#DaWedding

October 4th, 2014 - Kona, HI

Maid of Honor Speech

Photo by Ranae Keane

Hi everyone, I’m Chelsea, Ashley’s little sister and her maid of honor. For those of you who don’t know, we’re 11 years apart, which you can imagine meant that growing up, she was my role model, my idol, and my best friend. On the other hand, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me.

AND, in return for following her around and trying desperately to get her to hang out with me, she did things like pin me to the floor for a game of “tickle torture” - if you don’t know what tickle torture is, it's a super fun game where she would sit on top of me while I screamed, and then tickle me until I peed my pants. Goooood times.

Our relationship saw a few ups and downs through the years as we each grew up individually, but one day, the stars aligned for us: I took an internship in Las Vegas at the same time she took a job in Las Vegas. We were finally in the same city again and of course my mind was flashing “BFFS!!!” in bright neon lights. I could not WAIT to hang with my sister all the time - it really was a dream come true for me. She so graciously offered to let me live with her for the summer, so we quickly went from sisters to friends to roommates …And it was a complete disaster. Basically we just got drunk and fought a lot, like sisters do. And even though we were in screaming matches half of the time which unfortunately some of you may or may not have been present for, it somehow brought our relationship into adulthood and we've never been closer.

It turned out that Las Vegas was not the right place for her, and a few months later she moved to San Jose - the best decision she’s ever made in her life. She fell in love: with her new city, her job, and then shortly after, Michael, the most perfect guy I could ever imagine my sister with. I’ve been around for a while and I’ve seen a lot (if you know what I mean), but I’ve never seen her this happy, excited, or in love in my whole life. Their connection was instantaneous. I remember her calling me about 3 months into their relationship and telling me “He’s the one. I know he’s the one, I can feel it." And I knew that she was right. I’ve never believed anything as much as I believed her in that moment. I actually got chills, and I felt like that little girl looking up to my big sister all over again.

Having Ashley as my mentor and best friend since I was born has been a gift. I can only hope that I’m lucky enough to follow in all of her footsteps one day because I aspire to be like her in so many ways - her drive, her strength, her insightful mind, and yes, even her rebellious side that still surfaces from time to time. Maybe even tonight if we’re lucky.

Michael, you have chosen an incredibly special girl, and Ashley, you have found your other half. And as long as you guys have each other, you'll have a lifetime filled with happiness. Michael, I’m so thrilled to welcome you to our crazy, loud family, even though it feels like you've already been one of the gang for years. We love you guys, and we can't think of a better way to send you off into marital bliss than this perfect moment right now in Hawaii.

So with that said, I wanted to say an Ancient Hawaiian toast that I pretty much just made up right now: some ships are made of wood, some ships are made of steel, but the best ships are friendships. May you always be each other’s best friends.