Father of the Bride Speech!

Hillary & Rutger Ceballos 7/20/24

Things there aren’t time to say in a Father of the Bride Speech!

Too many things were mentioned by me in Seattle, and this past weekend in Iowa, that defined negative things about my daughter, Hillary.

Now, it is time to define the positive things about my daughter, that, had I gone into them, I would have spent a half hour with tears in my eyes because I could not have finished it! The speech would have absolutely crushed the record “Father of the Bride” speech set by my friend, Rodney Griess, this summer, at his Daughter’s wedding, which ended at 25 minutes.

1. There is no one on the earth, outside of me, when someone tells her she cannot do something, will go out of their way to prove them wrong! I LOVE that trait in her.

2. She is the most caring person, albeit stubborn and set in her ways, that a person could ask for, and a great friend to everybody.

3. She is reliable. If she says she will do something, it happens. That is a great trait in a person, friend, or family member.

4. She loves adventure. The planning it takes to do some of the events she has taken on is absolutely mind boggling. I cannot imagine what kind of planning it takes to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. She made it from the Southern Border to Los Angeles before she had to stop, due to an injury.

5. The amount of traveling she has done, all on her own, before she met Rutger. Cuba, Spain, Costa Rica, Europe are all insane to do but she managed these, all on her own.

6. Now bring Rutger into the mix. What they have dealt with this summer boggles the mind. I cannot imagine getting a PhD from one Big 10 School, getting a job at another Big 10 School, planning a wedding, then having the possibility of doing a 2 year internship across the country, that in the end, does not pan out, and then this week, August 18th, moving to Eugene, Oregon to start a new life. It is insane what these two have done this year! All with a smile on their faces!

7. Hillary is a die-hard West Coast Liberal. I am a Mid-West, Independent, Right-Leaning, former Republican. We butt heads frequently. She does have the upper hand on me. She is married to a guy who has a PhD in Political Science. Thankfully, he is the mediator, periodically, in these discussions, and he always backs it up with FACTS! I mentioned this in my Father of the Bride speech in both Iowa and Seattle. These two are PERFECT for each other!

This was the only time I will ever get to do a speech like this. I failed miserably, but would never be able to say the things typed here! For the ones of us that have done it, Fathers of the Bride speeches are not easy. There is not enough time to say the great things you want to say. You always think of things later, that needed to be said!