Stuart and Jacqui, Boesmanland, Langebaan. Now let’s see here. Stu and Jac can probably be described best as very, very, very much in love. ‘Bokkie Boks’ and ‘Baby Seal’ and other terms of endearment you know. Kissy-kissy, smoochy-smoochy and all that yucky stuff (and trust me, my brides and grooms get plenty of opportunity for that sort of thing). I met Stu first on a wet, windy day in Newlands. We had a beer, then another and he told me all about Jac. Didn’t stop telling me about her in fact. He was going on and on and on and ooooon. I think I might have had a third beer to dull the pain! Isn’t that so Stu? Then, about 3 months later, I met Jac. And I understood what all of Stu’s fuss was about. She’s soooooo coolio. And that belly laugh – brilliant. Giggles from the inside out. And enthusiastic! About everything. Ja, that kind of person – infectious to the nth degree. So anyway, let’s zip forward to wedding day. Jac was supremely excited. Like supremely. Okay, she did have a slight wobble when it came to putting the dress on. Quite a big wobble actually. For a minute or two. But ag, you know, been there, done that. Roll the eyes, go into psychologist mode, tell her it’ll all be okay, eat a grape, roll the eyebrows again, tell her it’ll be okay again, pop a peanut into the mouth and bingo – bride is amped and ready to go! It’s all just a part of the fun and games really. What really got me though was how Stuart and Jacqui included their kids just so seamlessly and effortlessly into the day. Stu and Jac were the number 1 show of course, but Jordan, Nicolas and Annabelle were a darned close 2nd act. Nicolas was a legend. The poor guy was suffering from a radical tummy bug, but he hung in there like a true champ, standing by Stu until very close to the end of the evening. An absolute champ. But just how superbly close this family are was depicted so beautifully in Jordan’s speech. So now I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to stop my write-up. I’m going to let Jordan speak on my behalf. Here’s her wonderful speech. I really don’t need to say anymore. Over to you ‘Jordash.’
Hi everyone, I’m Jordan, the Maid of Honour. Daughter of the bride and now daughter of the groom. Stuart, since the first day I met you our beautiful relationship has been a series of funny, crazy, goofy and loving moments sprung together. As most of you know, the only dad I ever had was my mom and while that was more than good enough, having you in my life has shown me just how awesome having a dad could be. In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve taught me how a man should treat a women, how he should treat other people and you’ve set an example of what I will look for in the father of my children one day. In 2 short years you’ve treated my mom better than anyone ever has. You’ve shown her love in every sense of the word, you’ve given her the support that she’s needed and you’ve given her the respect that she’s always deserved and I can’t thank you enough for being my soul mates soul mate. Thank you for filling the empty gap in my heart that only a father could fill. Just like my mom made vows to you today, so do I. I vow to always make you tea when you ask me to, to go sky diving with you and keep it a secret from mom, to argue with you when you tell me I can’t go out on a Friday night. I vow to wear longer shorts when I do go out and to drink beer with you just like my mom did with her dad. But most importantly I vow to always cherish you, to love and respect you like a daughter should, to listen to your advice and to make you and mommy proud every day. You are now and forever will be my Dad. I love you.
My beautiful mommy. It took me an unusually long time to write this part of my speech because how do you tell your soul mate just what they mean to you in the space of a few minutes, but here it goes anyway. According to Greek mythology, humans were originally born with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate beings, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves. How lucky am I that my other half happens to be my mom. There’s a reason God put us together. Who else would be able to handle our fabulous sense of humour, our random movie quotes, our love affair with Keith Urban and most of all our obsession with Twilight. For the past 17 years you’ve given me the most extraordinarily beautiful childhood. You’ve filled it with adventure and excitement and made sure that I’ve lived every second of this life happily AND you’ve managed to do that all on your own. You’ve taught me how to love and care but also how to be a bitch when necessary and give a dirty look or two. But the one piece of advice that will forever be engraved into my mind is to NEVER EVER talk to your boyfriend before he plays a rugby game because, as you once said, “he will say something to piss you off”.
You’re my Guardian Angel mom and my sanctuary and I know that if God hadn’t put us together my heart would forever yearn for you. You were there for my first everything, first day of primary school, first day of high school, first kiss…well kinda, I pulled away just so I could phone my mom and tell her that I had finally been kissed! And I can’t wait for you to be there for everything else, but I am so grateful that life has worked out the way it has so that I could be here to watch you marry the man of your dreams. The man who treats you with the kindness you treat everyone else with, the selflessness that your heart is filled with and the love that I’ve always wanted for you. You’re the mom everyone wishes they had.
I’d like to end my speech off with a line that Emmet said at Bella and Edwards wedding in the final Twilight movie. “Mom I hope you’ve had enough sleep for the past 45 years cause you won’t be getting anymore for a while.”
To my mom and dad *cheers*
I don’t need to say anymore other than here are a few of their photos…
Thanks Warren… There are no words for how thrilled we are with our photographs and thank you for just adding an awesome dynamic to the whole day. Special thanks need to be given for not ditching me mid wobble!!
And ps… It’s never Bokkie boks or baby seal… Maybe Dudubear from time to time but that’s it 😋😋