James' Wedding
Apr. 4th, 2009 10:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mstakenidentityThe day went really fast, I have a sort of "moment to moment" memory of it. Hence my post shall be a post of moments.
-getting my hair done in a salon. The hairdresser used so much hairspray I fear that it caused a new hole in the ozone layer.
-waiting for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jpom40's mother in the bus shelter, trying to move further and further back into the corner as the rain came down.
-sitting in the lounge room when an almighty clap of thunder sounded, loud enough to make my ears hurt
-James coming back from an errand, me asking him exactly what he did to make Zeus so pissed off.
-watching highlights from Four Wedding and a Funeral whilst being glued to the Bureau of Meteorology website, convincing ourselves we would in fact be clear for an outdoor wedding in the Botanical Gardens at 4pm.
-eating cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches with James' family and running through the schedule.
-dancing around the loungeroom with James and Rory and Caro (different Caro!) to Chapel of Love and Sultans of Swing
-pinning flowers on to lapels, having serious discussions about where specifically on the lapel they should be placed and making sure they were all as level as possible.
-getting into the gorgeous vintage Jaguar and bouncing on the red leather seat.
-frantically trying via phone to organise transport for those people who had been planning to come on the train (trainline was struck by lightning), again asking James what he did to upset Zeus
-Not being recognised by some of my friends on arrival with my hair done and in a suit.
-watching umbrellas materialise as the heaven's opened and the rain poured down.
-the look on James' face when Katie came into sight, being walked down the aisle by her parents
-seeing Katie and James linked hands behind their backs as James brought Katie under his umbrella
-signing the certificate as neatly as possible
-having photos taken in the gardens and on the beach in the bright sunshine that followed the actual wedding.
-changing into a dress and having my suit taken away by kind staff members at the reception
-chatting and relaxing
-giving my speech, which for posterity I shall place
Hello, my name is Chris and for lack of a better title I am the Best Man.
This is the first time I’ve made a speech as the Best Man, so though I had some idea of what was involved I thought I’d better just check I knew what was expected of me and make sure I didn’t forget anything important. And where else to find solid, sound, well thought through and expert advice than the internet?
So I googled “Best Man Speech” and came upon a plethora of sites, including one which had a ready made best man speech with bits blanked out and “insert groom’s names here” in parenthesis. There was also a lot of nonsense about driving the groom around (I can’t drive), throwing him a Buck’s Night (did that a fortnight ago, it was fantastic), and stepping in and marrying the bride if the groom should do a bunk (as much as my family would love me to marry a doctor, I think Katie might have felt she’d gotten a bit of a raw deal).
As far as I can work out the Best Man is supposed to be a relative or close friend: I’ve known James since he started uni in 2003, and through lectures, tutes, plays, pubs, parties, morning coffees and afternoons in the attic of the Old Quad Melbourne Uni I can think of few people closer to me.
The Best Man is supposed to talk up the grooms good qualities which quite easy for me. James is an incredibly friendly, easy to like individual, who always tries to include as many people as possible in whatever fun he is having. I imagine this is why he is so involved in sports, and why I’ve heard good things about him as a tutor (certainly he was a lot of fun to have in a tute when we were undergrads, especially when he knew more than the obligatory tute know-it-all and politely but firmly put them in their place) James has also acted as the voice of reason for me, and has stopped me from getting into trouble many a time- this covers anything from dragging me to class when I didn’t want to go, dragging me to rehearsal when I didn’t want to go, and even vetoing my original idea for a speech tonight, which was to copy the Best Man speech from Rowan Atkinson Live. For those of you who have not encountered this piece of comedy gold I encourage you to rent it immediately.
At this point I believe it is traditional to tell a slightly embarrassing though not too incriminating story about the groom. It also seems to be a tradition that at this point the best man says, “Unfortunately any story about my mate James here that makes him looks bad makes me look far worse, so I shan’t tell you them haha.” I was determined not to do this, so I tried to think of some stories about James. Unfortunately I found to my dismay that truly, any story I know about James that makes him look bad does, actually, reflect far worse on me. Possibly this is why he picked me to be the best man.
Seriously, James is one of the kindest, most generous and fair people I’ve ever met, and I think these qualities will stand him in excellent stead as a husband.
At this point I would like to thank the bridesmaids for all their work today, and mention how lovely they look. I’d like to thank James’ parents Pauline and Norm for being so welcoming to me over the past few weeks. Finally I’d like to thank the newly married couple for allowing me to be a part of this day, it’s an honour and a privilege.
So, if you could all raise your glasses, to Katie and James!
-dancing with the groom to Losing my religion
-dancing with my fellow groomsman to Sweet Child Of Mine
-Seamus arriving in plenty of time to enjoy the party (he'd had to leave after the wedding to go perform in Melbourne Model)
-Saying good bye to the newly wedded couple
-James finding me on my own and presenting me with a bouquet
Truly wonderful, magical, awesome night. An unforgettable wedding.
