Groom read out 'secret letter' he wrote for his now-wife 10 years ago. Turns out he was right about everything

Wedding speeches often come with bittersweet revelations and heartwarming snippets looking back on a relationship, but rarely does a speech begin with a letter written nearly a decade earlier, with most of it predicted right. That's what happened in a video posted on Instagram by videographer @strefford_films, in which groom Matt Mahatme (@mattmahatme) revealed that he had written his now-wife, Hattie, a love letter 10 years ago and kept it hidden until their wedding day. The first part of the three-part video has garnered 38k views so far.

Matt explained that the letter dated back to Hattie's 21st birthday. "You told me that you'd never had a love letter before," he began. "And obviously, me being a soppy bollocks over here wrote you one." He also credited their friend Hannah for keeping it hidden "for the best part of a decade." Then he read the opening line he had written all those years ago: "Hattie, if I'm reading you this, it means it's our wedding day." After a brief pause, he added, "Or I've died, gutted." The joke landed immediately, and guests couldn't help but laugh.

The speech got more emotional and personal as it went on in the second part. "You know the moment I realized I first loved you, as you laughed at the choir boys in Durham," Matt read. He then explained the moment that changed how he saw their future. "The first time I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you was this weekend." He described listening to Hattie’s father speak about her character — her "sense of right and wrong," her "positive outlook on life," and her unmistakable laugh. "Looking around at all your friends, they were nodding in agreement to every word that was spoken about you," he read.

He also described how her loved ones looking at her "in the same light" he did made him realize he wanted to be with her forever. "I know we are young, but I promise myself from this day forward that I will make it my goal to love you always. And make this work no matter what obstacles lie ahead of us and even though we are so far apart," he continued in the third part. He acknowledged it would not be easy, adding, "but I promise you it will all have been worth it, as when I read this to you, you will be my wife." According to The Knot’s 2021 Real Wedding Study, nearly half of couples (47%) write their own vows, choosing to include personal memories and long-term promises rather than stick strictly to traditional wording. The study also found that couples increasingly use the ceremony to reminisce about their shared journey. 

He closed the letter with a simple pledge that had the audience in awe: "I want you to keep this love letter as a promise to you that any promise I make, I will always keep. I love you now and forever." By the time he finished, the prediction he had written a decade earlier had already come true. The fact that Matt was so confident that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Hattie 10 years ago, that he put it out loud on paper, is what makes the speech more emotional.  Viewers in the comments also laughed and cried after hearing the speech. @iammattduggan wrote, "'...Or I've died, gutted!' Brilliant comic timing and writing. More men could do with being a soppy bollocks." @bestselfchels commented, "Good work, man. I've never cried and then laughed so quickly."

You can follow @strefford_films for more wedding videography content and Matt Mahatme (@mattmahatme) for more personal content on Instagram.

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