Wedding Speeches/Showing Love

As a groomsmen, friend, family member, officiant, and photographer, I've heard many wedding speeches. Some were funny, some made me teary-eyed, and some were heart-warming; the best were all those things. I’ve also heard some cringy stories in wedding speeches.

Often, wedding speeches are not about the couple. Many times, the parents of the couple use them to brag about their own child. I’ve heard parents list out their child’s accomplishments like a resume (e.g., went to X school, got a Y degree, got a job as a Z).

While it is admirable for parents to want to show how proud they are of their children (leaving out that listing resume items probably isn’t the best way to express your love), weddings aren’t the best forum. I firmly believe speeches should be about the couple and how things have changed since then.

With that said, there are not enough occasions to express our love outwardly to people in our lives. But maybe we shouldn’t need special occasions to do so. It feels unnatural (particularly coming from a Chinese household), but I have been intentionally showing admiration and appreciation to others more often.

Though, it doesn’t hurt to have milestones like birthdays and anniversaries as a trigger/reminder to show love. And hopefully, weddings are not happening repeatedly…

How are you displaying love/admiration/appreciation in your life?