoa, wow. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I will not let you down, Don.
Don: Okay.
I began by brainstorming everything I wanted to express about Don. After 14 years of friendship, I would have a lot to say. But being that I didn't see Don very much, it took a little more digging than I expected, to paint a picture of Don as I remembered him. Once I got my thoughts together, it was time to write.
Dan: (singing)
So, the writing started a little slow. I realised it was time to put my ego aside, and get some help. There's no shame in using a speech writer. Even the greats do it.
Video: The fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday. But as the day when the world declared it's...
My research led to me to Speechpublic.com, a site that promises the best speech ever. This sounded too good to be true. But then I saw, right on their front page, the guarantee that "Our linguist also proofread each speech." This was exactly what I needed to break me out of writer's block. After all, "A new breathe of ideas can make your speech of the highest quality." I couldn't have said it better myself.
So I asked them for a speech for my friend, Don's wedding. Within 10 business days, I had my speech. And I went to get some feedback from Eric, one of my fellow groomsmen, who also happens to work as an editor at - publishing.
So I'm going to, if it's okay if I read it.
Eric: Sur. Yeah.
Okay. "Good evening, everyone. I would first like to welcome you all on the most blissful and beautiful occasion of Don and Katherine's life."
Eric: Blissful?
Yeah. "I still remember the first time I met Don in school. We were in 7th grade and were in the same class."
Eric: You were not in 7th grade. Don wasn't here in 7th grade.
So, I'm going to be fact checking all this later.
"Katherine, you are one lucky woman, I must say, to have Don as your life partner. I will tell you some of the most memorable, happiest, and hilarious moments I have spent with this guy. Our childhood stories are filled with such moments. So I won't be going in that detail, as it will take tonnes of days. I would now like to request all of you to raise a massive toast to this beautiful couple."
Eric: You can't, what is a massive toast?
It's like a big toast. So give me your thoughts on this speech.
Eric: I feel like you can't use any of this. This all sounds like one giant throat clear. There is, like, no content. If you feel like there are good memories, just like say the good memories. So what is that memory that you're going to share?
Eric had a lot of opinions. But it didn't seem like his expertise was a great fit for wedding speeches. So I booked a session with Alexandra Levine, a writer and wedding speech consultant. If anyone could help me, it would be her.
I want to read you a little excerpt of my first draught. And you can tell me if I'm on the right track here.
Alexandra: Will do.
"Good evening, everyone. I would first like to welcome you all on the most blissful, and beautiful, occasion of Don and Katherine's life. May both of your love be an old classical school, so that it lasts long, and you both make the most of it. I would now like to request all of you to raise a massive toast to this beautiful couple." Is this... How do we feel about this, overall?
Alexandra: Sadly, it's not salvageable. There's nothing specific to you, or your relationship with Don and Katherine, or the relationship with each other, anywhere in the speech. And I think you should scrap the entire thing.
So, in your experience, what makes a good speech?
Alexandra: Having a wedding speech that is not generic. That doesn't sound like a Mad Lib that every other person in the room could have said, or could have written, is something that clearly takes a lot of time. It's something that clearly takes a lot of thoughtfulness. And it's something that clearly takes a lot of attention to detail in your friendship with both the bride an the groom. So, the wedding toast is your time to...
It seemed like writing a great speech would take more introspection than I thought. So I formed a writers room. And recruited several comedy writers to help me write the story.
Thank you guys so much for being here. I'm glad you're going to help me write this. Today, we are going to be writing a wedding speech, a best man speech for my friend, Don.
Hannah Trav: Wait. What?
Yeah. We're writing a best man speech. I need a little bit of help punching up jokes and stuff.
Robert Ecks: You said this was HBO.
Well, so it's actually "Helping a Best man Out", is sort of what we're doing.
Hannah Trav: So, not the television network?
No, no, no. I know. And this is a speech for Don. We're doing a speech for Don.
MIchael Watkins: Who is Don?
Okay. I'm very glad you asked that. None of the writers ever met Don. But if I wanted to follow Alexandra's advice, my writers needed to really know don. So I interviewed his friends and family. And edited together a documentary to give my writers the full Don experience.
New Speaker: [Documentary]
Leslie Lemire: He's fairly calm. He's good at math.
Kevin Sallah: He has a lot of friends. And I see why. Because he gets people.
Like any good documentary, I made sure to include alternate perspectives.
Nate Adams: I would say, having not seen Don for years, and probably never seeing Don again, I do not care for Don.
I could tell everyone was getting a lot out of this deep dive into Don.
Writer: He was talking today about how he won't fart in front of her. Like, if you're willing to do that after that many years of a relationship...
[End Documentary]
And soon, we were ready to start writing.
I'm going to do a little exercise. I'm going to... You tell me what you think of when you think of Don.
Hannah Trav: Cross country.
MIchael Watkins: I put down "grease ball".
Hannah Trav: He's also good at math, apparently. I mean, honest... Is he interesting?
He's like ... fun. It was a little bit of a slow start. But soon, we found our groove. And narratives started to emerge.
Hannah Trav: He's a less hot, gassier version of Katherine.
MIchael Watkins: Yeah.
Hannah Trav: But he doesn't fart in front of her.
MIchael Watkins: He's saving himself for after the wedding.
Hannah Trav: You could say something like, "Katherine is tall, and beautiful, and smart. And Don's blood type is AB-."
Joe Bell: Katherine, would you rather he farted in front of you? Or stopped playing hard [inaudible 00:07:39].
Robert Ecks: I thought you were out of Don's league. But it says here you like hint of lime Tostitos. So I guess you just, in general, have bad taste.
And before long, I got the material I needed. And the speech was finally coming together. Now I just needed to practise.
"And what can we say about Katherine? What can we say? I don't know her!"
Fortunately, I had a captive audience with my wife, who had recently lost her job.
"Favourite snack is hint of lime Tostitos. So we know she's got bad taste."
Are you listening?
Dan's wife: I didn't even know I was supposed to be listening. You've done this ten times already.
Listen, I know that times are tough. But I think that this speech should be perfect. Because if we can't afford a gift, I think this can be the gift.
Dan;s wife: We can afford a gift. What are you talking about? This doesn't... Your speech is the gift?
The journey is the gift.
Dan's wife: What journey? You're giving a best man speech.
I've taken on many trials to do this speech.
Dan's wife: Okay. I'm so happy for you that you are putting so much effort into this. And I think it's going to mean a lot to Don. But I just need to be able to focus right now. Is there somewhere else, maybe, that you could do this?
She was right. If I wanted to take things to the next level, I had to expand my horizons.
MC: Oh my God. Let's give it up for Dan Angelucci.
Thank you guys so much. It's such a pleasure to be here. Thank you first of all, to the [Lemiere 00:09:08] family. And thank you to the Grunberg family. This has been a wonderful wedding.
The only way I could truly get a gauge of my speech was with a real live audience. And there were audiences ready, and willing to listen throughout the city.
... Such an incredible hard worker. Even something as trivial as video games, Don will give it his all. He would do 100 super jumps. Two time legend on Hearthstone. Champion's road. And if you know what those are, then you know part of why I find this all so surprising.
I never had a brother. But with Don, I understood what it was like to have to drive someone everywhere because they weren't old enough for a licence. Again, [inaudible 00:09:43] Dante. I'm sorry. There's a lot of jokes at Don's expense. So you might want to just go to the bar. Or go back to the church.
