A woman has divided opinion after surprising her dad on his wedding day by announcing her pregnancy during the speech.
Ella Amber, 32, was giving a speech at her dad’s Cotswolds wedding in July last year, when she took the opportunity to share her good news with their nearest and dearest. You can see how it played out here:
During the touching speech, Ella presented her dad with a book of Greek myths and legends he had read to her when she was a child.
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She said: "I have actually got you a little gift. It's a special gift that I hope will always remind you, as it does me, of special times when I was young.
"For those of you who don't know, my dad used to read me Greek myths and legends from this book when I was younger, and he often recited them from memory.
"This was a special father-daughter treat for me when dad used to get home from work, just before my bedtime.
"So dad, I want you to turn to the first page and see why I bought this book for you.
"Hopefully you'll see you have reason to read this book again in the not so distant future."
On the first page there was a shot from Ella's baby scan.
Ella, who gave birth to son George in January 2023, said: "They said it completely made their day and still talk about it now.
"My dad said he couldn’t stop re-watching the video of the speech and announcement for a few days after the wedding.
"They both cried at the time and were so emotional and happy. It was a really special moment as they had no idea I was going to announce that I was pregnant.
"Me and my husband were trying for about three months and we were so excited when we found out.
"Being called ‘selfish’ online was quite hurtful as my decision to announce my pregnancy was to make my dad and step-mum even more happy on their special day. It wasn’t meant to be about me at all.
"I was nervous about doing a speech in the first place, let alone announcing that I was pregnant in front of all those people. I did it purely for my dad and step-mum. There certainly wasn’t any other intention.
"I felt saddened and shocked by the criticism online. I would never have done anything like this at say a friends wedding but this was my dad and step-mum's wedding."
She posted it on TikTok where viewers accused her of ‘main character syndrome’ and accused her of ‘taking the focus off the happy couple’.
However, Ella has hit back at the criticism, saying she was ‘saddened and shocked’ to see the negative comments.
She added: "It’s just a shame my experience has been tainted by some unkind comments on that wedding speech video from people who don’t even follow me and don’t know me.
"People can be so quick to judge someone they don’t know. I’m a big believer in the importance of mental health and wish social media didn’t have a toxic side attached to it. The world would be a much happier place if everyone was kind."
Claire Reid