To My Bestie on her WEDDING DAY!

A copy of my MOH (Maid of Honor) speech given at Courtney's wedding:

"I am extremely happy to be here today, to celebrate the union of two people who have become very special to me. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Tara; I’m the Maid of Honor. I met Courtney as freshman entering high school, and we have been very best friends every since. We've seen each other through thick and thin, through term papers and finals, late night parties followed by early morning classes, bad boyfriend break-ups and good boyfriend make-ups, movie mania nights during winter break, hot tub parties during spring break, through difficult times losing a loved one or friend, and millions of amazing memories that will last me a lifetime. I’ve sat next to her in the passenger seat as we attempted our first drive to the Fox Valley Mall in Naperville. A trip, where two newly licensed 16 year old girls were so lost, that we reached a point where it was like picking left and right out of hat. How two 16 year old girls managed to miss a mall………twice……is still beyond the reasoning of our parents.

Then one night, she asked me to spend Halloween with her at Lewis, and to meet her new boyfriend, Wally. I started to walk the down the hall toward her room, and there I saw some guy standing there, dressed as GI Joe, pointing an air soft gun at another kid, dressed as a squirrel. It seemed like at that exact moment, Courtney walked out and said, "Oh, good! You two met!" You can imagine my surprise and excitement.

So, even though I thought that he might have had an unusual hatred for squirrels, throughout that night, I couldn’t help but notice how much Courtney and Wally complimented each other. I have seen each of their amazing personalities and how they encourage, support, and simply bring out the very best in each other. I have witnessed their ups and downs, and in the end, their love was an undeniably strong bond that just couldn’t be broken.

Then, one fateful night after 6 long years of dating, we finally watched as Wally proposed to Courtney, the love of his life, and we all shared in the start of their beautiful life together. Now, here we stand, nearly 8 years after they first met, toasting them on their wedding day. So it is here, that I must regretfully pass my title of being Courtney’s “best friend” over to her new “best friend” Wally. But before I do, Wally I have some advice that I would like to give you. Remember to always laugh with your whole body, love with your whole heart, and live the most extraordinary life together. And I know that if you do these 3 things, then we will be standing here again in 50 years, on a similar stage, hopefully looking out at all the same faces, and you will be thinking the exact same thing that I am thinking right now: That there is no one story, no speech that can ever be written, that can ever possibly explain how much she changed your life, rocked your world, and choose you to be her very best friend forever.

So as we mourn the loss of your single lives, I’d wish you two good luck, but I know that I don’t need to, because I know that you will last to the end.

Cheers, to Courtney and Wally! I love you both so very much."