In this blog post, we’ve compiled and organized the messages of gratitude, blessings, and advice that brides and their parents share at weddings.

To My Beloved Daughter (A Letter from the Bride’s Father)

Today, my beloved daughter comes of age and is getting married. To be honest, even as recently as yesterday, it didn’t really sink in that my daughter was getting married, but as I prepare to read this letter I wrote for her here today, the reality of her marriage is suddenly hitting me.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who have gathered here to celebrate our daughter’s wedding.

Actually, the letter I’m about to read for my daughter wasn’t written recently. It’s a letter I wrote when she was little, back when we were poor, imagining the day she would get married—and now I’m sharing it with you.

My dear daughter, when I was four years old, I lived in a shack. But I’ve heard that I don’t remember those days clearly. Perhaps I didn’t want to remember them.

But I do remember when you were four years old, you begged us to move to a two-story house. You said climbing up to the fourth floor was too hard, and it broke my heart so much that I had to swallow my tears.

Since I have no memories of being four years old, I hoped you wouldn’t remember those days either. We slept curled up in a small, leaky room, but I was happy because we were together.

Before you were born, before I loved you this much, I worked hard and even found joy in my struggles. The more I loved you, the more I had to dream of a better future.

Thinking back on those poor days, to my beloved daughter. By the time I give you this letter, you’ll be standing before me in a white wedding dress, looking absolutely beautiful, won’t you?

I worked so hard hoping my daughter would be happy—aren’t you a little embarrassed by how I look now? My beloved daughter, thank you so much.

More than the years I spent striving to be a father who wasn’t poor, living my life watching my daughter’s charm and smile feels like a dream, and I am so grateful for your existence.

I want our daughter to be happier than anyone else in the world. You’ve grown so much, my daughter.

As you go through life, there will surely be times when harsh storms make things difficult for you and your husband. I don’t know how long I can be your shield, but from this moment on, I feel even more reassured knowing that you have your husband by your side.

My beloved daughter, I sincerely congratulate you on your marriage. And you must be happy.

And to my son-in-law, ○○○, I hope you will love my beloved daughter deeply.

I would like to once again express my gratitude to all the family members, relatives, and guests who have graced this wedding with your presence.

[Date] Your loving father, ○○○

May your married life be filled with love and care (Acknowledgments from the Father of the Bride)

Hello, everyone. I am the father of the bride, Miss ○○○. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all our relatives, friends, and the friends and colleagues of the bride and groom who took the time to join us today despite your busy schedules.

Today marks the wedding of my one and only daughter. I always knew this day would come someday, but before I knew it, I found myself standing here. Perhaps that is why, as a father, I am filled with mixed emotions today.

It feels like only yesterday she was born, yet here she is, all grown up, having found a wonderful partner and getting married in front of so many people. As a parent, I feel a sense of relief that I have fulfilled my duties, yet I also feel a touch of sadness.

I raised her as my one and only daughter, cherishing her above all else. Because of that, she has many shortcomings. However, I am deeply grateful to my in-laws and the groom for loving such a daughter.

As a father, I didn’t do much for my daughter while raising her from childhood. I’m naturally a reserved person, so I wasn’t very good at expressing my love, nor did I look after her as well as other fathers do. To my daughter, whom I feel so sorry for, I want to take this opportunity to tell her how sorry I am and how much I love her.

I believe that, just as the two of them promised before you today, they will cherish and love each other for the rest of their lives. There will be difficult days ahead, but I am confident they will overcome them together. I would be grateful if you would all pray for the bride and groom’s future to be filled with happiness.

While their relationship has always been important, this is a time that will become even more crucial as they now build and take responsibility for their own family. Just as the saying “once married, out of the family” has become a thing of the past, I will always do my utmost to support them from behind the scenes.

A wife must respect her husband, and a husband must love his wife. Just as everything goes well when the family is harmonious, I hope they will cherish and love one another for the rest of their lives, always keeping in mind that family is the most important thing.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the distinguished guests who have joined us here today to offer your warm congratulations.

Thank you. [Month] [Day], [Year] Father of the Bride, ○○○

I hope she becomes a beloved daughter-in-law and wife (Acknowledgments from the Mother of the Bride)

Hello. I am ○○○, the mother of the bride. I am deeply grateful to all of you who have come to celebrate the wedding of the bride and groom despite the inclement weather.

There is a saying that getting married on a rainy day means a lifetime of happiness, and I believe that to be true. It is true that a mother’s heart, sending off her still-young daughter to her new home, is filled with anxiety and worry. I imagine the father’s heart must feel even more bittersweet.

First, I would like to express my gratitude to my in-laws for loving my daughter, who has many shortcomings. I promise to treat my son-in-law just as I would my own son.

The night before my daughter’s wedding, my husband and I lay in bed and chatted quietly about many things. While I felt a mix of emotions, I think my husband, as a father, felt an even greater sense of bittersweetness.

