This father was handed a bar estimate forty minutes before dinner, kept his composure, and used the next two minutes to welcome two families.
Forty minutes ago, the manager handed me an estimate for the bar and asked whether I wanted to review it. I told him I would rather stay surprised.
Nick has never done a small version of anything. When he was ten, he asked if he could bring a friend to a baseball game. We drove to the park, he climbed out of the car, and eleven kids climbed out after him. I counted twice. They had all been told there was a spare ticket.
My wife and I looked at each other in the parking lot, and we bought eleven hot dogs. That is the kind of invitation Nick sends out. He does not have a small circle. He has a bigger table and a longer line, and he assumes there is room.
Alina, I want to thank you for getting in that line. Tonight, at this table, I count at least a hundred people who came because the two of you asked them, and I would be willing to bet most of them were told there was a spare ticket.
Rob and Dee, thank you for raising someone who looked at all that noise and decided she wanted to be at the front of it. We have not known you long, and already I feel as if we have been dividing the holiday dishes for twenty years. Thank you for the welcome, for the drive, and for letting us borrow your daughter's good sense.
To both families: we are going to spend the next two days together, and I hope you will forgive us in advance for the slideshow. I wish you a dinner that runs long, a bar that runs short, and a toast tomorrow that goes better than mine.
Please raise your glass to Nick and Alina, and to everyone at this table.
End of speech. The Vault holds 3 more father of the groom speeches, named below.
