Congratulations on making this decision together, and thank you for including my and my sweet Hannah in the ceremony. I am young in my marriage - it will be seven years this fall, but I will say that we have had a real marriage. Highs, lows, and everything in between. If I can offer you any advice it would be the old adage "communication is key" but with one caveat...be you, be individual, work on yourselves always. The more you know who you are, the more easily the other stuff comes together. I wish you a long, happy marriage with the individual strength to weather any storm together, and the concurrent ability to recognize and appreciate the best days.
I wrote this speech for my sister's wedding in 2015. My sister asked me to walk her down the aisle for her wedding. I couldn't have pictured it any other way. She has always felt like my "first baby" because I spent much of my 10-17 years as a mother figure to her. She and I went together to her kindergarten graduation, I would skip school to join her on field trips, and when I started my part time jobs as a teen I made a point of taking her out with each paycheck. Sometimes on the bus to the movies, or a local Chinese restaurant (where she always ate a burger). Later in life when I was 25 I became her legal guardian (something I will expand on later in a post dedicated to just that). Something that (though I would do it all over again if given the choice) came with great challenges to our relationship that I am a grateful we have overcome. I reread this speech for myself sometimes to this day. It's a good reminder to me to invest in myself, to remember that I need to be a fully formed individual and not just half of a whole. I believe this is important whether single or committed.
Self work, always.
-Amanda
