Father of the Bride quotes

View Quote I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. A boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say "I do." I was wrong. That's getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition. I know. I've just been through one. Not my own. My daughter's. Annie Banks-MacKenzie. That's her married name. MacKenzie. I'll be honest with you. When I bought this house seventeen years ago, it cost me less than this blessed event in which Annie Banks became Annie Banks-MacKenzie. I'm told that one day I'll look back on all this with great affection and nostalgia. I hope so. You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. An adorable little girl who looks up to you and adores you in a way you could never imagine. I remember how her little hand used to fit inside mine. How she used to sit in my lap and lean her head against my chest. She said that I was her hero. Then the day comes when she wants to get her ears pierced and she wants you to drop her off a block before the movie theater. Next thing you know she's wearing eye shadow and high heels. From that moment on, you're in a constant state of panic. You worry about her going out with the wrong kind of guys, the kind of guys who only want one thing--and you know exactly what that one thing is because it's the same thing you wanted when you were their age. Then she gets a little older and you quit worrying about her meeting the wrong guy and you worry about her meeting the right guy. And that's the biggest fear of all because then you lose her. And before you know it, you're sitting all alone in a big, empty house, wearing rice on your tux, wondering what happened to your life. It was just six months ago that it happened here. Just six months ago that the storm broke.

View Quote Brian: You know, driving down here, I tried to put myself in your place. Your daughter comes home after spending four months in Rome, and uh, I'm sure you couldn't wait to see her...and she shocks you with the news that she's getting married. And to somebody you've never met before. I'm sure that was pretty..."heavy"...to use a word from your generation. I just want to say that I'm an upstanding citizen, and I've never been engaged before...I've never really been in love before. And, uh...I think Annie is the greatest person I've ever met. And I can't wait to marry her and one day...have children...and grandchildren. And I'm going to do my best to be supportive of her dreams...and she's a very gifted architect...and um...I'm just thrilled that I met her! I love your daughter. The feelings I have for her are never going to change. And I'm here to stay.
Nina: Oh, honey!
Annie: Mom! [they hug]
Brian: That's okay Mr. Banks, we don't have to hug.
George: Well...um...maybe later.
Nina: Well that was just a...that was just about the best thing I ever heard anybody say!
Brian: Well, I meant it.

View Quote Franck: [looking at a book of wedding cakes] So this is a very popular cake with many of the fashionable weddings, you know? And this...I just don't do anymore. And this is fabulous.
Nina: Oh. Oh, that is incredible! Annie, that's just like the one we saw in the magazine.
Annie: Do you like it Dad?
George: Well, what is that? Is that dollars? $1,200?
Franck: Well, Mr. Banks. This is a very reasonable price for a cake of this magnitude.
George: A cake, Franck, is made of flour and water. My first car didn't cost $1,200.
Franck: Well, welcome to the nineties, Mr. Banks!
George: [voiceover] Not only did I not understand a syllable this guy was saying, now I had the feeling he was putting me down.

View Quote George: Two hundred and fifty dollars a head means that for the four of us to attend this wedding in our own home will cost one thousand dollars. Therefore, we are not getting up from this table until we cut this list down to the bare minimum. Now, invite as many people as you want to the church. Pack 'em in. Build a grandstand if you want, but we are not having more than one hundred and fifty people in this house on the day of the wedding. All right, let's start eliminating.
Nina: Okay. Jim Pepper and wife.
George: Oh, great. Start with one of my guys.
Nina: Fine! We'll start with one of mine. I'll cut Steve and Stephanie Turell. They're very good clients of mine...
George: Say no more, they're history.
Nina: All right. Jim Pepper and wife.
George: I've known the guy for twenty years.
Nina: You haven't seen him in fifteen, George.
George: All right. I'll say I lost his address. Now here's somebody. Your cousin Betsy. The poet/waitress/picture framer.
Nina: We can't cut family. They know about the wedding.
Matt: I only invited one person: Cameron. Mom said I could have a friend there.
George: For two hundred and fifty bucks you can see Cameron after the wedding. All right, very good. Five down. We're rolling.
Nina: All right, what about Harry Kirby? We haven't seen him in ages.
George: I don't know.
Annie: Didn't Harry Kirby die last year?
George: Yes! Good! Oh, well...sorry.
Matt: Who's Frank Eglehoffer?
George: What?
Nina: He's coordinating the wedding and then we're not going to invite him?
George: Exactly! Do you think I'm going to pay a guy fifteen-percent, plus an hourly, plus an additional five hundred dollars to feed him and that assistant of his? Have you lost your mind?
Matt: Can I put Cameron back on the list if he promises not to eat?
George: You know, that's not a bad idea. Who else can we ask not to eat? My parents...your mother.
Annie: Why don't we just charge people? That way we can make money on the wedding! [storms out]
Nina: Annie? Annie...
George: I was kidding.

