Jono’s speech

I was surprised when he asked me to be his best man; not because I doubt the strength of our bromance, but because I thought, theres no way that meticulous Kyne, Mr plans everything on an excel sheet, would let me stand up here and make a speech; considering the 13+ years of dirt I have on him. So I told him this, and he replied “Jono, it has to be Rachael approved”.For a moment I was a bit deflated, you know? There go all the juicy stories. But then I thought back my friendship with Rachael over the years, and the sorts of jokes we would share, I figure I must have some brownie points saved up, and you only live once. SO, lets risk it!

How we met: It may surprise you to know I wasnt too much of a fan of Kyne when we first met, although to be fair to him I was quite grumpy at the time. It was in the first year of uni, the morning after one of the big engineering parties. During the previous night, the girl I’d had a crush on had gone and made out with some random loser. So that morning I was a bit hungover and in a bit of a foul mood. I was catching up with said girl for coffee, when this guy came over and sat down at our table and said “Hey, Im Kyne, I dont think we’ve met”. And in my head, all i could think was “Oh, we’ve met, you’re the dick from last night”. Then he did that little smirk. You all know the one. He likes to call it “the smoulder”. Anyway, it must have worked, because we’ve been friends ever since.

How I met your Rachael: Around the time we graduated from uni, Kyne went through a bad breakup, and I started to worry about that boy. But time went by, and then one day, he told me that he’d been to a party, and he’d met someone pretty special. They’d hit it off, talking outside on the deck about soccer. Naturally, when he introduced me to Rach, it had to be a joke of some form. I was instructed to introduce myself as “the competition”. Of course Rachael just looked confused and looked at Kyne “I thought you said his name was Jono”. In hindsight Kyne, I’m definitely starting to think she gets the jokes, and just likes to mess with us. Anyway, on a more serious note, the two of you have been great friends to me over the years, and I’m excited to see where you go from here. To Kyne and Rachael

Kim and Kieran’s speech

Initial coffee date and meeting Kyne:

Kim: Rachael is very organised and a creature of habit, so when I heard she was going on a coffee date I could tell something was going on. Considering Rachael doesn’t drink coffee and would usually be mid way through her morning run it was clear that she was keen on the man. At this point Kieran was over in the UK….

Kieran: Yes I’d heard whispers from half way across the world that Rach possibly had a man on the scene. Upon hearing this I immediately went into older brother mode, thinking I need to meet this fella, give him a firm handshake and assess what his intentions were with my younger sister. However, being overseas it was quite a while before I got a chance and had to rely on Dad and Kim to complete the assessment.

Kim: while I did get to shake Kyne’s hand and look him in the eye, I was less concerned about his intentions because I knew Rachael does not suffer fools and any screening I might do would pale in comparison to hers.

Opposites attract:

Kim: Kyne is totally different to Rachy and opposites do attract. The best example of this aside from Rachael disliking all computer games is sharing holidays at Pauanui. Rach up at the crack of dawn, done pilates, swim, breakfast, halfway through breakfast and Kyne stumbles out of bed rubbing his eyes mid morning at best, a bit dusty from sharing a few reds with Row the night before, rummaging around for a cup of coffee before driving his Tesla down to the bakery.

Kyne is a confident guy and this has had such a positive effect on Rachael. It is noticeable how happy she is with Kyne. Beneath a tough exterior Rachie is very kind and caring. She keeps her circle quite close but she will do anything for those she loves and trusts.

Kyne & Rachael – you have very different interests but complimentary personalities. Stick to your strengths, let the other take the lead in their area of expertise. You both have a mischievous nature, and this will ensure you will have plenty of laughs throughout life. Congratulations.

Jane’s speech

As parents, we know that our children are lent to us and we must school ourselves to continually let them go. Today is a big day for me as this is a public recognition that Rachael is truly moving on. Although she is totally independent and definitely not to be owned by anyone, we are entrusting Rachael to you Kyne confident that you will love and cherish her as you have vowed today. However let it be known that Kyne, you were chosen by Rachael. You have been her only boyfriend and she has never wavered in her love (well maybe it was infatuation in the beginning maturing to love) commitment and loyalty to you.

I love that Kyne brings out Rach’s inner child, her sparkle, beautiful smile and full bodied laugh so often hidden, weighed down by the responsibilities of life, job and striving to get ahead. I love that Kyne challenges Rachael and that she adores him. But most of all I love that Kyne loves Rachael and Rachael loves Kyne. I wish for your continued love for each other and happiness together. Have fun, be optimistic, enjoy all of life taking time to appreciate little moments. Never go to sleep on an unresolved argument. Hold your love and each other tight. My love and support always.

Rowan’s speech

Kyne one night came to see us and asked to speak to Jane and that in itself isn’t unusual as sometimes he discusses legal matters so off they went down to the office. Then sometime later Jane came back out and asked for me so I joined them thinking that Kyne needed some outdated tax advice or something. Jane said Kyne has something to show you and he showed this ring. He said “Oh I’m sorry Rowan but I came to talk to the head of the household” now at the time I didn’t say anything but I am now. Kyne I understand where you are coming from but I am the head of the household. I can see that it may not look like that. It’s a bit like King Charles I’ve got the robes and the throne but the power lies elsewhere and I can assure you that tomorrow you are in the same boat.

You want the best for your children, you want them to be to be happy, healthy educated, have values, have a sense of community and then at the end you want them to be independently minded and live their own lives. Rachael you have learnt all of those things and are incredibly independent and single minded in your own life and it’s impressive. If I was to say one thing that I haven’t said publicly before and something I’m incredibly proud of is that you live your life to the beat of your own drum – you don’t take on board anything that doesn’t meet your values or your ideal of what people should or should not do, and that creates friction in certain areas but you do not bend but it is something I have incredible respect and love for that.

Many years ago Rachael wrote some notes to me, some of them are not overly flattering but she would’ve been about 7. I used to keep them in my office drawer and when times got tough I’d have a read and a giggle. ‘inside this bag are bits of my dad and a bit of me’:

• Dad likes to have fun

• Dad likes lollies sports his home… (I didn’t say mum)

• Dad is absolutely fantastic

• Dad can get angry but he says sorry quickly

• There are not many superhumans but Dad is one of them!

Rachael’s speech

Kyne, you have continued to show up, step up and love me for me throughout our 6 years together. We started our relationship by being authentically ourselves and interested and curious enough to understand and accept one another despite some on paper differences. I also think that we recognised that the differences were interesting, exciting and have actually brought new ideas, interesting conversations, questionable food tasting and a lot of fun into our lives. Today as your wife Kyne I am grateful that we each showed the interest to get to know each other, accept each other for who we are and who we can become.

Kyne, as I have shown, you are insightful and you take thoughtful actions to show you care. I recognise the lifelong commitment we made today and yet I also know that you and I shared an understanding of commitment right from the start. With one example asking me early on ‘which date should be counted as our first date and therefore our anniversary for next year?’ Kyne, you are the person I make plans with therefore I look forward to creating plans for 23rd December for the years to come.

Kyne you are the person I dream big with and race to the front door with and I choose you each and everyday for the rest of our lives. 7 years ago I held your warm hands to dance and tonight we will dance together as husband and wife. I am excited to dance through life with you.