Wedding Speech

Here is the Speech I gave at Eric & Andrea's Wedding. It was very tough for me to get through parts of this. Immediately before my speech was a "Moment of Silence" to recognize those that could not be with us for the Wedding and Carrie's name was specifically mentioned. I was on the verge of loosing control of my emotions, when the silence was broken announcing me to give the speech. A tough thing to follow which made for a VERY emotional beginning, but I did it! I am very proud of myself, I dont mean to boast, but for all you that know me and know how hard it has been without Carrie, will understand that. I wanted to post my speech because it is a great thing about Eric & Andrea and I hope you enjoy..

Hi, my name is Piper. I am Eric's sister. Several months ago, I was thinking ahead to this day, telling my husband how worried I was that I would probably be asked to give a toast at the wedding. Not because I didn't want to do it, but worried because I cry at strangers weddings! And we're talking about my only brothers wedding, how was I going to do it without crying. After months of wondering if I would be asked, I was asked to speak during the ceremony! Wow, a bigger fear ran through me and I was having some serious anxiety about this. But, now that I have had time to process, I want to say to Eric & Andrea, Thank You. Thank you for asking me and wanting me to be a part of your day. I feel so honored that you wanted me to be a part of the ceremony and no amount of fear would have kept me from doing this. I may blink a lot and do my special thing to keep from crying and I may not succeed, but I will do my best.

Some of you may not know the story of how Eric & Andrea came to be a couple. While in High School, they were involved with the FFA program and met while decorating for a school dance. Some time later, Eric decided to show goats at the year 2000 State Fair and since he did not own any, he had to borrow them and they happened to belong to Andrea. Over the course of about 2 weeks while at the fair, they spent a lot of time together which developed into a friendship and also a high school crush. Towards the end of the fair, after a night at the races and watching the fireworks show, Eric asked Andrea to be his girlfriend. 5 years later in August of 2005, they took a vacation to the ocean. As the sun was setting and they were walking hand in hand on the beach, Andrea noticed a really nice shell, still intact, on the ground. She picked it up and realized there was something inside. After prying it open and finding a beautiful ring inside, Eric got down on his knee and asked her to Marry Him!

I have always felt they were destined to make it. Our family has loved Andrea and her family from the beginning. I just recently learned that Snohomish High had their own version of The Love Match. Andrea and Eric both participated, not knowing each other at the time. Andrea was open to any grade student in the high school and out of all the students, the results gave her 3 possible choices as a good match for her, and Eric was one of the guys on her list! At the time she did not know who Eric Johnson was, he was just a student 1 year younger than her. So here we are today, celebrating the marriage of two people, who are a perfect fit.

When Andrea asked me to speak today, she left if pretty open as far as what I wanted to talk about. I contemplated for a few weeks, searching the internet trying to find something about brothers and new sister in laws, a poem maybe. I could not find anything special enough, so I decided to make this more personal and share with them what I have learned about Marriage, what it means to me and what I can pass along to them.

Marriage starts with love and you definitely need love, but over the 12 years I have been married, there is a lot more to it than that.

Marriage is one of the best things that will happen to you, it is the start of a new chapter. It is the foundation to the rest of your lives. With marriage eventually will come more pets, then later the real children, buying your first home, moving up in your careers, vacations, struggles and accomplishments, anniversaries, retirement. So many ways in which you will grow together. You will accomplish things you never dreamed of or thought possible. And when you do, you will look back in amazement at just how far you have really come, whether it is a year from now or 20 years down the road.

When you’re married, you will learn that it can be one of the easiest things to be in and no matter what happens in your life that tries to bring you down, you will always have each other to fall back on because your spouse is your rock, your best friend and your support. It is very important to always communicate as often as possible, no matter what the topic is. Be sure to relay your hopes and dreams, your goals and aspirations to one another because the other person will always be there to help you accomplish these things and help pick you up when you fall short.

Your patience will be tested with your spouse, your pets and your future children. You need to give each other the benefit of the doubt, listen to what the other is saying and trust in yourself, in each other and in your relationship. Acceptance and understanding go a long ways in a marriage and realize now that you both over time will change who you are today, and there are parts of you that will not change. Know that you cannot pick the qualities in your spouse you wished were different, you can only accept who they are and love them unconditionally for that.

Show appreciation when deserved and also on a whim. Everyone, no matter who they are, feels better with a pat on the back, especially from their spouse. Appreciate all the great things you have in your life. Respect each other and understand that no matter how badly you want to always have things your way, it just is not reality! Marriage is about compromise, because although you share many of the same goals and dreams, there will be areas you just don’t agree on and will need to find a way to compromise on your differences. And there will come a time when you will need to forgive as well because we all screw up every now and then and if you can find it in your hearts to be open to forgiveness, you'll find a much easier path to travel.

Marriage is about 2 people, but don’t forget to surround yourselves with friends that you care about and that care about you in return. Family is the support system that never goes away, no matter how hard you try to get away from us! If you ever have questions about marriage or relationships, just look to your parents. Between both sets, there are 70 years of solid love, commitment and family to fall on for guidance.

And finally, you can never say I Love You too many times in one day! You can never give each other too many hugs and too many kisses. It's the little things like this that you will look back on years from now and cherish that you still are holding hands and hugging and kissing, just because you are still in love. Don’t take life and each other for granted and don't waste energy on the things you cannot change, instead focus on the positive things that surround you and if you both strive to maintain a positive attitude and try to live your life by it, you will build a solid foundation to a lifetime marriage. The saying goes, Love Conquers All and in a marriage it is so true, because as long as you have love for each other, you can get through anything together.

You both are young, mature, focused, driven, hard working and loving people and you will succeed at whatever you put your minds to, that is just who you both are. I feel so very lucky to be in your lives as everyone here does as well. We all are here to celebrate the happiness of two of the best people we know. I don't have to wish you luck, because you already have found it. True love, marriage and spending the rest of your lives together is the perfect combination for a truly happy life.

I love you both