A Father's Address on his Daughter's Wedding Day

I am pleased to have this opportunity to extend a hearty welcome to all of you on behalf of the bride and groom, Elaina and Paddy, the bride’s mother and my lovely wife, Evangeline, and the groom’s mother and father, Nora and Jim. Having our families and very special friends here to celebrate our children’s wedding with us makes this a very happy occasion, and one we will always cherish.

If I may speak for all parents, a wedding is not only one of the more joyous occasions we can experience on behalf of our children, it is also one of the more profound events in the passages of the family’s life cycle. It is the singular inflection point when parents realize, truly, for the first time, that their child will embark on a life of his or her own. And though familial bonds will always overcome separation by distance and time, the newly wedded couple will begin a journey entirely of their own choosing. Their journey may take them far and wide, but the reality is also that their journey will bring new experiences and wisdom that will factor into the continuing evolution of who they are as individuals, a couple, and parents in their own time.

Evangeline, Nora, Jim, and I are a like all parents in this room, and around the world, who desire only the best life possible for our children. We try to accomplish this by being parents: training and teaching in the early years; guiding and sometimes seemingly unfairly controlling in the critical years of youth, to stepping back and learning how to gently guide and advise our children as they grow into the more sophisticated years of young adulthood. Through this process we hope to give them the social skills and coping tools necessary to be successful in life.. simply as good human beings.

Good things often come to good people, by their own endeavors, and through the generosity of family and true friends who have comprised the thread, yarn and weave of their social fabric.

But sometimes good things happen not by design or intent.

It is often said, and I truly believe this, that a person makes their own luck. Hard work, a commitment to personal integrity, and the lifelong application of the Golden Rule, are what create much of the luck one will experience in life. Yet maybe there is something to be said of "luck" as the random event, or moment of serendipity when the paths of two people intersect at the right place in time, that otherwise, by moment or degree of separation more or less may never have occurred. For those special occasions we have to be thankful.

And so it is that Evangeline, Nora, Jim, and I are so very pleased that our children’s paths have intersected and wended to this very day.

To the newlywed couple let me say this on behalf of your newly extended families: Welcome!

And know this: You will always have us around you to celebrate your joys and successes; to rally to you in times of need; and to continue to help you achieve your goals.

May God bless you... in good health.. wealth.. and happiness. May you have a beautiful life.