View Quote Franck: Now, Mr. Banks, please, about the seafood. Hanck wants to know if it's okay or not to cook.
George: No Franck. Tell Hanck it's not okay. If I have to move out all the furniture and add amps and repaint the walls and get a new tux and pay for swans, then I'd like the cheaper chicken. Is that clear?
Franck: I understood the "cheaper" part. [Franck talks to Hank] Well, that's it. Hank says he will think about this. Now, we do not want to lose him. He is a genius and we need his mind, okay? So, I'll see what I can do. Hank? Hank?
Howard: I see you're starting to lose it, but I have one more question, very simple, about the parking attendants. Four is comfortable, three is acceptable, anything less absolutely terrifies me.
George: Two.
Howard: Two.

View Quote Annie: I'm sorry, Dad. But I'm not going to marry Brian.
George: Okay. Okay. Whatever you want is okay with us.
Annie: I feel so awful after everything you guys have done. Now I have to undo it all.
George: Don't worry about it. These things get canceled all the time. Your mother and I can take care of everything. What happened? Another girl?
Annie: Oh, look at your shirt.
George: Don't worry.
Annie: No, it wasn't anything like that. It started out as nothing really. He gave me a present. It's our eight month anniversary today and he gave me...just look! He said it was for me. For our apartment. Just look.
George: It's a blender.
Annie: Yeah. Exactly. I mean, I didn't want to act thrown or anything, but inside I was. I mean, I thought something for the apartment...maybe a new clock, or a cool phone, or a great art book, or something...but a blender? I mean, what is this? 1958? Give the little wife a blender? I mean, it scared me, you know? In terms of his expectations. I started to freak out and he asked me what was wrong and I asked him what a gift like this is supposed to be telling me and he said nothing and I didn't believe him and we got into this big fight. And he said I was overreacting. And I said why would I overreact? Nobody in my family overreacts. And then, he came up with this totally absurd story, this completely outrageous lie and I'm looking at him and I'm thinking, this man's a liar!
George: What did he lie about?
Annie: Oh, actually it was something about you.
George: Me?
Annie: He said the day that you and Mom went to go visit his folks...this is so ridiculous! He said that you were snooping around his dad's desk and you somehow found his dad's bankbook...Oh no! First he said you broke some mirror in their bathroom. And then you found his dad's bankbook and you somehow threw it in their pool. I mean, it's too ridiculous. The man lies!

View Quote I've always been a concerned parent. I'm big on car seats, seat belts, bed times, curfews, calling when you get somewhere, never running with a sharp object. What can I say? I'm a father. Worrying comes with the territory.

View Quote We live in a small town in Southern California called San Marino. I love this town, and not just because it's the kind of place where people still smile at each other but because it hasn't changed much in the past twenty-five years. And since I'm not a guy who's big on change, this town fits me like a glove. I got Annie's ten-speed all cleaned up and polished. New seat, new tires...I couldn't wait to show it to her. This is our house. 24 Maple Drive. Annie was just in grammar school when we bought it. A few years later, we got a surprise package. Our son, Matt. I love this house. I love that I taught my kids to ride their bikes in the driveway. I love that I slept with them in tents in the backyard. I love that we carved our initials in the tree out front. This house is warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and looks spectacular with Christmas lights. It's a great house. I never want to move. But the thing I think I like best about this house are the voices I hear when I walk through the door.

View Quote Right then I realized, my day had passed. She'll always love me, of course, but not in the same way. I was no longer the man in my little girl's life. I was like an old shoe. The kind we manufacture and get all excited about, then after a few years discontinue. That was me now. Mr. Discontinued.

View Quote With one swift move, I'd been cut out of the deal. Annie, Nina, and Franck were in charge now.

View Quote I was beginning to feel like I was having an out of body experience. I had to get out of the house, and fast. Nina said as long as I was escaping would I mind escaping to the market and picking up something for dinner. Sure. That was all I needed. A busy supermarket. I needed to drive, mellow out, get my mind off the wedding. But mellowing out was not in the cards.

View Quote That was the low point. Flipping out over four hot dog buns. I couldn't figure out why I'd gotten so nuts. Why the wedding had me so unglued.

View Quote I knew I'd never be able to remember what Nina wore that day. But I also knew I'd never forget the way she looked.

View Quote This was the moment I had been dreading for the past six months. Well, actually for the past twenty-two years...Annie overwhelmed me. She was as calm and cool as I had ever seen her. Very unBanks-like.

View Quote It's funny how empty a house can suddenly get, isn't it?