And I know that she likes hint of lime Tostitos. So what we know is that she has bad taste. I hope that you remember this day years from now, and all the people who came here, together, to wish you guys a happy wedding. That's my time, guys. Let's give a toast to the happy couple.
After a successful run, I was ready to talk shop with the veterans.
Would you say it was one of the... If you had to say whether it was one of the great speeches, would you put it up there?
Chris O'Connor: No. You need to cut out the video game stuff. No in-law is going to want to hear about how their son-in-law beats hard levels in video games. You're supposed to fill the group with optimism about the union. I got nothing from you. What hope, what hope is there for these two? How are they going to survive the storm that is life?
What would you do, then?
Chris O'Connor: What would I do?
Yeah.
Chris O'Connor: First thing I would do is, I would throw the whole speech out. I'd get rid of it. I'd toss it. Right? It's a fake. It's a phoney . It's got no heart. No soul. You gotta fight. You gotta go out there, you gotta be honest. You gotta tell the truth. The crowd's going to know the truth. They know Don and Laura.
It's Katherine.
Chris O'Connor: They know them, is what I'm saying. They're going to know the difference between a lie and a truth. You go out there. You be you. You be honest. You be pure. You tell them the truth. And you're going to show them that you're the best man, and not just any man.
I realised it was time to get real. So I decided to toss my speech out, and speak from the heart.
Thank you. It's so wonderful to be here. Thank you very much to the [Lemiere 00:11:25] family. Thank you to the Grunberg family. It's been a wonderful wedding. Let me tell you about the first time that I met Don. Have you guys ever gone too far for a bit? I've got to tell you guys, I'm doing a wedding speech on Saturday. And I've been doing this thing where I've been going around, trying to do a good speech. It's not looking good. It's not looking good. I've been going to stand ups. It's not looking good. It's not playing in the room, that's for sure.
But the thing is, that I don't know... It's like a long distance friendship. So it's like I don't know that much about my friend anymore. You know? Like you go to high school with someone. They go away. And it's like, what am I going to talk about in this speech. It's like, remember that time...
It was clear that this was not the success that I thought it would be. And I couldn't help but wonder, how could I give a great speech about Don and Katherine if I didn't have anything to say? Do I even truly know them? And so, with no confidence in my speech, I went to the wedding. Ready to disappoint my best friend. And when I finally saw Don, I had to come clean.
I worry that my speech is not going to live up to honour our relationship.
Don: Okay.
I appreciate it. That means a lot-
Don: Do think [inaudible 00:12:58] is better?
Just, it means a lot coming from you. You've given me this freedom.
Don: You write down-
But to my surprise, Don didn't mind at all. Then I thought of something that I hadn't before. What if being best man isn't about a speech to adore? What if being best man, perhaps, means a little bit more?
Friend: What's up? How you doing? It's just me and you?
Yep. This is Don's favourite song.
Friend: Actually, it is.
I know.
Dan: In thinking about what I would say in my speech, I remembered something that kept coming up when I was filming my documentary. Don and Katherine had a long distance relationship of their own for two years. Between Chicago and San Francisco. And when I asked people about how they did it, I got a similar answer.
Interviewee: I remember Katherine saying, "It's really, really hard." But I think it didn't matter to them. I don't know.
Kevin Sallah: I didn't know anything about it. Don made a pretty big move to start a long distance relationship.
Leslie Lemire: Oh. I don't understand why she is with him.
I don't know. And really, do we need to know? If they made it this far, there's got to be something there. As we get older, our friendships stretch and change. Some people fade. And some people stay in your life forever. Why? I have no idea. But if Don and I had made it this far, there's got to be something there. And I don't have to understand it. But I should take every opportunity I can to celebrate it. So, here goes.
I remember the first time that I met Katherine. Don had invited Kristen and I to go to Longwood Gardens to meet her. And we were all walking together in the conservatory. And it was Christmas time. And I remember this sweet girl, Katherine, walking arm in arm with Don. And I just remember feeling so surprised.
Even something as trivial as video games. He will go to the hardest challenges. Things like 100 super jumps, champion's road, two time legend at Hearthstone. And if you know what those are, then you understand why I'm so surprised about all of this.
Don is someone who cares deeply about the people in his life. He cares so much, in fact, that he gives Katherine the courtesy of leaving the room when he has to fart. And I'm sure Katherine appreciates it. But I imagine she would prefer he just stop playing Hearthstone on his phone around her.
Many of us in this room have long distance friendships with Don. And it can be hard. You can feel like you're missing a lot of a person's life. But Don and Katherine did a long distance relationship for two years. From San Francisco to Chicago... I almost said Seattle. To Chicago. And they made it work. Despite the difficulty, despite the distance, despite all the times where they could have said, "Why don't we just quit?" And not only did Don not quit. He conquered his crippling fear of flying to frequently fly across the country to see Katherine. And if they can take on air travel. If they can take on long distance. I'm confident that they can take on anything.
And so, after all my work, I finally reached the end of my journey. Did it pay off? Was it the best speech? That's not for me to say. At this point, there's really only one thing I can say.
I would now like to request all of you to make a massive toast to this beautiful couple.
Here is the full speech.
22 March 2018, Parlour, Canberra, Australia
We never thought that Phil would meet some just as wonderful and accomplished as him and when it happened, he and Rach became one hell of a couple, two of the most complementary personalities you’re likely to meet. One is sensitive, emotional, loves romantic dinner dates and dancing around the lounge room singing into a hairbrush. And then there's Rach. The brains of the outfit, Rach’s exacting standards can be witnessed in her leadership role in no less than the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and, even more impressively, when she’s trying to find the most drinkable cab sauv … available at Aldi ... for under $8.
Rach is beautiful, but that's not the point. After introducing her to the family for the first time, Phil took me aside and said ‘Don’t be fooled by the lovely facade, she takes no prisoners when something goes wrong with her restaurant order.’ He was of course exaggerating her no-nonsenseness. Rach is compassionate and thoughtful and generous, a true beauty inside and out.
So where did our power-couple begin? Early in 2012 I got a group email from Phil. It read:
Hi guys. It’s been confirmed that I'm to fly to Canberra on Monday to enjoy a secondment to the Federal Education Department to work on a project of national significance; the implementation of the Gonski Education Review.
To be invited onto this taskforce represents a wonderful opportunity. As I see it, this is recognition of the work I have put in recently to improve myself as a consultant and to develop my knowledge of education policy.
I wrote back:
Dear Phil, You are the biggest geek in the world. Seriously though, congratulations. With you on board, I'm sure Gonski will be done and dusted in no time.
Back then none of us knew that Phil was about to leave Melbourne and begin perhaps the biggest chapter of his life in Canberra. Phil has always been the heart and soul of his family and it was, to me at least, unthinkable that Phil would be more than a bike ride away.
Gonski was a ruse. We now know that Phil's main motivation for relocating to Canberra was to find a life partner who met a number of specific criteria. She had to be an ANU graduate. She had to share his staunchly moderate political views. She had to be able to tour the world if his side-hustle as DJ Beat Taskforce ever took right off. She had to be willing to participate in long-weekend holidays with his family and their partners, and in most instances, single-handedly organise these holidays. She had to be completely agreeable and she had to have naturally voluminous head of hair.
Mission accomplished. And may I say if there were a sister-in-law shop, you would choose Rachel without a moment's hesitation. On literally any subject, Rach is an excellent conversationalist — a veritable Leigh Sales to my Annabelle Crabb. By that I mean she brings the intellectual gravitas and I bring the scones. Rach is super fun. Just ask my Dad, who adored her from their first rollicking chat about Australia’s reporting obligations under ratified international labour standards.
