A toast to my best friend on his wedding day

My longtime best friend Chris gets married Saturday. Being the Best Man, I have the honor and/or duty of giving the toast. Speaking in front of large groups of people doesn’t really bother me, the only problem is that Chris was my Best Man at our wedding and his toast was good. Really good. Many people said it was the best they had ever heard. I’m up against a lot of pressure. I thought, why not use the blog to get my thoughts together? So I wrote and edited my drafts here, and now I can share it with all of you…

Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please. Almost three years ago, Chris was standing in this exact same spot, giving the toast at my wedding, and I’m honored to be doing the same. I’d like to start off by thanking both families for all the work and planning that they’ve put into making this day such a memorable one for Chris and Alison. Congratulations to Chris and Alison for surviving all the planning that went into making this day such a memorable one. I think a special recognition is in order for the person responsible for introducing our newlyweds, Suzy. Most of all, thank you to everyone who is in attendance tonight, both physically and those only here in spirit, because it’s not the flowers or the limos or the fancy clothes that make a wedding truly special, it’s the people who come to show their love and support as you two start off on your new life together.

Now, three years ago, after Chris gave the best toast that I’ve ever heard at a wedding, I vaguely remember telling him that someday he’d be the one getting married and I’d be toasting him. Chris and Alison hadn’t even met at that point, but it seems like Chris has always been following in my footsteps.

For example, I grew up on Lake Avenue, he moved to Lake Avenue when he was young. I got a cool green mountain bike and a top-of-the-line Super Soaker, he gets a cool green mountain bike and the same squirt gun. I decide to go to college at RIT, a year later he enrolls there too. We shared the same dorm room… then the same apartment. We both graduated, ended up getting jobs back here in Buffalo and moving home. I met the woman of my dreams, fell in love, got married, and am living happily ever after. I’m very happy to see the same happen to Chris.

Chris has been my “best friend” for nearly twenty years, and now Chris and Alison have made the commitment to be that to each other. I know the bond between them will be even stronger than the friendship that Chris and I have shared for so many years. So now, I raise my glass, and I’d like you to all join me. To Chris and Alison… may you both enjoy a lifetime of health and prosperity, may your good days far outnumber and outweigh the bad, and may you both share in each other’s uncompromising friendship. Congratulations!