-getting my hair done in a salon. The hairdresser used so much hairspray I fear that it caused a new hole in the ozone layer.
-waiting for
jpom40's mother in the bus shelter, trying to move further and further back into the corner as the rain came down.-sitting in the lounge room when an almighty clap of thunder sounded, loud enough to make my ears hurt
-James coming back from an errand, me asking him exactly what he did to make Zeus so pissed off.
-watching highlights from Four Wedding and a Funeral whilst being glued to the Bureau of Meteorology website, convincing ourselves we would in fact be clear for an outdoor wedding in the Botanical Gardens at 4pm.
-eating cheese and tomato toasted sandwiches with James' family and running through the schedule.
-dancing around the loungeroom with James and Rory and Caro (different Caro!) to Chapel of Love and Sultans of Swing
-pinning flowers on to lapels, having serious discussions about where specifically on the lapel they should be placed and making sure they were all as level as possible.
-getting into the gorgeous vintage Jaguar and bouncing on the red leather seat.
-frantically trying via phone to organise transport for those people who had been planning to come on the train (trainline was struck by lightning), again asking James what he did to upset Zeus
-Not being recognised by some of my friends on arrival with my hair done and in a suit.
-watching umbrellas materialise as the heaven's opened and the rain poured down.
-the look on James' face when Katie came into sight, being walked down the aisle by her parents
-seeing Katie and James linked hands behind their backs as James brought Katie under his umbrella
-signing the certificate as neatly as possible
-having photos taken in the gardens and on the beach in the bright sunshine that followed the actual wedding.
-changing into a dress and having my suit taken away by kind staff members at the reception
-chatting and relaxing
-giving my speech, which for posterity I shall place
Hello, my name is Chris and for lack of a better title I am the Best Man.
This is the first time I’ve made a speech as the Best Man, so though I had some idea of what was involved I thought I’d better just check I knew what was expected of me and make sure I didn’t forget anything important. And where else to find solid, sound, well thought through and expert advice than the internet?
So I googled “Best Man Speech” and came upon a plethora of sites, including one which had a ready made best man speech with bits blanked out and “insert groom’s names here” in parenthesis. There was also a lot of nonsense about driving the groom around (I can’t drive), throwing him a Buck’s Night (did that a fortnight ago, it was fantastic), and stepping in and marrying the bride if the groom should do a bunk (as much as my family would love me to marry a doctor, I think Katie might have felt she’d gotten a bit of a raw deal).
As far as I can work out the Best Man is supposed to be a relative or close friend: I’ve known James since he started uni in 2003, and through lectures, tutes, plays, pubs, parties, morning coffees and afternoons in the attic of the Old Quad Melbourne Uni I can think of few people closer to me.
The Best Man is supposed to talk up the grooms good qualities which quite easy for me. James is an incredibly friendly, easy to like individual, who always tries to include as many people as possible in whatever fun he is having. I imagine this is why he is so involved in sports, and why I’ve heard good things about him as a tutor (certainly he was a lot of fun to have in a tute when we were undergrads, especially when he knew more than the obligatory tute know-it-all and politely but firmly put them in their place) James has also acted as the voice of reason for me, and has stopped me from getting into trouble many a time- this covers anything from dragging me to class when I didn’t want to go, dragging me to rehearsal when I didn’t want to go, and even vetoing my original idea for a speech tonight, which was to copy the Best Man speech from Rowan Atkinson Live. For those of you who have not encountered this piece of comedy gold I encourage you to rent it immediately.
At this point I believe it is traditional to tell a slightly embarrassing though not too incriminating story about the groom. It also seems to be a tradition that at this point the best man says, “Unfortunately any story about my mate James here that makes him looks bad makes me look far worse, so I shan’t tell you them haha.” I was determined not to do this, so I tried to think of some stories about James. Unfortunately I found to my dismay that truly, any story I know about James that makes him look bad does, actually, reflect far worse on me. Possibly this is why he picked me to be the best man.
Seriously, James is one of the kindest, most generous and fair people I’ve ever met, and I think these qualities will stand him in excellent stead as a husband.
At this point I would like to thank the bridesmaids for all their work today, and mention how lovely they look. I’d like to thank James’ parents Pauline and Norm for being so welcoming to me over the past few weeks. Finally I’d like to thank the newly married couple for allowing me to be a part of this day, it’s an honour and a privilege.
So, if you could all raise your glasses, to Katie and James!
-dancing with the groom to Losing my religion
-dancing with my fellow groomsman to Sweet Child Of Mine
-Seamus arriving in plenty of time to enjoy the party (he'd had to leave after the wedding to go perform in Melbourne Model)
-Saying good bye to the newly wedded couple
-James finding me on my own and presenting me with a bouquet
Truly wonderful, magical, awesome night. An unforgettable wedding.
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-06 12:37 am (UTC)