CONVERSATIONS

IV
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN
ENGLISH TEACHING

Jannin Velasco
Wedding Anniversary Speech Help....5 Steps to a
Perfect Speech
Where to start, with a lot of resources on the web, it's easy to end up creating a speech that everyone
has heard over and over again, so that expectant laughter you might be hoping for might not go so well,
since the guests have heard it all before. the idea we want is to get your guests excited with fun, laughter
and possibly memories.
So what makes the perfect anniversary speech from your daughter to the parents?
I've been to many weddings and heard many speeches. Some have been mundane, boring, too long or
emotional. Some really set the tone, are exciting, creative and set the right mood. When it comes to
delivering the perfect best man or children's speech, the most important thing is to deliver it from the
heart. You can add a touch of humor if you want, but it's not expected. The key to the perfect speech is
sincerity. We're talking about authentic emotions, not sloppy sentimentality. Everyone likes a love story
and a touch of romance.
But that doesn't mean you have to be effusive.
It's a question of balance.
Whether you want your speech to be traditional, humorous, poetic or something completely different,
there are certain essential elements that you need to include in your speech outline, so I'm going to
summarize the 5 Steps from our experiences to help you create a Great Speech

• Step 1

The first thing you are going to do is respond to the speech or be the first. Thank your parents graciously
for their words and reassure them with a bit of humor.
Thank your parents for the whole experience together.

• Step 2

The speech should be delivered on your behalf

You can begin your speech with the words "I", which always go down well with the audience, who will
applaud when they hear them.
This is the step where, on behalf of yourself and not your family, you thank everyone for coming and
sharing this happy event. It means a lot to you that all your family and friends shared this special day
with you.
Continue by thanking the guests for their presence (gifts) in both senses of the word. Point out the table
or guests who have traveled the farthest to attend your wedding.
At this point, you may want to thank absent friends. Honoring a deceased family member or friend
requires sensitivity, so the easiest way to do this is to toast absent friends.
 • Step 3

Thank your parents for everything they have done for you and their love and support over the years.
Look how well they have brought you up – the proof is in the pudding!.

• Step 4

Be sincere. Be genuine. Be yourself. Everyone will love you for it.

If you want to be really romantic you might want to read out a poem to say how you feel or even better
write your own. The beauty of writing your own is that it comes straight from the heart and you can add
your own touch of humour to make it truly personal and unique.

• Step 5

We finish this last step with the poem and toast to the bride and groom or my parents for the
anniversary.
 The toast given at the celebration of Jack & Pat’s
50th Wedding Anniversary
July 9, 2007

Being the oldest child in the family has its pros and cons. On the pro side, there are more photographs of me as a
baby and toddler than my brother and sister combined.

On the con side, I was the practice baby. Mom and Dad made all their parenting mistakes on me, and were also the
strictest with me. They got progressively more lenient with my sister and by the time my brother was born it was,
"hey Kid, here's fifty bucks, go play."

But I'm not bitter because definitely one of the pros tonight of being the eldest is the opportunity to give a toast in
celebration of my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. And I am so glad that the people my parents hold close to
their heart are able to join us tonight in this celebration. Some of you have come from quite a ways to be here this
evening, and I would like to say thank you for your travels. I'd also like to welcome the newest member of our
family tonight, and say Steve, I'm so glad that you have found us all, so welcome to you also.

I know I speak for my brother and sister when I say that the older we get, the more we realize how lucky we are to
be part of this family, and what a privilege it has been to have parents like mom and dad. I am 48 years old and
never, in my entire life, have I heard my parents say an unkind word to each other or about each other. That is
remarkable. Their love for each other has always been there, an unshakeable foundation we built our family upon.
And I'll tell you, we needed that foundation sometimes, because our family has been through quite a lot of
interesting times living overseas, including monsoons, earthquakes, hurricanes, locusts, sandstorms, floods, a war,
bomb threats, an evacuation, and blackouts when bomber planes were flying over us. I also know that we'll all live
to a very old age because we've been inoculated for just about every disease known to man.

But don't think that it was all trial and tribulation. Far from it! I happened to mention my background to someone a
few years ago, and how I moved every two years to a different country. "Oh that must have been so horrible for
you," he said. "Well," I replied. "For my 9th birthday, my dad rented an elephant and then took my sister and I to
visit the Taj Mahal. What did you do for your 9th birthday?"

We had an incredible upbringing. We walked through the Taj Mahal, we swam in the Ganges River, we visited the
Acropolis, we boated down the river through an African jungle, and we danced under the Mediterranean stars. I
know that none of us kids would have traded one second of our lives for anything. And throughout our lives, we've
always been comforted by the fact that the love my parents had for each other --‐--‐ their marriage --‐--‐ was the most
important thing in their lives. Everything else, including us kids, took a distant second. I cannot emphasize enough
how wonderful it has been to observe and participate in the relationship they have with each other.

I wanted to find the words to describe this relationship, and felt that I could do no better than a poem by Walt
Whitman called "Song of the Open Road"
 Song of the Open Road

Listen, I will be honest with you

I do not offer the old smooth prizes

But offer rough new prizes

These are the days that must happen to you:

You shall not heap up what is called riches,

You shall scatter with lavish hand all that you earn or
achieve.

However sweet the laid up stores,

However convenient the dwelling, you shall not

remain there.

However sheltered the port, however calm the waters,

you shall not anchor there.

However welcome the hospitality that welcomes you,

You are permitted to receive it but a little while Afoot

and lighthearted, take to the open road

Healthy, free, the world before you, the long brown

path before you, leading wherever you choose

Say only to one another:

Camerado, I give you my hand!

I give you my love more precious than money; I give

you myself before preaching and law:

Will you give me yourself? Will

you come travel with me?

Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

Would all of you please raise your glass and join me in a toast to my parents. Mom and Dad,
Happy 50th Anniversary, we love you to the moon and back.
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