Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Fin

On a June evening in New Hampshire two years ago, I stood up in front of my friends, family, and new husband and gave the following toast.  Actually, something like it, but not exactly it, because I had forgotten to print this out.

"I know it’s not typical for the bride to give a speech, or at least not as typical as for the best man or father of the bride. However, it’s our wedding, so I’m going to do what works for us.

I will, however, try to keep this brief. Only the very charitable - and possibly deaf - among you could say that I am typically a brief person. However, a yummy dinner and the rest of the evening await, so I’ll do my best.

As clichéd as it sounds, I would not be the person I am today if it were not for my loving family. I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where I never once, never in a thousand years, doubted that I was loved. And I will never be able to thank my parents enough for giving me the wedding of my dreams.

Throughout the wedding planning process, we’ve received so much help and support from both of our families and our wedding party. Without your jokes, your brain power, and your ever-ready encouragement, this process would have been a lot harder. Thank you all for everything you’ve done.

I look around this evening at all of our friends & family and I’m awed by the love under this tent. There are some beloved ones missing, as I’m sure many of you know. I never thought that all of my grandparents would miss seeing me walk down the aisle. However, the love that the four of them had for their families knows no boundaries, so I know they’re here tonight.

I want to thank all of you for sharing in our joy. We are blessed to have you with us and we appreciate the effort you made to be here. Some of you traveled a long way to be in Portsmouth tonight. From British Columbia and California and Florida and Prince Edward Island, you crossed rivers, mountains, whole continents to be here. We can’t thank you enough.

Now, cheesy as it is, one of my favorite movies is Love Actually. And like it or not, I’m going to share a quick quote from the movie with you: “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends . . . If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion . . . love actually is all around.”

I feel the truth of that statement tonight. And I feel it every day with the man I’m lucky enough to call my husband. So, I’d like to propose a toast: to family! To friends! And most of all, to love!"

On a June evening in Montreal three days ago, that husband & I got the tattoos in the photo above - each other's initials, rendered in Old English runes.  A permanent reminder of the commitment to love that we made that night two years ago.  And with that little story, I think I'm finally ready to let this blog go.  Au revoir!

1 comment:

Dad and Mum said...

Well said Mrs. Fraser-deHaan! We love you and said
husband very much.

Dad and Mum