The other day Dad was watching one of his grandkids playing with a plastic shape sorter and he said fondly 'Phil was good at that when he was a baby'. Ugh I thought, and I remembered what it was like growing up with an older brother as smart as Phil, and who brought home straight–A report cards without even trying. Annoying basically. There was no such thing as an enjoyable game of cards between us because Phil is an inveterate mathematician where I am not. Phil would routinely wipe the floor with me. In turn I would accuse him of brazenly cheating by using his memory, strategy and intelligence.
I want to finish with a memory about Phil and hope that it serves as a cautionary tale. Because while Phil was the golden child in our family, excellent at sport, excellent academically, musically gifted, a great storyteller, funny, kind, etc. If/when we hear the pitter-patter of little footsteps, they should know that nobody likes an overachiever. Even God will show his annoyance eventually. Many years ago, something happened at our childhood home which left us questioning what we knew about right and wrong. Not one of us was the same afterwards.
Phil was about 17 and looking after his brother Dan and cousin Ace both 8 or 9. Phil was indoctrinating Dan and Ace on an ancient martial art. Ok they were watching a Jean Claude Van Damme film. Halfway through, Phil paused the VHS and kickboxed his way to the kitchen to cook some hot chips. He peeled and sliced potatoes in perfect lengths and placed a saucepan of vegetable oil on the gas stove.
In the lounge 'No Retreat No Surrender' resumed.
Forty minutes passed. Smoke drifted across the tele. Phil leapt from the couch and hurtled towards the kitchen. It was too late. The range hood and surrounding cupboards were engulfed in flames and fire licked the ceiling. Standing at a safe distance from the fire, Phil looked upon it in shock. Dan and Ace hopped from one foot to the other, exhilarated. Eventually the inferno subsided and the damage was contained. While the smoke was thick throughout the house, one thing was clear. Phil was in deep shit.
A decades–long career as favourite child up in smoke. So sad…
I think he was grounded a week and Mum got the shiny new kitchen she always wanted so order was restored to the universe pretty quickly.
On that incendiary note I ask that you charge your glasses for a toast. To our dear Phil and Rach. Thank you for inviting us all to be here on this special day. I hope the story of your lives together is a long one full of laughter and adventure and frequent trips to Melbourne. May your smoke alarm batteries be strong. May you continue to provide the stability that is the bedrock of your relationship and may your love and admiration for each other remain as true as it is today.
21 October 2017, New York, USA
This beautiful poem first appeared on Neil Gaiman's blog. It was written for his friends, Sxip Shirey and Coco Karol.
This is everything I have to tell you about love: nothing.
This is everything I've learned about marriage: nothing.
Only that the world out there is complicated,
and there are beasts in the night, and delight and pain,
and the only thing that makes it okay, sometimes,
is to reach out a hand in the darkness and find another hand to squeeze,
and not to be alone.
It's not the kisses, or never just the kisses: it's what they mean.
Somebody's got your back.
Somebody knows your worst self and somehow doesn't want to rescue you
or send for the army to rescue them.
It's not two broken halves becoming one.
It's the light from a distant lighthouse bringing you both safely home
because home is wherever you are both together.
So this is everything I have to tell you about love and marriage: nothing,
like a book without pages or a forest without trees.
Because there are things you cannot know before you experience them.
Because no study can prepare you for the joys or the trials.
Because nobody else's love, nobody else's marriage, is like yours,
and it's a road you can only learn by walking it,
a dance you cannot be taught,
a song that did not exist before you began, together, to sing.
And because in the darkness you will reach out a hand,
not knowing for certain if someone else is even there.
And your hands will meet,
and then neither of you will ever need to be alone again.
And that's all I know about love.
Sxip Shirey, the groom, is a prominent New York producer and composer. His work is here.
5 December 2015, Richmond, Melbourne, Australia
Hello, it’s so wonderful to see everyone here and see so many friends and loved ones in the room, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Alice, I’m Phoebe's sister, and I’m thrilled and excited to say a few words tonight.
To talk about Phoebe is to talk about stories, because she is in all of mine. I could tell you the story of Phoebe and me, but really it's the story that has told me, it is this story that has made me who I am. Phoebe has been my story, and has taught me how to be a sister, how to love, how to be a good friend, how to be more patient (which I often fail miserably at), how to laugh, how to cry and how to listen.
Rebecca Solnit, a woman whose words I have come to love, says, “Stories are compasses and architecture; we navigate by them, we build our sanctuaries and our prisons out of them, and to be without a story is to be lost in the vastness of a world that spreads in all directions like arctic tundra or sea ice. To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put yourself in their story, or figure out how to tell yourself their story.”
The truth is, Phoebe is my story. She told me the other day that we've been mucking around for 30 years now, and even though it feels like 5 minutes, it's very true. Nearly 31 years now actually! Since the first day we met on January 2nd, 1985, Phoebe has been a constant source of laughter, love and kindness. Giggling Girties as our Mum used to (and still does) call us, we used to have sleepovers in each other’s rooms, just to continue laughing into the evening.
Phoebe has a wonderful ability to laugh, and make everything feel like it’s going to be ok. She is brilliantly intelligent, and this, matched with her kindness is an unusual, and glorious combination. This year has been her hardest yet, but she is brave, and level headed. We speak nearly everyday when I’m in London, and these conversations are a gift I keep in my heart, and for which I will always be grateful. Our story crosses oceans easily, and without it, I may not have been brave enough to make the leap.
When Leigh came into the story, or, musicguy75, the screen name we first knew him by, I saw him as a quiet, thoughtful, and … tall presence. Perhaps the quietness was contagious, because soon Phoebe was also quiet about him. What I soon realised was that this quiet stillness was a kind of certainty that has been there from the first glass of wine at the Black Cat, to this gorgeous dinner we are sharing tonight.
Leigh has felt very much like a big brother to me, with his incredible ability to cut any embarrassment out of any situation. He makes one feel completely as ease. I could illustrate this with a story – not about me – but about Phoebe. When Leigh was living in Sydney, he was coming back to Melbourne for a much needed weekend. Phoebe eagerly awaited his return by making a pizza, buying a bottle of wine, and lighting some candles. Unfortunately, after a bit of a delay, the pizza became cold, and eaten, the wine was a little bit gone, and the candle wax had somehow spilled all over the new couch.
Now, a lot of people would have been dismayed to return home to this scene, after a long and tiring journey. Not Leigh. He pulled Phoebe into a hug, and they had a lovely night after all.
Phoebe and Leigh are, as our Nan, Noel would say, mates. They are together in a way that makes total, and perfect sense to anyone who meets them. Leigh remains calm when Phoebe loses her phone (because it’s always in her handbag), and Phoebe’s beautifully nurturing way is home to Leigh. In the last few years my admiration for Phoebe has grown, even when I thought it couldn’t get any bigger. One of the things I’m most certain of, is that the story of Phoebe and Leigh will be strong, beautiful and forever.
15 April 2016, Comedy Festival Club, Melbourne, Australia
This was a mock wedding between two people with same sex partners, who are both prominent comedians, to protest against the prohibition against same-sex marriage in Australia. It occurred during the 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. First published on Hannah Gadsby's facebook page.
We are gathered here today to witness the union of Rhys Nicholson and Zoe Coombs Marr.
