Lea was a beautiful flower girl.
And Gail a beautiful bride.
No doubt this site will be inundated with pictures
when we get them from the photographer.
As the maid of honor* I had the pleasure of making a toast at the wedding. It's a little nervewracking to get up in front of all those people, especially because Pete keep telling me that my toast was too long. Well, that's what happens when you give someone used to lecturing the opportunity to speak with a microphone.
*Just so you know, you do not make friends with your wife by insisting on calling her a matron of honor, instead of a maid. FYI, fellas.
A Toast to Gail and Fred
Gail and Fred, you’ve made a beautiful wedding.
There is much to love about a traditional wedding ceremony. It is timeless. It is meaningful. Given the temperature out there tonight, I love that it’s short. The thing that I love the most is the simplicity of the vows. You have promised to be there for each other through whatever life throws at you. And you two, having seen the marital challenges and joys of many you love, have gone into your marriage knowing that life can through some pretty intense curveballs.
You married for love, but today you, perhaps unknowingly made the hard choice. Because today, you stood in front of family and friends and willingly said “there will be times that my life will be harder for choosing you, and that is a burden that I embrace.”
Having spent a lot of time with you two, it is clear how much you love each other. Louis De Bernieres wrote in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin “Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part...Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” You have decided that you will bloom and fade and bloom again together, and move forward in this life as one.
Regardless of how much you will bloom, marriage isn’t all roses. If planning a wedding teaches you anything, it’s that there will be days that you don’t like each other. Comedianne Rita Rudner once said, “I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. " But on those days when you’re driving each other that special kind of crazy, you will remember that you have bound yourselves together here today. You will remember that the devotion that you two have for each other, and the commitment that you made to one another transcends whatever temporary obstacles that you will face.
Because in choosing marriage, you are choosing hope. Choosing to be there for better, for richer, and in health too. You will look at each other and believe, as poet Roy Croft said, " I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself but for what you are making of me." Your marriage will make each other better, and together, you will enrich the lives of those who surround you with love today.
So that love, that commitment, that hope, is truly why we’re here celebrating. The wedding is lovely. Let’s toast the marriage.
There is much to love about a traditional wedding ceremony. It is timeless. It is meaningful. Given the temperature out there tonight, I love that it’s short. The thing that I love the most is the simplicity of the vows. You have promised to be there for each other through whatever life throws at you. And you two, having seen the marital challenges and joys of many you love, have gone into your marriage knowing that life can through some pretty intense curveballs.
You married for love, but today you, perhaps unknowingly made the hard choice. Because today, you stood in front of family and friends and willingly said “there will be times that my life will be harder for choosing you, and that is a burden that I embrace.”
Having spent a lot of time with you two, it is clear how much you love each other. Louis De Bernieres wrote in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin “Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part...Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.” You have decided that you will bloom and fade and bloom again together, and move forward in this life as one.
Regardless of how much you will bloom, marriage isn’t all roses. If planning a wedding teaches you anything, it’s that there will be days that you don’t like each other. Comedianne Rita Rudner once said, “I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. " But on those days when you’re driving each other that special kind of crazy, you will remember that you have bound yourselves together here today. You will remember that the devotion that you two have for each other, and the commitment that you made to one another transcends whatever temporary obstacles that you will face.
Because in choosing marriage, you are choosing hope. Choosing to be there for better, for richer, and in health too. You will look at each other and believe, as poet Roy Croft said, " I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself but for what you are making of me." Your marriage will make each other better, and together, you will enrich the lives of those who surround you with love today.
So that love, that commitment, that hope, is truly why we’re here celebrating. The wedding is lovely. Let’s toast the marriage.
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