Weddingbee Blog

Another wonderful part of the wedding day for the newlyweds is the speeches. I’ve taken a new liking to listening to speeches at weddings since having heard what our loved ones had to say about us.

After asking my best friend of 15 years to be MOH, I asked her how we could find a way to record her speech or hide her in another room with the microphone. You see, Brittany is incredibly shy when it comes to public speaking. Instead of running scared, she told me there was no need, as she’d be able to do it. For two best friends who were originally put into the remedial reading class in second grade together (we read too fast, they said), she did beautifully.

She started out with some heartfelt sentiments and then told everyone in the crowd that I used to force her to come with me to the high school baseball games so that I could see Zeb’s “ass in those grey tight baseball pants.” It IS a fantastic ass and those pants were wicked small.

I was able to repay her kind words this summer at her own beautiful wedding.

Next up, one of Zeb’s two best friends got up to say a few words. He had a beautifully written speech about meeting Zeb in Kindergarten and credited Zeb’s mom for his passion for Doritos. Both of Zeb’s best men have been his friends since elementary school; even their mothers are best friends.

At the end of his speech he compared his hopes for our marriage to toilet paper. He presented us with a plaque he had made himself with an inscription that reads “Soft, strong, and ever-so-long.” It sits proudly in our living room.

Next up, Zeb’s other Best Man said a few heartfelt words about both of us, even giving Weddingbee a shout out. He was a bit nervous but we think he did wonderfully. I was pretty nervous myself because he could have told quite a few very embarrassing stories but he was kind to both of us. He ended the speech with a beautiful Incubus lyric that made me cry. (It’s the lyric that is listed in the title of this post.)

My father was too nervous to make the traditional father-of-the-bride speech but my mother was chomping at the bit to take his place. With a firm warning that the speech be under two minutes, as my mother has a tendency to be long-winded, I asked that she say a few words. She happily accepted. Mom and Dad were always happy that I had chosen a man like Zeb. She told everyone how great a guy she thought he was and how could anyone ask for anything more for their daughter. She also made mention of the time I tried to convince my parents that Zeb was just a friend. He totally was…until we made out.

All photos are courtesy of Sara Zarrella Photography.