Toast to the Bride, let the internet be your guide

In 2006, my friend Patience requested me to be the maid of honor at her wedding. This was a real privilege for me as I had never before played that role.
After happily giving my consent, I set to work. Trying to find out what I will wear and what I will say.

I had a multitude of ideas on public speaking but this time around, it had to be special as the following were at stake: show that I knew the bride well enough to be honest in my revelations, make the groom know that his bride was the best thing that ever happened to him in spite of any weaknesses she might have…all these ideas had to be in a very interesting fun-filled speech to make the guests laugh, feel important, and channel their energies for the well-being of the newly weds.

Lost in these thoughts on how to make the perfect speech, suddenly I heard a “ding!” in my mind. It sounded more like a “click”: the Internet! Cruise through that World Wide Web and search anything related to speeches at weddings and there you can harvest ideas and customize them!

So I went online and typed “wedding speech”, “wedding speech for the maid of honor”. The results were so amazing and exciting that at the end of the day I was flooded with ideas. But the one that caught my attention most was the opening sentence of the body of my speech:

Ladies and gentlemen, look to your left, look to your right. You are the ones Patience and Raymond love the most. They invited you because this day would not be the same without you. You have honoured them with your presence and I would like to thank you all for coming.

“Our best thoughts come from others” – Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that, and he was right. All it takes is a mix and match of the ideas to suit your situation and you get your perfect speech, in addition to looking very intelligent!

That was one of the best speeches i ever made. What made it even more so is the fact that it was brief, fun filled and straight to the point. This indeed is my chance to thank all those who make their ideas available online for others to get inspiration from.

See below the entire speech as recited by me (it lasted just about 4 minutes)! Great planning I’d say! And it flowed so smoothly no one would have thought I memorised it!

Toast to the bride
- It is usually very difficult to take the floor in the midst of distinguished personalities like you all here present.

- For those of you who don’t know me, I am Patience’s friend and my name is Patience Ntemgwa.

- Ladies and gentlemen, look to your left, look to your right. You are the ones Patience and Raymond love the most. They invited you because this day would not be the same without you. You have honoured them with your presence and I would like to thank you all for coming.

- I first met Patience when we were admitted into lower sixth in CCAST Bambili. Patience and I became good friends. As a demonstration of her leadership skills, she was elected senior sports officer; I was senior prefect at the time. I enjoyed perfect collaboration from her and this led to the success of our student government. We later studied in the University of Buea, and then she travelled to Belgium.

- Though years have passed and some things have changed, our friendship never ends

- What I find most outstanding in Patience is her simplicity. Patience is a good listener. So Raymond, if that is what you are looking for in a bride, rest assured that you have found the right person. Success in marriage is more than finding the right person. It is about being the right person.

- I remember when I asked Patience how she knew she had found the right person; she told me that all along she has been looking in the wrong places. I am still waiting for her to tell me where the right places are. I am sure the bachelorettes here today would also like to know where the right places are…

- Patience has a magnificent smile. It is the kind of smile that sets a saddened heart aflame.

- Raymond, look at Patience. What do u see? Permit me to say what I think you see. I believe when you look at your bride, you see an African queen, full of love and compassion. Yes, today Raymond calls us to celebrate his choice of a beautiful African queen.

- Raymond, I may not know much about you but from our chats on yahoo messenger, and the many things Patience has told me, I believe you have a kind heart

- Patience, may you live forever in love and may love live forever in you.

- Patience, may your hours of joy in marriage be as numerous as the petals on your bridal bouquet.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us lift our glasses, to love, laughter and
happily ever after.