The template
Section 1 — One precise image (about 60 words)
An age, a place, and ideally something she said. No greeting first — open on the picture and introduce yourself after.
Opening image — fill in
About 60 words · 25 seconds
[DAUGHTER] was [AGE] years old, [WHERE], [WHAT SHE WAS DOING]. ____________________
[WHAT SHE SAID, IF YOU REMEMBER IT.] "____________________."
I'm [YOUR NAME], [DAUGHTER]'s mum. I'll be brief, because she has asked me to be.
Section 2 — The trait that never changed (about 110 words)
The constant — fill in
About 110 words · 50 seconds
That thing she did is the thing she still does. [DAUGHTER] ____________________.
[TWO SHORT EXAMPLES, ONE FROM CHILDHOOD AND ONE FROM ADULTHOOD.] ____________________
Section 3 — What she built alone (about 70 words)
Mothers skip this and it is the part daughters cry at. Name something she achieved with no help from you.
Without you — fill in
About 70 words · 30 seconds
What I did not expect was ____________________.
[WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM WATCHING HER AS AN ADULT.] ____________________
Section 4 — The welcome (about 90 words)
Welcome — fill in
About 90 words · 40 seconds
[PARTNER'S NAME]. [ONE SPECIFIC THING YOU OBSERVED, NOT A COMPLIMENT.] ____________________
Thank you for that, and thank you to [THEIR PARENTS' NAMES] for raising someone who would.
Section 5 — Close and toast (about 70 words)
Close — fill in
About 70 words · 35 seconds
[DAUGHTER], my love — you have ____________________, and I have never stopped ____________________.
Please raise your glasses. To [DAUGHTER] and [PARTNER].
The substitution test
Before you finalise, read each sentence and ask whether you could swap in a different daughter's name and have it still be true. If yes, that sentence is decoration — replace it with something only she would do.