In 2023, I was invited to be the officiant of my dear old friends, Sean and Alee’s wedding. It was the invitation of a lifetime and I was honored to be the one to bring their lives together. Sean and I both were tearful in the moment, while Alee was ever the dude who made fun of us for being a “bunch of crybabies.” I share this here today for posterity, misspellings and all. Below is the Officiant’s speech (or whatever it’s called). ***YOU MAY BE SEATED.***** Dearly Beloved We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Sean and Alee! So many of us have traveled great distances to be here for this joyous celebration. There is nowhere else we would rather be than right here right now, celebrating this NEU family. Pun intended. Hold for chuckles. The love in this venue is powerful! Can you feel it? So many friends. family. both old, new and those friendships yet to be discovered. Of course Friendship is the cornerstone of any great relationship and that’s where today’s journey begins. Sean and Alee began their life first as friends. They met at College and became roommates. They lived together in a large house, each working towards their futures. Both of them were unaware that their futures were destined to be together. Sean and Alee would stay friends after college. They would go on to start their individual lives, but they stayed close. They were there for each other through thick and thin, growing slowly towards becoming the best friends they were always meant to be. Weddings are intended to be quiet affairs, but if we might break decorum real quick. Can we get some noise from those of us who knew long before they did that these two both were meant to be together? It was so obvious wasn’t it? Obvious to everyone but them! Every story I’d hear, the nicknames or inside jokes from these two said it all… These two were meant for each other. But isn’t that how the greatest relationships are formed? Time. Growth. Dedication. Love. All those qualities existed long before they found their romance. It was those years of friendship that they built the foundation of this love and their future life. Sean works in Security and in the days before I met alee, I would joke, “I wonder what it would take to get that Top Secret clearance to Sean’s heart?” I stopped joking the moment I met Alee. Immediately, I knew she was the key to his heart. They are each other’s Yin and Yang. They bring each other a sense of Balance. Who else experienced the absolute joy when they revealed that they had finally taken that obvious leap into romance? And it was in those early days of this adventure that Sean and Alee invited my love and I on a double date at the Botanical Gardens. We watched as these two danced around each other. Still so nervous of the relationship that was blossoming. These two had loved each other for so long, but what did it mean now? It was in those tender moments in the gardens.. watching as the two of them held hands.. watching them gently explored what this next chapter of their relationship would become… I knew these two would GO ALL THE WAY. Their love grew to the true place it was always meant to grow. Today we are here in celebration of what they have discovered since that afternoon in the gardens. The love in this room is powerful. Look around the room and You can see the love and joy that these two represent, reflected in each of your faces. Not just our love of Sean and Alee, but the love we have for each other. With this love in our hearts, we are helping to build the bond that will carry these two forward into their futures. That love is worth more than any of the wrapped boxes we brought with us today. Those are the real gifts that we bring to this couple by being here today in this joyous celebration. As we continue this ceremony, think of your love of Sean and Alee. Think of your favorite moments you may have of them and hold that love close in your hearts as we welcome these two to their next chapter and adventures unknown. OFF MIC: Shall we begin? Are you two ready? Marriage is a supreme sharing, perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure in life. It is the joyful uniting of two individuals whose care and affection and understanding have flowered into a deep and powerful love. Those who take its vows have their lives blended together into one, as the waters of two rivers are joined when they come together to form an even greater one. The bride and groom have prepared their own vows: —- Alee: Do you take this man for your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this & day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live? Sean: Do you take this woman for your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live? You may kiss the bride! Ladies and Gentlemen.. I present to you… Sean And ALEE NEU!!!