When most fathers discover their daughter is getting married, they set to work planning a witty speech.
大多數父親在得知女兒要結婚的時候,都會精心準備一份婚禮致辭。
But when John Butcher's little girl tied the knot, he wanted to go one better than that.
但是約翰·布徹的小女兒結婚的時候,他給出的驚喜顯然要比致辭好得多。
So the 50-year-old from Allington, Kent, spent 200 hours learning to sing so that he could surprise his daughter, Natalie, by serenading her on her wedding day.
John had secret singing lessons for more than six months and practised for 180 hours at home so he could be pitch perfect when he performed in front of 100 people on the big day.
The father-of-two then belted out a version of the Elvis classic 'Always On My Mind' to his shocked daughter during her wedding reception at The Orangery at Turkey Mill, Maidstone, in October.
十月份,在女兒的婚禮現場上,約翰深情演唱了埃爾維斯的經典曲目《永遠在我心中》,讓女兒驚喜不已。
Natalie, 26, who married software developer Ian Wright, 29, said her father's song was the icing on the cake of their special day.
26歲的娜塔莉嫁給了29歲的軟件工程師伊恩·懷特,她說父親的演唱給她的婚禮錦上添花。
She said: We had the most amazing day which was finished off perfectly with the surprise of my dad singing after the speech. I was in shock but touched by the choice of song and the amount of effort that had gone into the preparation. Everyone seemed to be as blown away as I was and it is something I will never forget.'
John's wife, Mel, 47, was equally as shocked and touched by her husband bursting into song.
約翰的妻子47歲的梅爾,也被丈夫的突然獻唱感動了。
John said: 'My wife Mel was in tears as she knew nothing about the performance and my daughter told me afterwards that it was the closest she came to crying throughout the whole ceremony.'
The father-of-the-bride said he came up with the idea to sing at the reception in April but as he confessed he wasn't previously able to carry a tune, he signed up for lessons to help him impress the wedding guests.
John said: 'Everyone thought the DJ had mucked up, but then I got up and started singing. People were laughing and crying and standing up waving their hands.
Housewife Mel, said she was proud of her husband's efforts to make their daughter's day even more memorable.
妻子梅爾說她為自己的丈夫感到驕傲,是丈夫的這一舉動使女兒的婚禮更加具有紀念意義。
She said: ' I can't believe he managed to keep it a secret for so long.
梅爾說:“我沒想到他會瞞著我們這么久。”
'I was laughing and crying, I had my face in a serviette, it was very emotional and I was very proud of him especially as he's not the kind of person to put himself at the centre of attention.'