The concept behind this wedding between Rhys and Zoe will be familiar to anybody who is familiar with the closet.
Why be happy when you can be normal?
If you are wondering whether or not this a real marriage then you have missed the point because what you are witnessing this evening is not a protest. It is a celebration. Although...there will be no reception. Thank you Telstra.
At this point I would like to ask our celebrant to come forward. He is wearing noise cancelling headphones and a blindfold, as he is not legally allowed to take part in a mockery of the institution he represents.
Before we do get to the official ceremony I will just take a moment to mock a bit.
As we all know Marriage is between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others. Although we are ALL excluded from this union between Rhys and Zoe I would like to make a special mention to Keiren and Kate. As the long term partners of Zoe and Rhys I am sure this exclusion is all the more special for them.
But when one is queer, one is familiar with exclusion.
Zoe and Rhys first met when they were flaunting their lifestyles at the Sydney gay and lesbian Mardi Gras. Because, before they met, Zoe and Rhys were gay. And they will continue to be gay whether or not they, or anybody else, acknowledges that. Because that is kind of how it works. It is not a choice.
But don’t think that just because being gay is not a choice that gay people don’t like choice. Blind people like to be seen. People born without legs still like to move through space. Neutered dogs still like to hump beanbags.
We gayers know that we technically have access to the same rights as de factos; heterosexual couples that choose not to marry. But it is the choose bit I would like you to consider. Giving someone an air conditioner unit is not the same as leaving someone out in the cold.
Exclusion is not a simple act. When you say to a person: “No. You can not join in. You do not belong in this community” The end of that sentence is not the end of the story. The ramifications are traumatic to the individual. To actively isolate a fellow human being is nothing short of structural violence.
You are here this evening because you are the friends, the family and the community of Rhys and Zoe and it is incredibly important to them that you are here.
It is also incredibly important that you paid for your ticket to this event. Because they really do want to uphold the sanctity of marriage this evening, and the institution of marriage is fundamentally, if you strip away all the namby pamby love shit, is and always has been a glorified financial transaction.
The most common argument put forward against same sex marriage is “Think of the children”.
And of course people will listen to the church on this. Many people believe they are the guardians of marriage. They are not. And they never should have been the guardians of children either.
I want you to know that I do not want the legalisation of gay marriage for myself. It is too late for me. Thanks to my old friend exclusion, I’m dead inside. Rhys and Zoe are on the cusp but there is still hope for these beautiful and talented bright sparks. EVEN so, this is not even really for them.
Rhys and Zoe are doing this because they ARE thinking of the children. And not just all those vulnerable baby queers. Although, at this point I would like to say that all profits from this evening go to the charity Minus18 - who support the health and well-being of the youth of my ilk.
BUT, Rhys and Zoe are doing this is for ALL of the children. Because at the moment, what we are doing in this country is saying to ALL of the children that it is OK to exclude a minority. It is OK to be a BULLY.
Through their union, filled with love and disrespect, from both within and without, what Rhys and Zoe would like to say to all children is that being inclusive is JUST as important as being included.
Now I know that by ensuring this room is filled with friends and family we are only really preaching to the choir.
But who said the choir isn’t supposed to have a fucking brilliant time????
There is a short video of the 'wedding' on Fairfax media sites.
West Shore Cafe, Lake Tahoe, California, USA
19 February 2016,
Dearest Michael and Harumi
My wife Kate and I are very sorry not to be there with you on this most special day for you and your families. However, you can be assured that we will be with you today in spirit and for the rest of your lives, which we hope are long, prosperous and full of love and laughter together.
Mike, our friendship is so precious to me. For literally decades, you have been an incredible source of advice, comfort, encouragement, humility and comedic relief. I am so proud of the man you have become, my friend. The adventures we have had together range from the ridiculous to the inspirational and life-changing. I miss you a lot but I know you have found a home, in particular with Harumi.
Harumi, although I only spent a couple of hours with you and Mike when we met in Jakarta last year, I knew instantly that you and your relationship with Mike were something very, very special. I’ve never seen Mike so happy and adoring. You are clearly a beautiful person and Mike is so very lucky to have found you.
Kate and I attended a wedding recently and heard an inspiring poem, which we’d like to share with you as you embark on the journey ahead.
Love One Another - Poem by Khalil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
Sending all our love and best wishes, from our family to your family, old and new.
Tim McGregor Kate McGregor Tom McGregor Ed McGregor
And from brothers Rohan McGregor Andy McGregor Matt McGregor
January 2014, West Palm Beach Florida, USA
Korey has cerebral palsy so the groom, Kyle reads his twin brother's speech for him as instructed.
All our lives I have used my voice to help Korey express his thoughts, so today, like always, I will be my brother’s voice and say his words for him.
Aaaaah man, really Korey?
Rule – you must read every words as written. Text in blue are action prompts.
Test read ... Kyle secretly likes to sing and dance to the song, ‘I Feel Like a Woman’ Da na na na na na na na.
[video – Korey bound up in twine]
Kyle used to wear funny costumes and make traps with string and duct tape. When Kyle was young he would run around the yard with underwear on his head and act like a superhero.
Jess 411. Shades of grey may have a whole new meaning in Kyle and Jess’s newlywed home.
[video – Korey sucking on a dummy over a pizza, baby sound in background]
Kyle sucked on his baby pacifier forever. Mom and dad tried to get him to give it up without success. One day a cool pizza delivery boy came to the house and said, ‘hey kid, pacifiers are for babies’. And that was it. Kyle gave up his pacifier cold turkey.
Jess 411. If you need Kyle to break a bad habit, dial a pizza!
[video – Korey with bottle of wine on couch]
Kyle is so effing boring. When we go out, he always orders water while I drink booze baby! Kyle needs to hang with me to learn how to party like a rock star.
Jess 411, If you’re looking for a good time, ‘here’s my number, call me maybe?’
[video – Korey on couch with dog and dog clippers buzzing]
And one time, at band camp, I mean easter seal camp, Kyle thought I would look sexier with a Mohawk haircut. And my bro was correct. [sing] I’m sexy and I know it .. wiggle wiggle, wiggle wiggle.
Jess 411 – Now you have married Edward Scissorhands you won’t need to go to expensive hair salons.
[video- Brown Eyed Girl playing, Korey with teddy with red roses.]
I may joke around but Kyle is an awesome brother. He has looked out for me for 24 years. He cares more about others than he does himself. Kyle helped me meet and be with one of the greatest girls ever. He makes everyone feel special.
Kyle go give Blair this flower and give her a kiss. Remember you’re married!!!
Jess 411 – Take it from me, you have a partner for life who will look out for you and love you unconditionally.
[video – Kyle holding Korey up in a bar, Sweet Caroline playing]
Kyle and I have many great stories as twin brothers growing up together. Jess you will too. I love both of you .
Welcome to the family new sis. OOO OOoh! Kyle , our life has been and will continue to be, a dance.
Everyone please stand, by your table, and join my brother and I as we do what we always do to celebrate life ... we sing and dance. Kylecome and get me. Let’s party, Tootsie style!
[video – Korey the DJ turns on music]
Sing and dance out to 'Sweet Caroline'
2012
2013, Canada
I have to go to the bathroom, so I'm going to keep this short. Following [Herb 00:00:15] is always a tough task, but I'll give it my best shot. A few months ago I was talking to Alan, and he's like, "I don't really want you to speak at my own wedding, but you're the only brother I have."
