So, I Promised Them A Damned Fine Best Man's Speech...

And, popular opinion would suggest I'd delivered...

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. For those of you I’ve not yet met, I would be Steven Rys, brother of the bride, friend of the groom, and the best man presiding over this precious day. Not to mention of course the one who’ll keep you from the meal you were promised for the next few minutes. I do invite you to keep drinking though; it really will make this more enjoyable for the lot of us.

First, I wanted to mention that I’ve been instructed to keep this PG-13, under five minutes, and to try not to vary too far from the pre-approved speech. When I fail to do so those who know me best won’t be all that surprised.

Second, very few would be better equipped to deliver this, simply because I’ve had the great pleasure of witnessing their love blossom first hand over the last seven years. Seven years, it gave me just a little time to know him before they got hitched and all. There was actually this going theory at one point where as Reilly was only seeing Jen to spend time with me, and while I had trouble with the idea of sharing him at first I decided in time it was better for all of us. I honestly have never come to know a better man though, and am honored to officially have him as a brother.

As we’d collectively reminisced in preparation for this very speech we had some difficulty in finding all that many stories that seemed appropriate for this wholesome family gathering. It'd be an unfair understatement to suggest that we were simply unrulely in our younger years. There’s just so many great stories… Like the story I’m not allowed to tell you about Geauga lake, or the one I can’t mention about the evil of sloe gin fizz, or of those many evenings enjoyed by all down in mom’s basement, I can’t tell you of all the fun we had at the drive in, not even the one where Dave ends up in a bikini, I can’t share with you the “I don’t think they know” story, and never ever could we speak of the night of the liberation of the cement ducks, I think we all entered a blood oath on that one. Not to worry, you didn’t miss much in those, and you’ll still respect the lot of us by never hearing them.

What I wanted to tell you of is the quiet moments, those shared between them exclusively, of which we only heard stories. The time they slow danced in the sand while the sun sat over the lake, with Al Green sharing loving words from the stereo of the Sundance. I wanted to tell of the many gifts they shared over the years, like the small silver piano, lovingly engraved: “In the motion picture of my life, you provide the soundtrack” which just happens to be a Reilly Original, he’s quite the charmer, how else would he find himself here today? Or even better, of the often overlooked, but most loving acts of all. The minor moments that no one notices, the way they always snuggle up together on the coach as the movie starts, or the way their idle fingers constantly intermingle, most importantly how they always greet or depart one another with both a kiss and an “I love you”.

I wanted to share these things with you, so as you may come to understand what I understand, that this day is not a beginning, but an affirmation of their tremendous love for one another, and another day in their long life together.

This is too joyous a day to continue weighing it down with such heavy hearted words, so if I could have just a moment more, I wanted to present the bride and groom with my gift to them, as it seems most appropriate at the moment.

**BUST OUT THE GIFT, & START THE TOAST!**

So here's to love, laughter
and happily ever after.
As Jen and Reilly start their new life,
let us toast to the husband and wife!

I stole that last part from somewhere, just because I hate poetry...

I'll tell you more of the wedding at some later date, I really need a shower.

-Rys4K

p.s.- I look damned fine in a tuxedo, i'll share when I get some pictures back.