Macbride needs your input

My draft speech

Okay here is a draft of the speech that I will make during dinner. If I could please have your honest feedback, that would be fantastic. I'm a bit of a goofball, so let me know if you actually laughed at my jokes.

***************************************************************************

Planning a wedding is certainly no easy task, but planning a wedding while teaching a course at Mac AND working on your PhD thesis, well some would call that quite insane. Others would tell you that it is typical of me. Thankfully, I am lucky enough to have learned from my mother to write everything, I need to do down, on paper. I am probably one of few people who still carries around a personal organizer made out of paper. I am also thankful for having such a supportive and kind supervisor, Catherine. You are such an awesome-tastic role model, both personally and professionally. Chris has also been extremely supportive and even wants people to mistakenly call him Dr. Wilkin when I get my PhD.

I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life. I would first like to thank my lovely bridesmaids: Mom, Kyla, Marilyn, Tori, and Amy. I can never truly express what your help and generosity has meant to me. You really made all the events leading up to the wedding truly unforgettable. Remember the confidentiality agreement that you signed at my bachelorette still applies. A very special thank you to my maid of honour, my mom. I know that it was difficult to wear both hats at times, being mom and my MOH, but you were such a great sport and you made all the days leading up to this one just perfect.

Mom you get thanked twice because you are also the mother of the bride. I am finding it hard to find the words to thank you for all you’ve done for me. Thank you for supporting me in so many ways. You cheered me on in life when I needed encouragement. You always gave me the best hugs when I was upset. I am thankful for having so many of your great qualities: your passion for life, your independence, maybe not your stubbornness, but definitely your kindness.

Dad, it is said that you marry a man like your Dad and if that's true - then the qualities of being kind, generous, loving, caring, and supportive is what I'm getting. You taught me to trust and to be brave when you would sit me on the fridge and I would leap, without hesitation, into your arms. You taught me how to cook....well, that is, making peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti. Upon reflection, maybe that’s why Chris does all the cooking. You also taught me how important family is and how love knows no distance.

I would also like to thank my brother Brandon. You challenge me to think about things in a different light and I am inspired by how smart you are. Even though people often mistake you for being older because of that scruffy beard that you grow, you will always be my younger brother and you will hold a special place in my heart. BTW: thank you for shaving your scruffy beard for my wedding day.

To Chris’ parents – where do I begin? You have been kind, caring, and welcoming to me. You accept me for who I am and I feel like I have been a part of your family forever. I know that all the traits I love in Chris have come from both of you. You inspire me to be more thoughtful and loving. I can never tell you how much you have both come to mean to me, very simply I love you both and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Last, but not least, I’d like to thank Chris, for being the man that you are. Before we met, I wrote a list of the traits that I was looking for in a guy. That list included being: kind, loving, and funny. I even got quite specific about a few things such as “loves his mom but isn’t a mama’s boy” and “knows how to manage his finances.” The list got a little ridiculous when I wrote down that I wanted a guy with blue eyes and hair with the flippy thing. Needless to say, two weeks after writing the list, I met you. You have so many more qualities than I could have ever dreamed of. To sum it all up, you truly inspire me to be a better person. You encourage me to lead a healthy lifestyle, to be extra kind to others, to go with the flow of things, and to try to not worry about the little things. I remember when you gave me the book called “Don’t sweat the small stuff” and I said, “Well how do I know if it’s small stuff or not” and you said, “Christa, finish reading the title,” which the title went on to say, “and it’s all small stuff.” Thank you Chris for inspiring me to be a better person because of the seven years we’ve spent together, and the many more years to come.

**************************************************************************