This is the speech i'm giving at the wedding. I really hope I don't fuck it up...


Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Laura and Luis. You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Laura and Luis to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.

I have known Laura for many years. I've seen her grow from, honestly, a slightly annoying little girl into a wonderful woman. She is a good daughter to her parents Rafael and Flavina, a good mother to Alondra, and a good friend to all who know her. I've only known Luis for a couple of years now, but I've rarely seen a better couple than he and Laura. Luis, Laura and Alondra are a wonderful family, and it is with great pride that I prepare to join them together. I know that in years to come, as Luis and Laura grow old together, people will talk about what a happy, loving family they are.

Before I proceed, I want to take a moment to mention one family member who couldn't be with us today. Luis's grandfather, Luis Robledo, passed away recently. Luis was a loving father and grandfather, married for more than 50 years to his loving wife Elisa.

Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that - through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as lifemates and partners.

Will you, Luis, take this woman to be your wedded wife, to love, honor and cherish as long as you both shall live?

Will you, Laura, take this man to be your wedded husband, to love, honor and cherish as long as you both shall live?

Two people in love do not live in isolation. Their love is a source of strength with which they may nourish not only each other but also the world around them. And in turn, we, their community of friends and family, have a responsibility to this couple. By our steadfast care, respect, and love, we can support their marriage and the new family they are creating today.

Will everyone please rise.

Will you who are present here today, surround Luis and Laura in love, offering them the joys of your friendship, and supporting them in their marriage?

You may be seated.

May I have the rings, please?

Luis, please place the ring on Laura's finger and repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.

Laura, please place the ring on Luis's finger and repeat after me: I give you this ring, as a daily reminder of my love for you.

By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss each other!