The past 27 years flashed before my eyes like a reel of film—from the moment I first became pregnant with her, to the day she started kindergarten, the day she ran home excitedly after winning first place in a race at her elementary school sports day, and the days she entered middle school, high school, and college.

Over the years, my daughter has been a sincere and kind girl who never once rebelled, and as a mother, I am so grateful that she has grown up to be so lovely and beautiful.

It’s true that she is endlessly beautiful because she is my daughter, but I am relieved that you, as my in-laws, have loved and cherished her like your own daughter, even though it must have been difficult.

And my son-in-law, ○○○, who loves our daughter more than anyone else in the world. He is so dependable that it feels like our family, which has no sons, has gained a new son, and my heart is already overflowing with emotion.

When he first brought his fiancée home, I was so pleased to see him eating the food I prepared with such an appetite. As the saying goes, “Eating heartily brings good fortune.”

Though I feel a mix of bittersweet emotions, I am filled with new feelings today because these young people have a bright future ahead of them, and our family has grown.

Until now, you have each lived your own lives, but from now on, you must understand and cherish one another as you walk through life together.

As someone who has been married for 30 years, I would like to offer this advice: a beautiful family can only be built when the husband loves his wife and the wife respects her husband. I hope you will always be a couple who cherish, love, and respect one another.

And once again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who have gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of the groom and bride.

[Date] [Month] [Year] Mother of the Bride, ○○○

A Companion Like a Friend (Bride’s Thank-You Speech)

Hello, everyone. I am the bride, ○○○. Thank you to all of you who have come here today despite the inclement weather. I hope the old saying that “rain on your wedding day means a happy marriage” proves to be true.

As I sent out the invitations and shared the news of our marriage, I reflected deeply on how I had been too neglectful of the precious people around me, using busyness as an excuse. Despite that, I am truly grateful that you have all offered your sincere congratulations and joined us here today.

I would like to thank our elderly relatives who traveled from afar and arrived early this morning. My husband and I will come to greet you shortly.

My husband and I met as seniors and juniors in college and have spent a long time together. We participated in various club activities while in school, and even after graduation, as we each went our separate ways in our careers, we have been a great source of strength for one another.

He has always been by my side, whether in joy or sorrow, and has always guided me so that I would not lose my way. That is why I naturally came to believe that we would be happy together for the rest of our lives.

While this isn’t a marriage born of a whirlwind romance, I believe we will build a stronger life together than anyone else because of our deep trust, love, and loyalty.

Just as we have been until now, I hope we can continue to live together like friends for the rest of our lives.

Mom and Dad! Thank you for loving and cherishing me so much. I will do my best to look after everyone just as much as you have loved me. I know I have many shortcomings and am full of ignorance, but I hope you will be generous in your forgiveness and teach me many things.

Finally, I want to say that I love my parents so, so much for raising me with love and devotion to bring me to this day. I know very well that my father, in particular, loved me dearly and had high expectations for me. I will work even harder to live well after marriage, so please watch over me.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you once again for blessing us on this day as we become one. We would be even more grateful if you would pray for us to build a loving home together.

We promise once again to cherish and love one another, and to stand together with sincere hearts. Thank you. [Month] [Day], [Year] Bride ○○○

I will be a daughter-in-law like a daughter and a wife like a friend (Bride’s Thank-You Speech)

Hello? I am Bride ○○○. I would like to thank all the family members and relatives who have joined us today, as well as my colleagues and friends.

After discussing it with our parents, we decided to have a wedding without an officiant. While sending out wedding invitations to share the news, I reflected deeply on how I had been neglectful toward those around me, using busyness as an excuse. So, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of you who have attended, to my parents, my in-laws, and my husband.

First, I would like to thank both sets of parents for readily agreeing to this unprecedented wedding without an officiant.

And since I might have remained a spinster for the rest of my life if it weren’t for him, I feel both deeply sorry and grateful to my husband for making it possible for me to stand here in a wedding dress. I want to tell him that I will do my best from now on.

To be honest, I don’t have the confidence to be a perfect daughter-in-law, daughter, or wife. However, I am confident that I can be a daughter-in-law who is like a daughter and a wife who is like a friend.

When my husband proposed to me, I made one promise. I told him I would never let him go without breakfast. I found out later that my mother-in-law really loved that promise.

Even after marriage, I will do my best to be a daughter-in-law who is deeply loved by my mother-in-law.

To my parents, I’m so sorry that I wasn’t always the most obedient daughter. They say you become an adult when you get married, and I feel like I’m finally growing up now. Now that I’m married, I will build a harmonious home with my husband and show even more filial piety to my parents, who raised me so well.

I’d like to use this opportunity to say “I love you”—words I’ve always been too shy to say—to my in-laws, my parents, and my husband.

