In 2015, I joined Toastmasters. At the time, I never intended to officiate a wedding. Even though I was ordained, I had never used my ordination. That changed when a mutual friend of the groom told me that his friend needs someone to officiate the wedding. I jumped at the opportunity, but internally thought “Kevin… what do you think you’re doing? This is a wedding, not explaining the rules to a board game.”
Before the wedding, I met with the bride and groom and they explained to me what they wanted. It was nothing out of the usual as far as wedding ceremonies go. The day of the ceremony, I made sure I had the wedding certificate ready and kept practicing the script the bride and groom wanted me say.
When the ceremony started, I had to stand under a wooden fixture that was hard to squeeze into, but I made it. Once the bride came down the aisle and I started speaking, everything was a blur. I asked my wife to count my filler words and she said she didn’t hear any. I felt I was too reliant on the script, but the groom said that it looked like I was just reading from the Bible as a minister usually does.
After the ceremony was over, people were asking me, “How many weddings have you done?” I told them this was the first one ever. This was usually followed with, “How did you do it without sounding nervous or tripping over your words?” The answer: Toastmasters.
Without a doubt, Toastmasters gave me the confidence to jump at the opportunity. Through the organization, I have learned the skills to speak in any and all situations. I am excited to see where Toastmasters will take me next.