Good evening everyone. My
name is Alison and I am Megan’s very proud best friend. Tonight, I am also thrilled and so honored to
be standing up here as her Maid of Honor. First let me start by thanking Bob,
Ann, Terry and Patrice for this extraordinarily beautiful, elegant and fun
wedding weekend. I have been looking forward to this day for almost 5
years, when Megan told me she would be marrying Ryan in a text message two
hours after meeting him... two
hours! I’m not kidding. Can't blame the girl for knowing what she wants!
When you look around this room tonight and when you watch Megan on the dance floor later, you will know I am not the only one who has the title of best friend. There are so many people here who Megan considers her best friend and that is because she surrounds herself with the very best people. So Ryan, since you’re the one she chose to marry, you should feel that honor the greatest tonight.
When Megan asked me to be her Maid of Honor, I knew that meant I would be standing up here and speaking to all of you. I thought about what I could possibly say and it felt like an overwhelming task. How could I put into words and share with all of you what Megan has meant to me throughout our lives? We have known each other since we were in 6th grade... back in the days when Megan had braces and bangs and wore L.L.Bean flannel shirts. Throughout the years, she lost the braces, the bangs and even the flannel shirts, but she has grown into the gorgeous, athletic, ambitious, compassionate woman you see here tonight. She is loyal to the core, funnier than stories could ever truly illustrate, considerate and thoughtful, generous beyond belief. Being with Megan is a guaranteed good time, whether you're sitting on her couch, riding shotgun in her car or – I don’t know – watching her walk through the lobby of the Borgata in Atlantic City the Sunday morning after her bachelorette weekend wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with the words “Mrs. Jones” bedazzled across her back, a pink lei around her neck, a tote bag over her left shoulder and an inflatable man named Tyrone tucked under her right arm. Quite the vision. Needless to say, people stopped and stared. And those same people would stop and stare if they saw you tonight, Megan, for very different reasons. Tonight, you are absolutely exquisite. I have never seen you more radiant and it’s because I know you are the happiest you have ever been to officially be Mrs. Jones.
There haven't been very many significant events that have happened in either of our lives that Megan and I haven't shared. Good, bad, ugly, hilarious, embarrassing, traumatic, celebratory... Megan and I have been a team throughout. We have traveled around the country together, both with and without our families, we have celebrated almost every birthday together for the last 21 years, we lived together after college... We have that rare gift of being able to look at each other and know what the other is thinking without saying a word. One birthday I am very sorry to have missed was her 20th. Megan was up at Hobart finishing her sophomore year. With balloons taped to her behind, she thought it would be fun to celebrate at her favorite local bar. Mind you, it was her 20th birthday – not her 21st. When Geneva policemen entered the bar checking IDs, Megan assumed her wonderful friends had arranged for their visit for her entertainment. She assumed their cop uniforms were costumes and that they were going to be suggestively removing those. When they asked for her ID, she proudly yelled, “It’s my 20th birthday!” And that … was her official statement when they put her in cuffs and took her to the police station. Fortunately, I WAS up at Hobart a year later visiting Megan for her 21st birthday when, ironically, one of the cops who arrested her the previous year asked her out. Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up.
I got lucky in Ryan being the man my best friend chose to marry because not only do I find Ryan handsome and fun and hilarious and so smart, but Ryan just gets me. To anyone else, the things that happen when we're together may seem weird -- to us, they're adventures. Ryan only accentuates the fun Megan and I have together. The three of us really love being together. I know how rare that is and how fortunate that makes me.
Megan, you are so lucky to have married Ryan today. He compliments you in all the right ways. He’s blunt when you're verbose - he's grounded when you're up in the clouds - he's realistic when you're too optimistic - he's strong when you're weak... you have found your partner. He’s confident and honest and he loves you exactly how you deserve to be loved.
And Ryan, to me, tonight, you are the luckiest guy in the world. I think marrying Megan was the best decision you have ever made. It means you have guaranteed that for the rest of your life, you will laugh with your whole body, love with your whole heart and live an adventure most people only dream about. 50 years from now, I know you will be reflecting on a lifetime of happiness and crazy fun and thinking exactly what I am thinking right now... that there is not one story I could share, or speech I could write that could EVER possibly explain how much this girl has rocked your world, changed your life for the better and how very, very lucky you are that she chose you to be her best friend forever.
I love you both. Congratulations!
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