Here we are. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Aaron and I am today's best brother. I decided to enter the best brother sweepstakes instead of the best maiden sweepstakes because there is less competition. Michelle and Alan, it is an honour to stand up here today. I can't be more happy for you two.
So glad we could celebrate this day with so many friends and family from not only around this area, but from around the world. There's people from Quebec, Alberta, the States, there's even someone from Australia here. It's amazing how far some people will travel for a free meal.
Alan, I am honoured to be a part of this small army that you call a wedding party. That's the biggest table I've ever seen. When Alan said today would include a big party, I thought he was talking about the reception. I don't know which group is larger. Alan's groomsmen or Rita #'s pall bearers. Her music will live in my heart forever.
It's especially awesome that we are here today, considering Alan had kidney stones only a few days ago. For a short period time, there Alan was in quite a bit of pain and it looked as if today might not even happen. There was always a part of me, however, that knew the wedding was going to happen. I knew Alan would not let anything get in the way of him marrying Michelle. That and the fact that we are a Dutch family and everything had been paid for.
Let me tell you a little bit about my relationship with Alan. We met in the 80's. Back in a time when spam was simply canned meat. First I think Alan respected me because he would do courteous things for me, including giving me the top bunk. Within a few short years however, our brotherly rivalry intensified and Alan was already bigger than me. If you look at old family photos such as the one at table three, you guys can check it out after, Alan kind of looked like a child body builder and I looked like Janet never fed me. Even to this day, she's always like, "Alan needs his protein, Alan needs his protein." We just starve, I guess.
Because of Alan's physique, I avoided getting into physical confrontations with him. Instead I tried to outsmart him. My favourite tactic was giving him hard objects such as marbles and then standing in front of glass objects such as mirrors, windows, and pictures. I would then insult him, and he being kind of like a large dog not knowing his own strength, would hurl a marble at me. I would duck, the glass would break. I would love every second of it.
As the years went on though, I thought the rivalry was dying down and a possible friendship was beginning. I guess I was mistaken though. I received an email from Alan on my birthday one year. It said, "Happy Birthday, Mom made me send this." I won't make much more fun of Alan, though because (a), we all know he's been through enough pain already this week and (b), let's be honest, making fun of Alan is very hard to do.
That was kind of ... I may be the older brother, but Alan was and is so good at so many things. He has so many good qualities ... oops. Sorry. I was the one usually looking up to him. Because Alan is nearly perfect and doesn't make any mistakes, it really made it hard to come up with material for this speech. I need a better proofreader.
If it wasn't for the kidney stones, I'd be screwed.
There's a lot of qualities that Alan has. Whether it's his maturity, in grade school Alan was busy running a website business, most of his classmates were probably worrying about their voices changing and their hair growing out of weird places.
Whether it's Alan's toughness, the guy just peed out a rock, enough said. Did you keep that rock though? No I know you did. Alan told me yesterday, he actually went into the toilet with his hand and grabbed the stone. Alan usually doesn't wash his hands. As John Davis told me yesterday, I hope he did that time.
We're talking about Alan's qualities here. I got side tracked. Whether it's his compassion, he spends countless hours giving gathers with his Athletes in Action sports ministry, or as they call it, AIA. At first I misheard him though, I thought he said AA. Once he told me he was going to AA for the weekend, I'm like, "Alan I didn't know you drank."
Whether it's Alan's smarts, only Alan would be able to maintain a 90 average and still be cool. Or whether it's his athletic ability, his trophy collection was huge, always bigger than my seventh place ribbon collection.
There was and always is a reason to admire Alan. Many younger brothers learned from their older brothers, with Alan and I, it's the other way around.
But enough about Alan and his Nobel Peace Prizes. Today Alan is a married man. Today is about Alan and the love of his life, his MacBook Pro. In life there are people that procrastinate and leave everything to the last minute, like myself and this speech, and then there's Alan. You can look no further than the planning that went on for today. He actually had his wedding website up and running even before he met Michelle.
As Herb was mentioning, Alan likes to plan.
When we were younger, we called him 'the Plan Man'. He always planned ahead, thought things through, and organised his actions to achieve whatever his goal was at the time. The Plan Man thing started years ago, when Alan was about five or so. Christian, if you remember, we would watch him spend two hours making a sandwich, two seconds eating it. I wouldn't really call it making a sandwich though, it was more like designing a sandwich. He would lay all of the ingredients on the table, carefully place them on his bread. We knew from that point on the Plan Man was destined to be an engineer. I have no doubt that Alan's grand plan including sharing his life with a beautiful wife.
Michelle you look amazing today. Alan, you didn't even shave!
I'll never forget the day Alan got engaged. Partly because he video taped his proposal, he's a bit of a creep, and partly because he called me that day and Alan never calls me. When he calls, you know it's about something important. As soon as I picked up the phone, I could hear his voice. I've never heard Alan sound happier than he ever had before. I always tease him about how he shows off his engineering ring on his pinky finger. I can safely say though today, Alan is much more proud of his new ring, and even more proud to show off his new wife.
Michelle, ever since we met you, we knew you were a keeper. I particularly liked you from the start because you always laughed at my jokes, even though Alan would just shake his head and call me an idiot.
You are beautiful inside and out, kind, compassionate, genuine, smart, caring and most importantly, you make my brother happy in a way that I never could. These last few days have been tough with Alan's health, and Michelle, you have been there for him every step of the way.
Michelle, or should I say Mitch, welcome to the family.
There are many Michelles in this world, but there's only one Mitch. For those of you who don't know, our family calls Michelle, Mitch. Why? I have no idea. I think once I called her that and for some reason it stuck. I think Herb misunderstood me though, because he sometimes calls you Mitchell. Don't worry about that too much, he sometimes calls me Kayla.
I told Allan he should use Sylar. I went to pick up my tux the other day, they’re like, “Last name please”. I’m like, “Guduf”, they’re like, “Huh!” I went to the Bay to pick up a gift from the registry they’re like, “Last name please.” I’m like, “Guduf”, they’re like, “Huh!” These are the struggles you will have to deal with on a daily basis.
I’m fully confident though that you will thrive being Gudufed. Allan and Michelle, I wish you two all the best in your life together. I love you both. Mom made me say that.
So I don’t have a glass but let’s all raise a glass to the most important people here, the bar staff. To Allan and Michelle. Thank you, I’m going to go hug them and then I can go to the bathroom.
2011, USA
voiceover subconscience
Okay, Casey, this is it. The best man toast. This is definitely my conscience. Wooooooooh! [echos] Oh yeah. That was awesome. Holy crap there's a lot of people here. Okay. Calm down. This is easy. Just picture everyone in their underwear. Nice girl with the thong! Why is everybody staring at me? Oh yeah, the best man's toast. Oh yeah. Where'd I put that paper? Here it is [gets out speech]. I intend to thank myself for this one man ... [?] Okay Casey, just like we practiced it, sat in front of the mirror, in the shower, damn that's a great ass, knock it off ... just tell the newlyweds how you feel ...
Bobby and Jen, I love both of you guys with all my heart. This is a great occasion. Let's party!
23 December, 2006, Glebe, Sydney
Good evening to all of you and welcome to this wonderful occasion.
My name’s Rob and I first met Mark almost 20 years ago when he moved to Melbourne. I probably wouldn’t have been quite so friendly to him if I’d realized he was going to stay for the next 10 years, but sometimes you just can’t help bad luck.
