amazing wedding toast

When I was maid of honor at Lisa and Keith's wedding on Saturday, I sat up many nights concocting the perfect wedding toast. This is what I came up with. Of course, there were minor edits when it came time to give the speech. No way could I read anything word for word. That's not my style. People laughed. People cried. I would laugh, look at Lisa, and say "I'm sorry I can't look at you when I say this. I'm already shaking as it is." The photographer told me it was the best one she had ever heard. Hopefully, I will have some pictures of the wedding to post soon. Congrats to 2 of my best friends!

Hello everyone-
It is my great honor, my great pleasure, to stand up here and tell you a little bit about these 2 amazing people. And I'm gonna try to get through this without crying, but I can't promise you that. For those who don't know, Lisa and I met in high school. We were not best friends back then, but the moment I heard her do her first prank call, I thought "I have got to become friends with this girl!" So, if you've ever received a phone call from "LuLu at New Moon"--relax--it was just Lisa. You forgot your fried rice.

Lisa and Keith have been 2 of my closest friends for about half a decade now. Generous. Intelligent. Level-headed. Honestly, I could rattle off adjectives describing them until the sun comes up tomorrow morning. This entire wedding experience has been amazing right down to this food here today. I mean, I was hoping for a boiling lava hot HOT POCKET. But, I guess prime rib and chicken kiev is pretty good too. I can’t wait to try that gorgeous cake. I look at it and all I can think is HOPE IT’S CHOCOLATE FOR MEEEEEE. If you've never heard of Jim Gaffigan, you really need to go on youtube or something and those last few sentences will make alot more sense I promise.

Marriage is a monumental moment in life. 700 years ago, a wise Italian poet named Dante Alighieri wrote “Remember tonight. For it is the beginning of always.” Now, the GPA on my college transcripts will tell you that I am no literature analyst, but I think Dante wanted us to view marriage as a promise. A belief in each other. Like a reward for persisting in life so long alone. I mean, God knows, we’ve all made mistakes. Tonight is when we decide to ignore and simply rise above the pain from our past.

At this very moment, we celebrate Lisa and Keith, their love, the chance they have taken, and the challenges that lie ahead. Hard times will pop-up, they always do. Gas prices will reach $13 a gallon. Probably tomorrow. You won’t be able to find the remote control for the TV. Grocery stores will be out of the fairy dust of the food community—Keith, you know this one. BACON bits.

I may not be the oldest here tonight; and I am DEFINITELY not the wisest, but I have learned this: People like Lisa and Keith are truly diamonds in the rough. And Love, Love is always an unfaltering and guiding force. When life gets hard, when things change, true love remains the same. HAVE FAITH in your love for each other. And I know that TOGETHER, you 2 can and will withstand anything that comes your way.

So, to Lisa, Keith, and everyone here who loves them, here’s to love, here’s to life, and here’s to tonight, the beginning of always.