Parker Serena Dress / Kate Spade Charm Pump /Kendra Scott Stassi Bracelet
Kendra Scott Naomi Double Ring
Happy Monday everyone and CHRISTMAS WEEK (this is also my Birthday week so I’m pretty excited!!) This past weekend my little sister got married! It was a whirlwind of laughter, tears and lots of fun! If any of you have ever been married I think you can relate when I say, it all just seems like one huge blur and the next day you are left thinking “Did all this just happen?!?!” Her wedding was incredible, it was at the Merrimon-Wynn House in Downtown Raleigh. If you or someone you know is looking for a beautiful venue in the area, you should totally check it out! I was her matron of honor and having such a prestigious title I knew that I would be required to give a speech at the rehearsal dinner or at the wedding. In my head the speech was about the one person who I knew better than anyone in life, we were best friends the day she was born, we shared a room practically our entire life and we were inseparable, STILL this speech had me stumped! I never procrastinate on anything like this, but the night before the rehearsal dinner I told everyone I needed to be alone and for two hours I sat and finally typed out what I wanted to say! I know that lots of my friends are getting married and I felt like there may be a need for help on the MAID OR HONOR SPEECH! So today I am sharing my speech (verbatim 😉 ) I will say that after all this, I NEVER ended up giving my speech because of lack of time, so instead I am printing a copy and framing it for my sister and her husband. You all can imagine my nerves the night before the wedding thinking I had to give it and then the day of and then not having to do it at all hahahaha however, I don’t regret telling the happy couple just how I felt and now it will be a keepsake for them in the future, after all it is just a speech about them for them so it’s all okay!
My speech took a 3 paragraph format! I began with an introduction (I thought this may be unnecessary) however it always great just to welcome everyone, tell them who you are and why you are speaking! I then decided to start with my sister; I was her matron of honor after all. I then moved on to her fiance (now husband) and what he meant to both me and her and then I concluded with them as a couple. I thought it was important to be a little clever, funny, sentimental and share a few favorite stories withoug boring the audience so tell me how I did, here it is (I hope you enjoy):
Matron of Honor Speech:
I have met most of you here, but for those of you I have not met, I am, Holly, the sister of the bride and the matron of honor. When my baby sister asked me to be her Matron of Honor I was over joyed! I knew that this would mean I would get to be by her side on the biggest day of her life and watch her marry the man of her dreams, Butch. Anna, you are my best friend! I heard once, “There is no better friend than a sister and there is no better sister than you”; there is no more perfect saying for us!
Anna, there is not a childhood memory I have that does include both of us together from dressing the same every Christmas, you letting me cut your hair like my Barbies (or maybe a little shorter), sharing a room and bed for most of our childhood, you knew every secret I ever had! I can remember packing your volleyball bag every morning in high school and making sure you were always taken care of; as the older sister I have always tried to parent or protect you even to this day! If you are around Anna and me for any length of time you see just how much we feed off of one another, we even laugh the same; we are seriously a package deal. We do however have a few differences, Anna, you make up for my anxiousness and need for perfection with your easy and free spirit that I truly envy! You cherish life and all that it has to offer and you know what you want and have the courage to go after it; that’s such a gift! You have the ability to bring life to any room and truly are a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day! Your energy and love for life are unmatched! You have always pushed and believed in me to follow my heart and dreams when I didn’t have the courage to step out and do it myself! You are always there for me when I need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on! You push me to be the best version of myself and I can never repay you for that! The way you cherish and love life is something I strive to do daily! I am so proud of all of your accomplishments and I can’t wait to watch you continue to grow and live the life of your DREAMS!
Butch, you have been a ray of sunshine in our family and you seriously are perfect for Anna! From the moment I met you I knew that you loved her and you have always put her first! You even put up with her late night sugar cravings, which I’m pretty sure is how you won her heart over 5 years ago with all the blueberry donuts you brought her. You are a true gem and we are so grateful to have you as an addition to our loud, crazy and slightly dysfunctional family! As many of you know, it can be intimidating coming into such a loud bunch, you can ask my husband or my sister in law, if you are scared to speak you will be spoken over! However, we do have our good side, which is we LOVE and LOVE hard! Butch, we LOVE you and my sister loves you and I am so excited to see what God has in store for you as a couple! If there is one thing I have learned in over 7 years of marriage is that putting God first is KEY and your spouse SECOND and everything else will fall into place! There will be moments of trials, but with God at the forefront of your marriage, HE will give you the strength and wisdom to weather those storms, together!
Anna and Butch, I could stand here all night and share stories about both of you and the love that I have for you both! You two are such beautiful people both inside and out and I know that God has huge plans for you both individually and as a couple and I can not wait to see what’s in store! Tonight, I want you both to know just how special you are to me and how honored I am to stand beside you both tomorrow and watch you become ONE! I LOVE YOU BOTH so much! I am always here for you, as you have both always been there for me! There are no two people more perfect for one another! Cheers to tonight and to a long life of love and happiness! I love you!
I figured with sharing a Christmas wedding story and speech I should also share some amazing Christmas & NYE Looks that I have been eyeing that are all still available to be shipped for Christmas! So I have created a NYE Look Tab on the blog here as well as a shoppable boutique with all of my favorites! I would love to hear your stories or your speech ideas as well 😉 Happy Christmas week! XOXO!
Shop the Sparkle Here:
That sparkle dress is GORGEOUS!! And it looks amazing on you!
xo, jess
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