We’ve waited a long time for this wedding, but some of Mark & Mary’s friends, when they heard that the big day was 2 days before Christmas, thought they wouldn’t have minded waiting a bit longer.
But it is a fabulous event, and for some reason I’ve been asked to say a few words in celebration.
It’s not my job to stand up here today and embarrass Mark … that duty is left to the Best Man, who’s known him at least twice as long as I have … but I’ll do my best regardless.
I’ve been told to keep it short, which is good, because apparently the etiquette is for a speech like this to last as long as the time it takes for the groom to make love.
So thank you all for coming and good night.
-----------------
But seriously, they say a good speech is the best present you can give a newly married couple. And that’s good, because I haven’t actually bought them anything.
I’ve been doing a bit of research and found out a few things about Mark from the days before I knew him.
This may be hard to believe ….. but apparently Mark wasn’t the most attractive baby you’ve ever seen. In fact I’m told that his Mum, Moira, only started getting morning sickness after he was born!
But as I say, I’m not here to embarrass him ….. it’s just hard to avoid it sometimes.
You see Mark was a bit of a slow starter. He wasn’t like all the other 5 year olds in his class when he went to school…….he was eleven.
On the other hand Mary was different. She loved school. People would ask her parents what they thought she’d be when she left school and they would usually say “About 28”.
---------------------
But enough of the family secrets. What I really want to tell you is that the Mark Gee I know is just about the most passionate, sincere, dependable and trustworthy person you could ever hope to meet.
He left Melbourne some time ago, but even if we haven’t spoken for months, the friendship is always there, ready to pick up where we left off the moment one of us picks up the phone.
We’ve shared houses together – and by the way, I don’t think it’s normal for any straight man to be quite as neat as he is – we’ve travelled together, we’ve laughed a hell of a lot together, we’ve shared all kinds of experiences, and I can honestly say I don’t think we’ve ever had a cross word.
But that’s not normal either, so it’s about time he got married, so he can catch up on all that arguing he’s missed out on.
In fact one of the best weeks of my life was spent traveling around Ireland with Mark. But we couldn’t understand why people either broke up laughing or just looked stunned when we told them our names.
I was pretty confident that Clancy was a common enough name in Ireland, but it all became clear after a few days when one bloke told us that Gee is Irish slang for just about the rudest thing you can possibly say. From that day on, Mark had a lot more fun saying his name.
------------------------
As for Mary, I obviously don’t know her so well – she’s the woman who appeared on the scene when Mark was in the Northern Territory – working in a gold mine during the week & sleeping in the back of a Land Cruiser outside Damien & Fran’s place in Darwin on the weekends.
But even watching their relationship from a distance it’s been obvious that Mary’s been wonderful for him. From the first time I heard him speak about her it was clear that this relationship had something special about it. For a start, she didn’t charge, like most of the women he’d been out with.
As their partnership has grown and strengthened, there have been questions about where they would live, what types of work they would pursue, whether it’s possible for one man to eat that much chocolate and still have no arse … but from what I could tell, there was never any question of whether they would be together or not.
Mary’s a very special woman and Mark knows how lucky he was to find her, and in Mark I think Mary has found a man she can trust – someone who she may not always agree with, but someone she knows will always do the right thing by her.
It’s a pleasure to know this wonderful couple; it’s a pleasure to be here with all of you today, and most of all, it’s a pleasure to see that finally, Mark’s taken Mary up the aisle.
Thank you.
12 September, 2015, Los Angeles, USA
This is part of a speech from a firefighter dad to his firefighter son and his new bride.
I'm also so glad that I'm not picking up all those calls. [laughter]
Lastly, lastly,
[interruption] Somebody's choking.
[groom jumps up to save choking guest]
Somebody call 911 right now!
Uploaded YouTube, 2012
For those of you that don't know me, from Jorge's family, my name is Brendon James, and I am the best friend of Jodi Ray Juan Fernandez, and her one and true maid of honour! One and true. This is not (?).
You know, like, to prepare for this toast, I talked to Jorge a couple weeks ago and asked him. I go, 'When was the moment that you knew that Jodi was the woman that you would chase down no matter what, or how many times she would refuse you. How did you know she was the one to persue?' And he said it was the first time, was it the first time you played together? (Jorge: Yeah)
It was the first time that they played together, and he used one of the smoothest lines in the books, he said, 'Hey, I forgot my guitar pick. Do you happen to have a guitar pick with you?', and Jodie, she reaches into her purse and pulls out like seven, and goes, 'Yeah, here's one.'
And Jorge, he says 'when I touched her hand it felt so soft, it felt downie-soft, it felt like the wings of angels were upon me, it felt like God himself reached down and grabbed the tears of every baby child and injected into my heart. That's how it felt.' He said 'it felt like Zoe Deschanel was singing karaoke. He said it felt like I was in an elevator alone with Ryan Gosling and he pulls me towards him and kisses me, the lights glow, everything dims, and he turns around and proceeds to kill a man who has been hired to kill me.' That's what he told me. He's very poetic. Did you guys know? He's great with metaphors.
And you know, and me, being like very true, I asked Jodi. I go 'Jodi, on that day, in that magical moment, where you changed Jorge's life forever, what did you feel when he touched your hand?' And she took a deep breath, she paused and she looked me in the eye and said, 'Well I was sick, I didn't even notice.'
Oh, I'm just getting' started. Here's the thing, If you know Jodi, you've heard it. Jodi is so cold she's got ice in her veins. Blood in her eyes. Everyone here, turn. You guys are all sitting on chairs, turn and hug your chair. Hug your chair just a little. That's how it feels to be hugged by Jodi. There's no life, no empathy, no sympathy, no remorse, no emotion, no care, no love, no feeling... (film is cut here)... And after tonight, she will remember 'most' of you.
And so it wasn't until I, believe this or not, became a youth leader at church and she became the music ministry leader, -- around that time we became close to each other. So close, that in fact when she graduated from high school she moved to LA to go to this school, known as Cal. State University Northridge, AKA The Worst School of All Time. Am I right CSUB? Ah, and when she started going to school there, me, not knowing what to do with my life at the time - some of you are familiar with this feeling, some of you are there right now -- I went and followed suit, and I started my glorious career, working graveyard at Chevron.
And look I wasn't Jodi's only room mate, and I wasn't the only one working at Chevron. Mr Michael Neil Lepien, will you stand up and take a bow. This man, believe me, in his younger days, looked liked Rufio from Hook. This man was handsome. He's advanced 250 pounds 5 times, he's beautiful.
And we lived with Jodi. And it was amazing. We loved Jodi so much, she'd come home from school, and we'd be playing video games and we could hear her opening up the door and we be like 'Oh my god, Yodi's home, Yodi's here, Yodi!'
We'd come to the door, 'here, I'll grab your jacket for you' and he'd say'I'll grab your backpack for you,'.
She didn't know how to react to this. At first, we used to call her 'Chodie'. Until she found out what a chode was. So we changed it. We did a lot of things together. We'd go to Costco together. Jodi would buy wings so she could make her specialty wings, I would buy some sausages. Michael Niel Lepien, AKA 'Nipple', Nipple would buy sausages too. We loved sausages. And we'd have a chicken, sausage and sausage fest.
