Speech @ Wes’ wedding

 Speech @ Wes’ wedding

Hello good evening! We are Wesley’s parents. I’m Cecilia. I’m Stephen.

It is our honor to stand here to share a few words about our son and his beautiful bride.

Wesley, we still remember how growing up, you were just an active and fun-loving boy.

If you know Wesley, you’d know that Wesley’s biggest passion was sports. He grew up playing competitive baseball AND hockey all through his elementary and high school years. Being his chauffeur for all these years, I had the pleasure of watching him play and benefited by learning to appreciate these sports. I became a hockey fan and cheered for the Leafs and the Oilers earlier this year with great disappointment! Wesley was also active in the school athletic programs. In his later years in high school, he started playing Ultimate frisbee which he carried into his undergraduate years at Western University. He played in the Varsity team and was honored to be the team captain.

Well, Wesley is also a musician! He learned to play the violin since he was little. Playing the violin is still something Wesley cherishes and enjoys to this day!

With all the busyness that came with competitive sports and all the extra-curricular activities, it was no surprise that school and studying was never the top of his mind. Wesley was content just to do fine in school. As a parent, my principle was, as long as he could manage school, just let him have fun. Though I must admit that his dad often thought otherwise and complained that he was spending way too much time in sports and too little time studying!

Sometime during Wesley’s high school years, he wrote a quote beside his desk in his room. It says “Success comes before work only in the dictionary”. Well, we found that intriguing but we never asked him what motivated him to have that quote beside his desk – we truly believe he wanted to be reminded of working hard for his sports teams. And definitely not for his schoolwork!

When Wesley decided to pursue medicine as a profession, we all know that you have to write MCAT. As he was preparing for the exam in a summer, wow, we’ve never seen him studied so hard. And the outcome? He achieved an impressive 99 percentile ranking! So, this is very true, Wesley. "There is no substitute for hardwork when it comes to achieving success." This applies to all aspects of life including marriage!

Emily, we’d like to formally welcome you to our family! You are such a compassionate, warm and caring young lady!

When we first met Emily, we were also introduced to her dog, Willow. Before meeting Willow, I was never a dog person; I didn’t feel comfortable being close to one. But Willow is very special

– she’s sweet, gentle and loving and in fact very smart too! She and I bonded very quickly. My fear for dogs quickly alleviated. I have to give credit to Emily and her adorable dog, Willow!

We learned very early on that Emily is a high achiever and a natural leader but yet extremely modest and unassuming. Despite her outstanding achievements, she never boasts and does not like to stand out. At the medical school graduation ceremony in 2021, looking through the awards section, we were so impressed to see Emily’s name all over the place!!! And one of the awards was nominated by the classmates. This was a true testimony about her selfless, caring and compassionate character AND leadership quality. We can very well attest to that. Even though we don’t see each other often - she lives in London and we live in Toronto – through our family’s ups and downs, Emily never hesitates to reach out to provide support – be it sending flowers or paying visits to Toronto. Emily has already become like a daughter to us, and we look forward to many happy memories together.

We’d like to give the new couple a quote about LOVE from the bible: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (NIV)

Emily and Wesley, as you embark on this new chapter, may you continue to cherish and support each other with patience, kindness, honesty and trust. And never forget the love that brought you together.