Here's the speech that I gave for my best friend's wedding. Though not wedding calligraphy related, I'm pretty proud of it and thought I would share for those struggling (as I did!) for writing the Maid of Honor wedding speech - while it's hard to get into words, you'll find that you will know what to say.
"I wanted to thank Tiffany first of all for asking me to be Maid of Honor at her wedding: I was completely honored and still am to be standing up here for her today and to have been involved with her wedding in such a special way.
Tiffany is my best friend, and I met her my freshman year in college while we were both studying up in Boston.
She and I clicked instantly when we met a little over five years ago at school. I practically lived at her apartment, and so the year later we became roommates. It's hard to explain such an amazing friendship when you share an instant connection with someone, but that's what happened with Tiff and I.
I’m not sure if anyone here is a Grey’s Anatomy fan, but the show was one of our elements of bonding back in school. One of the quotes between Meredith and Christina, the best friends on the show was, “you are my person”. Since then, we joke about how we are each other’s “person”, - which I interpret as someone who is there for you no matter what. And I can honestly say that Tiffany still to this day is my “person” more than anyone else in my life. After she left Boston in 2008, our cross-country friendship has only gotten stronger: we talk at least once every few days, and continue to see each other only once a year since then – but we always made a point of it, because she's my best friend and that's what you do.
She looked after me during my 21st birthday in Boston, was eager for details when I started dating a new guy, listened to me complain about my stupid bosses, and always was up for Skyping when I was studying abroad in Italy and missing home. Coordinating with abroad hours and listening to my adventures and problems around a hectic schedule certainly speaks to who Tiffany is. She’s absolutely the most sincere, sweetest person that I have in my life. I’m so proud to call her my best friend, and absolutely love her for everything that she is.
Which brings us to Brendan – whom Tiffany actually started dating when we were still living together in Boston. I saw the whole relationship unfold during the crazy busy years for her, as she was finishing up with school and dealing with tons of student teaching hours. But through it all, I could see how important the relationship was. After they started dating, he kept her going through every roadblock and bad day that she had. Nothing made me happier for seeing her face light up when she would talk about him. I’m not sure when I knew, but I had a gut feeling at this time that this was it for her – maybe because I have never seen her so happy. So when she told me at graduation that she was moving to Texas, I knew she was in love - and I couldn’t ask for a better, more respectable guy for my best friend.
I actually remember the day that I knew Brendan was going to propose – he never told me, I just had a feeling. I was visiting her in Texas in March of 2009 for Spring Break (yeah, we had wild Spring Breaks...), and we had spent the day playing with puppies and kittens at an animal shelter, because we just love cute things and that’s what we do. I was admittedly egging her on, saying she should totally get a puppy, blah blah blah. And when we got home that day to Brendan, she hugged him with her adorable Tiffany face and said, “Baby? Can we get a puppy?” and he said “No, we can’t, I can’t afford it”. This threw up a red flag because a) who says no to puppies? And b) he said “I” can’t afford it, not “we”. For some reason I couldn’t shake that detail that maybe he was buying a ring from that day forward. Sure enough, about a month later I got a call from Tiffany when I was walking out of class saying that she was engaged in the most ridiculously romantic way possible in a Japan cherry-blossom awesomeness.
If any of you has seen Tiffany and Brendan together, it’s no secret that they are perfect complements for each other. I’ve never seen a couple more in-sync, more into each other’s humor, have as much in common, or that make each other as happy as Brendan and Tiffany do. He brings out the best in her, and it’s obvious that he would move the earth for Tiffany.
They embody what I believe should be between two people in a marriage, and since they’ve been dating they have set the standard for what I want someday. I always knew that if I found someone who makes me half as happy as Brendan makes Tiffany, I’d be set for the rest of my life. I’m so excited for her and for the journey that she’s going on starting today, and wish them nothing but the greatest happiness in their new life together."