Where we'd get together, and you know what living together (sic), that was the first time, I'm sorry, that was the first time I had a girlfriend, it was while I was living with Jodi that this word appeared. It's this wonderful lady named Kirsten. Kirsten Crook. From a place called Smallville. And she would come every ah, what Wednesday, Thursday night? I don't remember. Tuesday night, I don't even know. 'Cos I don't care about it any more, she cheated on me with some guy named Kal El. I don't know if you guys know what I'm talkin about.
But we lived together, we loved each other, it was the best times in the world, until Nipple betrayed us and moved away. In all those times I'd go with Jodi to buffets, restaurants and we'd eat. We'd go to beaches, we'd go to Malibu, we'd go to Pepperdine University, we'd go to different churches, and some of you here, through those weird trips, is how you met, not only Jodi, but I myself. And we just went everywhere together.
And during this time, she became a woman. She learned to pluck. She knew how to put on some lip gloss and be popular. She knew how to wax. She learned to shave -- everything. And she became beautiful. She went from tea cups at Disneyland, to tea cups at Magic Mountain, you guys know what I'm talkin' about? And it was during this time that she just looked like, and she became this woman that looks like Megan Bier's younger sister, that I thought to myself, 'Man. If I can't find an amazing and beautiful woman that I love, I wouldn't mind settling for Jodi. She'd make a beautiful and wonderful back-up plan.' It was amazing. She's a wonderful woman, she's great, she's spectacular.
And then Jorge came. And he ruined this. So you gotta understand, I didn't like Jorge. In fact I don't like him now. But, dammit I respect you. You lucky son-of-a...
And let me tell you why I respect Jorge, let me get next to him, so he can punch me after I'm done.
I respect him, because he put up with disgusting Filipino tux which I probably could not do, and I am Filipino. He put up, no I really don't wanna say 'put up', he's been made..., this ring, this whole wedding, this ceremony, this is just for show. He's been married to her for years. And if you've ever saw how he treats her, you know what the hell I'm talking about. This man treats this woman like he loves this woman, and I know a lotta guys who say they love their woman and don't treat them like they love them. But this man treats her like he loves her, because he does, and he's not afraid to show it. Oh believe me! ...oh stop.
But he didn't just marry her, he married us. And you guys know what I'm talking about. I know plenty of guys who would take the woman and just keep them to themselves and never let the girl go out. He let her have her freedom, he never took anything away from her. He added himself into the equation, you understand? And he got to know us.
He became close to my brother, who's one of the most conceited and self-centred man that I've ever met. He thinks he's a king. He is not the king. Umberto is the king.
He befriended Boney, who is a jerk. He thinks that 9/11 was a conspiracy! He doesn't believe in Obamacare. What the?
And you know he befriended Tim, Timmy boy. Who agrees with everything. No matter how negative it is. He will agree with you.
He's a very positive man. But more than that, you know, he married the women in Jodi's family. Who are absolutely crazy. Who are absolutely bi-polar and loud. Here look, Johad, Gilbert, they're married to the family, they know what I'm talkin about! They crazy! These women are insane.
And he took the time to get to know them, to get to know all of Jodie's nieces and nephews and god-kids, and more than anything, he took the time to get to know me. And look, you don't even got to say it, I know I'm weird. More than that, I'm manipulative, I'm a hypocrite, and I'm a know-it-all. And he puts up with that.
It's disgusting how much he loves me. This man is sick. And if he can put up with me, and my loud-mouth-ness, and my horrible-ness, he can put up with anything that Jodi has to put on, 'cos, you know, Jodi doesn't have that much to put on. Like I said, she's emotionless, she's cool, chill. But the way that he, the way that you love her, man. I'm gonna tell you this, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for not taking my best friend away from me. For not becoming a jealous douche and cutting me away from her. That you trust her enough that she wouldn't do anything to betray you, and Ima tell you, there's a lotta times where I tried to trick her into saying something negative about you, and she doesn't say nothin.
This woman, I don't know how, loves you so much, she loves you so much, man. And me, you guys, together, you have my undying loyalty. And let me tell you this, the one thing I can tell you is to constantly grow and grow and grow and constantly strive to be that man, to live up to this woman. And you, you live up to this man's heart, because this man's heart is huge! He has made you into a human being. I have never seen her affectionate, until he came along. Never once.
So love each other and love you both. You have my loyalty, you have my ears, you have everything that I have to give, I love you both. And more than that, continue to grow together. T'wards God, T'wards God, T'wards God. God bless you guys.
Unknown, USA
22 October, 2011, Palm Springs, USA
IS there a cuter, happier, more perfectly suited couple than Chris and Lauren? The consensus that I've been hearing from San Diego and Melbourne is that there is not.
It's a great love story. A very American love story. Chris "The immigrant" leaves the place of his birth in search of his dream girl, and he finds her in America
Of course, if Chris decides to steal Lauren back to Australia, this story becomes a little bit more Scandinavian Viking love story, but either way, there's something in our family histories being played out in the story of Chris and Lauren.
But I think, at its heart, this is really an American love story. And I say that because the force that brought Chris and Lauren together is so quintessentially American, its the same force that did so much to shape America's greatness.
No, I'm not talking about the right to bear arms, that would be a little weird . . . what I'm talking about is competition. Competition, and the quest to succeed, brought Chris and Lauren together.
My little brother is competitive. He's always been that way. He likes to win things. Our older brother Paul is also competitive, and these two would compete over anything: football, tennis, golf, whatever, until someone, typically Chris, would have an exorcist-type meltdown, and the whole affair would end in tears.
Me, being the well...adjusted middle brother, typically decided that these competitions were stupid, and I would chose not to compete. But their contests weren't always frivolous, for example there was that time they competed over who had more friends; a definite high point in their attempts to out-do each other.
The only way to settle this argument, suggested the Harvard Graduate, was to write down on a piece of paper the names of all their friends and then count them out. Which they did.
Not surprisingly, I thought this competition was stupid, and decided not to compete.
The argument turned from ridiculous to farcical when they stopped even writing down last names, and it became a contest of who could write down the most words that could conceivably be used as a name.
But what's this competitive drive got to do with Chris and Lauren? Why do I tell you these stories? Partly to make both my brothers look daft, but more importantly it's to make you aware of what you're witnessing today, to put it in its appropriate historical context.
You.see, this marriage of Chris to Lauren is the culmination of a 12 year competition between Chris and his older brother Paul to see who could marry the most perfect bride.
Here's a little background: 12 years ago my older brother Paul announces to the family that he was to wed the beautiful and smart Wendy Govic. To most of the family the announcement was a moment of joyous celebration. But to Chris it was an act of provocation and a challenge.
Chris accepted this "challenge" and set out to find his bride.
Me, I decided that this competition was stupid, and have decided not to compete.
Chris searched Melbourne, he searched Brighton, England, he briefly searched New York but quickly realized that he was way out of his league, and then he settled in San Diego.
And it was there that he met Lauren. Lauren and Chris dated, and then Chris triumphantly announced their engagement.
But did he win? How do you even judge such a contest?
I think we need to look at their relationship. How happy are they? How suited are they?
Anyone who spends any time with Chris and Lauren know these questions are nonsensical. If's obvious that Chris and Lauren are perfectly suited and very much in love.
Plato, that old Greek philosopher wrote a whole book on love and relationships, and in it he speaks of a myth where at the beginning of time the gods split our natural selves in half, and that love is our pursuit to find our other half; it's our desire for wholeness.
I'm not totally sold on this idea, after all Plato also thought that the highest form of romantic love was between an old man and a young adolescent boy. . . so basically, Plato was a weirdo, but I do like that idea of finding someone who so perfectly complements us, and it just fits, and I think we see that in Chris and Lauren.
