05 August 2013

A speech for my sister on the day she weds the love of her life


My best friend in the whole world found the love of her life.  When she decided when and how she wanted to put a ring on it, (August 3rd at her fiance's family's farm, Zephaniah Vineyards) she bestowed upon me the honor of being her Maid of Honor.


I wrote a speech, but due to the apocalyptic-like conditions it was hard for most to hear me through the rain downpour and me trying to keep my s*&t together while my voice quivered and tears streamed down my face.

While Pinterest beckons me to modge podge my speech onto a hand cut wooden masterpiece with a transfer picture of Gretchen and Tremain, I can barely hang a frame, yet make one.  So, instead I just published my speech here so she can see it.

Here goes...

Gretchen sent me a journal for my 26th birthday, and on the cover is an inscription from Confucious, it says, “words are the voice of the heart.”  Well, I hope tonight my words illuminate the crazy amount of love and admiration that I have for my sister and BROTHER.

On the inside cover of this journal Gretchen had written me a note and she had ended it with some wisdom that I would like to share with you…

She said, “Love the moment, learn the lesson.  We are all explorers on this great journey and you have found a wonderful path.”

Well copyright infringement be damned, I’m stealing your wisdom and repackaging it to you.


To you, Gretchen, I say love this moment.  It will fly by so quickly.  Tonight you are surrounded with those who consider it a privilege to know you and Tremain, who feel loved by having you utter their name.

People have come as far as our cousins up in Canada and their friends to the South the Seattle Kemps, the Floridian Kemps, Crazy cousins from Pittsburgh, South Carolina and the Wheel!!!!

And a HUGE thanks to all the Hatchs who worked so diligently and amazingly to have your wedding celebration at their home, we can't thank them enough for being our gracious hosts.

I know you’ve been crazy busy with wedding planning since the moment you were engaged all those years…I mean months...I mean days ago!  But take time to bask in the glory of this moment of knowing that this moment right now is exactly where God intended you to be.  Which leads me to the next wisdom you left me: learn the lesson.

I say you’ve learned the lesson, my God have you learned the lesson.  With every misstep, with every regret, with every failed attempt, it has led to you to your one true love. 

While you were broken out in hives in a third world country you learned the lesson that cashew shells are poisonous.  Or when you dyed your hair with peroxide you learned fun is temporary, but bleach’s embarrassment takes FOREVER to grow out.  Or when you left your curse word laden angsty female rock cassette tape in the Ford Escort when dad needed to borrow the car…that lesson was a particularly amusing one to me.

The fantastic thing about ALL these lessons that YOU have learned, is that I didn’t have to!  You made the mistakes for me! You blazed a trail for me, either by teaching me these things, or by wearing out our poor parents so much that they were just too exhausted to care by the time I came around.

I have learned so much from watching you grow.  I only wish I could somehow go back and help you through the awkward phases, heartbreaks, and dilemmas that you helped me through.  You not only inspired me, but continue to inspire me every day.

I am also inspired by the beautiful example of love I’ve been blessed to see every day in our parents. They set this amazingly high standard for what a good relationship looks like that it took A LONG WHILE for Gretchen to find a relationship to live up to it.  But let’s face it, my parents are getting OLDER, so now I get to have a brand NEW example of what great selfless love looks like in Gretchen and Tremain. 

In closing, I say to you, my best friend: love the moment, you’ve learned the lesson. We are all explorers on this great journey and you my darling sister, have found a wonderful man to walk by your side.”  To the bride and groom!