And I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has come here today to celebrate our wedding. We promise once again to cherish and love one another and to stand together with sincere hearts. Thank you. [Month] [Day], [Year] Bride ○○○

I will be a wife who never lets my husband go hungry (Bride’s Thank-You Speech)

Hello? I am ○○○, the happiest bride in the world today. Although I feel shy and embarrassed speaking in front of all of you like this, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who are dear to me.

First of all, I sincerely thank our family members, relatives, coworkers, and friends who have attended today to celebrate our marriage.

While preparing for the wedding, my husband and I had many disagreements, and we even joked about whether we would be able to pull off the wedding at all. But when I thought about who else but me could save my groom from remaining a lifelong bachelor, I realized there was no one else.

I am always grateful to my husband for understanding and supporting me with such a broad-minded heart. I want to tell my steadfast, reliable, and wonderful husband—who made it possible for me to stand here today as the most beautiful bride in the world—that I’m very sorry, deeply grateful, and that I’ll do my best from now on.

To be honest, I don’t have the confidence to be a perfect wife. But I will keep my promise not to be the heartless wife who lets my husband go hungry in the morning.

When my husband first proposed, he promised that while life might bring hardships, he would never leave me to face them alone, and I promised him that I would at least never let him go hungry.

Even if we face worries or trials, I will never face them alone. And I will share the happy moments with him as well.

Mother-in-law, father-in-law, and my own mother and father, you believe in me, don’t you? Through this occasion, I want to say the words “I love you”—words I’ve been too shy to say before—to my parents, my in-laws, and my husband.

I also sincerely thank all of you who have come today to celebrate our marriage. We promise once again to cherish and love one another and to walk together with sincere hearts. Thank you. [Date] Bride ○○○

I will do my best to be happy (Bride’s Thank-You Speech)

Hello, everyone. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who have attended our wedding today and blessed our future together.

When I first announced that we would have a wedding without an officiant, you must have been quite taken aback. However, I actually saw this as a positive opportunity to express my gratitude to those around me whom I haven’t been able to thank properly in the past.

When I first met my husband, I was really impressed by how he wasn’t authoritarian, interacted with his colleagues without any airs, and treated everyone with courtesy. As time went on, those qualities became even more memorable to me.

During our long courtship and the fast-paced wedding preparations, my flaws must have come to light, but the fact that he understood all of them made me feel so warm.

I am learning from my husband how to treat the person I love. It’s also thanks to him that my heart has become so much more at peace these days.

Thank you, my husband, for making it possible for me to live the rest of my life with this same sense of peace and happiness.

I’m also deeply grateful to my mother-in-law for raising such a wonderful man, and for loving and looking after me even though I’m not very good at anything. I will do my best to care for my mother-in-law with even more devotion than I have in my heart and make her happy.

Finally, Mom, Dad, and Grandma. Thank you for raising me with so much love that I could meet such a wonderful person and get married.

With the support of everyone here celebrating our marriage today, we will do our best to live happily together. Thank you. [Date] Bride ○○○

May you rely on one another as you go through life (Family Representative · Father of the Bride)

Hello. I would like to thank all our family members, relatives, colleagues, and friends who have gathered here today to celebrate this wedding and wish my child a happy future.

It is drizzling lightly today. Just as the saying goes that rain brings good fortune, I hope you will always cherish, care for, and love one another.

It feels like only yesterday that my lovely daughter was born, spoke her first words, took her first steps, and started school. Time flies like a river; that daughter graduated from school, got a job, and became a confident member of society, and now she has brought home a reliable young man, announcing her intention to marry.

For a moment, the thought of losing my daughter made me treat my son-in-law harshly at first, but I hope you will understand that it all comes from a father’s love for his daughter.

I’m sorry there are still so many things I haven’t done for my daughter. As a gruff father, I never properly expressed my love, and even when there was cause for celebration, I tended to watch quietly rather than make a big fuss.

I thought that was the best I could do back then, but now that she’s right beside me, I feel even more sorry that I can’t even do these simple things for her.

Now, her husband will surely take better care of her than I ever could. Since she’s my youngest daughter, I feel like I spoiled her too much, raising her to be nothing but sweet and pretty, so I’m already worried—out of an old man’s anxiety—that she might make mistakes once she’s married. Every time I worry like this, her mother tells me, “Don’t worry,” but since I’m a doting dad, my worries keep getting the better of me.

As you go through life, there will be days when things get tough and you feel like giving up. My advice to you, as a father and as someone who’s been through life before you, is that during those times, you must trust and rely on each other even more.

When the world gets tough, it’s not friends but family who will be there to support you. And now, your closest family will be each other—the bride and groom.

I hope that whenever you face difficulties in the future, you’ll trust and rely on one another to overcome them. I sincerely congratulate you both on your marriage today. Thank you. [Date] Family Representative ○○○