But while Plato might have just missed the mark, I think the tv show Dexter might have captured the essence of Chris and Lauren's connection a little better. For those whodon't know the show, it tells the story of a homicidal serial killing maniac who likes to cut people up with knives.
Wait, stay with me. . .
Season 3, episode 10, two key characters finally profess their love for each other with this simple exchange:
"I love you, you're the best thing that's ever hapenned to me. You're like a shot of adrenaline" to which the other lover responds with "I love you too, you're like a hit of Valium"
I thought of Chris and Lauren when I saw that scene. Chris and Lauren are different people, with different natures, but I can't imagine two people who could be more perfectly suited.
Chris brings to their relationship his extraordinary energy and sense of fun, and Lauren also brings her sense of fun but with it her laid back kind-heartedness. Together they're amazing.
It's that "yin and yang" thing, the masculine nature and the feminine nature, molded together perfectly. On the one side you have the less rational and emotional nature, likes to gossip with the girls, loves to shop, always up with the latest female fashions, likes to sing and dance to Katy Perry.
And then you have Lauren.
Lauren, the calm voice of reason. Lauren the stable rock. Lauren who doesn't take herself too seriously, and who's always quick with an adorable smile when Chris is about lose his marbles.
Its difficult for me to put into words just how wonderful I think Lauren is. The words will come out sounding cliche in a speech like this, but I couldn't mean them more sincerely.
Her sweet warm-hearted nature, combined with her great sense of fun and humor make~ her a truly unique and lovely person. She is the perfect partner to my brother, and I already love her dearly as a sister.
Our family had the pleasure of meeting the West|ands family the other night for dinner. It was lovely for us to see the sense of affection and fun between their family. It's easy to see where Lauren's values and nature comes from, and it makes sense that she bonded so quickly withour family.
I mentioned my brother's competitive spirit, but a better word to describe Chris would simply be spirit. My brother is one spiriteded individual. People love to be around him.
But his sense of fun is matched by his sense of loyalty and protectiveness. Chris will take wonderfully good care of Lauren, but he will also show her a wonderfully good time, and it's hard to imagine a better combination in a husband.
And if's hard to imagine a better brother. Paul, stay quiet, this is between me and Chris.
I've never seen Chris so happy. He hasn't lost any of his energy or spirit, but a certain calmness has come over him, and for that Lauren, our family thanks you!!
Just like Chris' many friends, 1 just love being around the boy. I feel incredibly lucky to have him as a close friend and a brother; knowing that we have a life of family holidays and gatherings to look forward to makes me incredibly happy.
So, wrapping up, I guess my point is this. As usual Chris and Paul's contest was stupid. Wendy was the perfect bride, Lauren is the perfect bride, and now I have two perfect sisters
But as for a winner, if you want to know who wins, if's me, 1 win. Because my family was great, but today it just got a whole lot better!
Welcome to the family Lau Lau.
8 June 2015, Cabra Castle, Kingscourt, Co Cavan, Ireland
Here's a song written by me,
Of how these two came to be together,
Stuck together forever,
From kissing in class to I love you,
From kickin' his arse to saying I do,
Sean & Caroline,
This ones for you.
Let's go from the start way back when
These two met in NUIM Kildare,
Where all the magic happens,
He saw her in Supermacs one cold night,
He said Jesus you're one's a bit of alright,
I'll give her a go,
And what do you know,
They shared a class, Mathematics,
It's just as well, 'cause they're a pair of thicks,
She said, Help me Sean I'm gonna fail this thing,
He said, Not to worry, my dad's the maths king,
So off they went on study dates with Dad,
(It wasn't that weird --ok, maybe a tad),
Who didn't Caroline, she could've been a drug dealer,
She wanted to go somewhere romantic and fair,
Don't worry Babe, we'll go to Ingar,
It's totes romantic,
We're right beside the cinema,
(Five euro deals on Wednesdays).
Her heart was full -- she'd never fall for another,
Apart for maybe the sexy younger brother,
Who knows?
But I'm relieved to be here on their wedding day,
'Cause I honestly thought Sean may have been gay,
Hear me out,
You might think, No. Not him,
But you haven't seen how he looks at Jim.
You've caught her now,
Thank God you didn't miss her,
I'd like to say thanks for the cool new sister,
This is the end of my speech and song,
I hope it didn't drag on for all that long,
So we'll raise a glass to Him and Her,
And wish them the best for their future,
Congratulations guys.
15 March, 2003, Melbourne, Australia
I’m going to start off by taking you back to where this all began. It was a Sunday afternoon in 1991 when Tony took that fateful step, picked up the phone, called e-harmony and gave out his credit card details.
Kate and Tony first met at a pub in Fitzroy called the Rainbow Hotel. It was at a meeting for the Melbourne University Film-making club, of which they were both members. Soon after they went on a date which had good aspects and bad aspects. It was bad because Tony spent most of the evening bitching about an ex-girlfriend with whom he had recently separated. It was good however because this prevented him from mentioning military aircraft for the entiriety of the evening.
It’s quite poetic that Tony and Kate met in the film club because that experience, in many ways, changed their lives. Making short Super 8 films inspired them both to seek careers in the creative arts. Kate was later accepted into VCA to study film-making, and Tony began to perform comedy spots on 3RRR. So you could say, that on that Sunday afternoon in the Rainbow Hotel, Tony and Kate, without actually knowing it, discovered what they wanted to do with their lives and who they wanted to share it with. Which in itself, is quite remarkable.
But then again, Tony and Kate’s relationship is quite remarkable. They’ve known each other for 12 years, and, at times been more on and off than Mick Jagger’s undies, but the connection they shared never dimmed. Those who knew them always prayed this day would come, where both of them would realise what was obvious to everyone, that from that day in 1991, they always had been, and aways would be, deeply in love.
Let me quickly say something about Tony. I have worked with this mad Irishman for over ten years writing and performing comedy, which in itself is a high pressure job, especially when, like us, you’re not actually funny. Having got to know Tony well over this time, can I just say he’s a kind and generous lover....no I’d just like to say Tony is one of the most centered, most moral, most supportive, and most loyal people I have ever met. Tony loves, values and respects the most important people in life, his family, his friends, and now, most of all his new bride Kate.
Once early on in our careers, Tony missed the 21st birthday of his brother Joe due to a meeting with Channel Ten in Sydney. Tony was deeply upset after this and vowed never again to put his the needs of his family and friends second to anything And to this day, 10 years later, I’ve never known him to do so.
I was trying to think of a phrase to sum up Tony and Kate’s relationship, and the one that instantly sprang to mind was “laughter and love”. Tony and Kate are always laughing. Whether they’re teasing each other, or joking about the days events, or photographing each other naked in police custody, they love a good laugh. Victor Borges said ‘Laughter is the closest distance between two people’. Tony and Kate are proof of that. Tony and Kate are so natural around each other, because they enjoy each other’s differences and laugh at them. And if they decide to breed, with all that laughter and love I can think of no better environment for a child to be born into. If that offspring dislikes airplanes however, I can think of no worse environment for a child to be born into.
I also wanted to say something about love, since this occassion is basically a ceremony which celebrates the love in it’s most pure form. And as love is a slightly mystical and magical force, I think it’s always best summed up by poetry, so I’d like to read you a poem by E.E. Cummings.....
There once was a man from Nantucket....
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)