Recap of Pride Week Open House: A Proud Wedding!

NightVision toastmasters celebrated pride week on July 28th by hosting our very own “Proud Wedding” between two of our club members—Simon and Kevin (a theme meeting producion, all roles and scripts are fictional).

Simon and Kevin were joined in union on pride week (only for the duration of the 2 hour meeting) by a very drunk minister (played by Frederik), who forgot to even walk the couple down the isle. The DJ hired last minute by the couple (played by Terry) turned out to be an ex of the groom who was heartbroken when they broke up, and made every effort to derail the ceremony by playing inappropriate music at inappropriate moments. It did not diminish the couple’s resolve, however, as they completed the ceremony and said to each other the words—“I do.”

After a reception with finger food and a saccharine wedding cake, the second half of the meeting resumed where friends and relatives took turns giving speeches and telling stories of the couple. The groom Simon began the evening with a sweet story of how he first met Kevin at a pizza joint, and was attracted to his cute little beard. While Kevin wondered why Simon kept returning to the store for bad pizza, and finally figured out it was an opportunity to see him. Chaos ensued as the many dimensions of both grooms’ past began to surface, from ex’s who still had feelings for the couple, to a psychiatrist and a long lost biological father! The best man Jason, who grew up with Simon in his New York gangster past, revealed he actually did not approve of Simon’s new partner, and the groom’s father confessed he actually preferred Kevin’s ex Terry the DJ…

Even though the wedding turned out to be chaotic, it reminded us that no matter the occasion, toastmasters skills can help turn an awkward situation into a… well… less awkward one. Hope you can join us at our next open house, or drop in at anytime to one of our regular meetings every Thursday evening 7-9pm!

From a guest who attended our open house:

 

Good experience for real life – hosting, conducting, speaking at a wedding.  Everyone in the audience was called on to say something on behalf one of the grooms.  And I mean everyone…even my beleaguered husband, David, who couldn’t hear much and is extremely shy in this kind of setting.  He turned beet red and flatly refused – something I don’t think NV is used to.  I jumped to his rescue and invited all of NV to MMM TM.

Take away for me was – it seems people start wanting to be better public speakers but keep coming back because the inner comedian is released.  Each speaker had developed a style and ‘speaking personality’.  (Eg. the speeches from the presidential conventions.)

One fellow told me personality gets buried under the fear of public speaking and once released, the sky’s the limit.

Marnie Tamaki — MMM Toastmasters