Introduction: I am a professional copywriter for businesses by day and can help with websites, blogs, press releases and more (see reviews).
I also have developed a side business specializing in speeches for any occasion--weddings, eulogies, toasts, etc. I capture the essence of the people and the occasion, make people laugh and match the level of emotion or intimacy that the client wants. I "get" you so you can get credit for an awesome, funny, touching speech.
I have facilitated many weddings and funerals at the request of friends and family members and I have come up with a process for creating meaningful speeches that capture the moment with the right combination of humor, insight and most important, personalization. I love doing this because it helps people celebrate lives, relationships, and families. See an example of a wedding speech below. This couple wanted something "slightly religious," which is why I used a passage from the Bible to get started.
Scott and Carrie
Good morning.
We’ll begin this ceremony with a reading from the Bible.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
You may be asking yourselves why in the heck is he reading a passage about a mustard seed for a wedding. It’s not even mustard season for crying out loud.
Well, give me a chance.
I have a few seeds here in my hand. Now I know most of you can’t see them very well, but looking at this seed, would you ever guess what it would become? Probably not. It’s a rose seed by the way. A rose seed doesn’t look anything like a rose. An apple seed doesn’t look like an apple. A redwood seed doesn’t look like a redwood. You get my point.
Jesus says his kingdom is like a tiny seed. It doesn’t look like much on the outside. Who would imagine that a rose seed would grow into something so beautiful, and apple seed into something so nutritious and delicious, or a redwood seed into something so strong that it outlives entire civilizations?
You’re still wondering, aren’t you?
Scott and Carrie are making a commitment to each other and to their children, family and friends. But it’s just the beginning. And like with the planting of a seed, no one knows, not even them, just what the future holds, and what their lives together will become—what kind of beauty, and nourishment and strength they will provide for each other and for their children, their extended families and friends.
The good news for all of us is that nature of God’s work is to bring growth—it doesn’t matter where we start, we can all grow into something wonderful. This is the vision that God has for us and wants us to have for lives and relationships.
Each seed has all that it needs to be transformed into a tree. It splits, pushes towards the sky, and grows—and grows and grows and grows. This is an exciting picture of life and marriage. It is not a picture of complacency or static existence, but of ongoing transformation.
We recently remodeled our house, and we went to a salvage yard to look for a wood beam to use as a mantel for our fireplace. We found a piece that was the perfect size and color, with rich grain. But if also had a sliver of black among the many rings in the grain. When I brought it to the counter the cashier, who was kind of a wood whisperer, looked at it, ran his hand on the grain and pointed to the black streak and said that the tree the beam came from must have survive a fire years ago.
Growth is exciting, but it isn’t always easy. There will be resistance. There will be fires and storms that threaten us. But with the grace of God you, Scott and Carrie and all of us will not just survive and but grow stronger than every beyond the challenges—into a relationship that is beautiful, nourishing and strong.
