J and C

Today was the big day for my friends Josh and Courtney. I thought rather than give you my views on the day I might share the speech I gave in my role as best man. Feel free to read through it however if you understandably don't feel the need know they are a beautiful couple and it was a wonderful day.

I first heard of Courtney from Josh when they were both working at WHK. Josh had confided to me that there was a girl there he was keen on and that he wanted to impress her. This was in the early days of Facebook, and at this time Facebook had this thing where you could write a little story explaining how you and a certain friend met. I took it as an opportunity to be creative and attempt to be funny and so made up all these ridiculous stories, usually involving made up scenarios where we met fighting off hordes of aliens or in the wild while we were both searching for the same buried treasure, things like that, stories that were more interesting than ‘we met at school’. Anyway Josh at least liked them and asked me if I would write him a similar type of story to put on Facebook for him and Courtney, and make it seem as though he had written it. I agreed but I didn’t know anything about Court at this time and so asked Josh for a few details to include in the story to make it seem more authentic. I can’t remember exactly how the story went but I’m pretty sure it included Josh saving her from a family of orangutans who had confused her for one of their own.

Ranga joke? Check.

But this story seemed to get a good response from Courtney, and before too long they were dating. Now I’m not saying me writing that story made today happen but what I am saying is Courtney you actually fell in love with me.

As you’ve gathered I’ve been lucky enough to have been present right through Josh and Courtney’s relationship, and I know how much the love each other and how great that love is. I really got to experience this first hand a couple of months back when Willy, Caitie, Josh, Courtney, Holly and myself went to a german style beer hall in the city called hofbrauhaus. Being a german style beer hall they sold one litre steins of beer, and as we were drinking from one litre steins, we all got a bit drunk. The venue also had a band playing, and while they were playing with more german style instruments they were playing mostly Australian songs. It was mid way through the night and we had gotten a couple of steins into us and were all feeling a bit merry, but none so much as Courtney. All of this culminated when the band started playing John Farnam’s ‘You’re the Voice’. Once that song started Courtney was out of her seat, stein in hand and soon in the middle of the dance floor (by her self) belting it out along with the band. But it didn’t even stop there she went up to the band, threw her arms around them and continued to sing. She danced around to all the other tables in the place, stein swinging as she went, and sang to all the people there too. Everyone loved it, it got everyone in the place singing and clapping along and when the song ended the place erupted in applause.

Naturally we were talking about Courtney’s performance for the rest of the night, and when Willy, Josh and myself got back to my place and had our traditional catch up cigars that’s what we were talking about. While Willy and I were only talking about how funny it was Josh started talking about Courtney’s spirit and courage and how only Courtney would do something like that. Then he said simply ‘That’s why I love her so much’. And I remember thinking…’That’s going in my best man’s speech!’

It’s a real honour for to be standing here today and being able to stand beside these two great people and share in this day. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s an honour for all of us. While weddings don’t mean exactly what they used to since most couples are already living together and have been together for years. It is an opportunity for all of us to stop and celebrate the love and relationship these two people have found, and this is a relationship well worth celebrating. You two together are by far one of my favourite couples. The love you share for one another and the honest enjoyment I see you get from each others company is inspiring. You both keep the other one in your minds at all times and are always thinking of ways to surprise the other, or make them happy, or just make their lives a little bit easier. I know you do that because making them happy is what makes you happy. To me that’s what a marriage should be.

I love you both, and could we all now raise our glasses to Josh and Courtney.

- Damian