6:21 P.M.
This is the speech I used at my sisters wedding yesterday! It sounded good on paper, until I lost it and started crying about half way through the speech.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
I had been working on a scrapbook for Katy and Dave�s wedding for the past few months and ran across so many old family photos. I was trying to come up with witty things to say next to each picture, but remembered the saying, �A picture is worth a thousand words.�
All of the pictures brought back so many great memories and the candid photo�s really did speak for themselves.
My favorite picture of my sister and me was taken on her 18th birthday. It�s a picture of us sitting outside of the Hard Rock Ampa Theater in Orlando.
Thinking back we had a great time that night!
I remember at the beginning of that day Katy was really annoyed that we had to leave early and it felt like we would never get to Orlando.
We got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way for over an hour, but even with the traffic, and stopping for dinner, we were still 4 hours early for the show once we arrived in O Town!
We had dressed for warm weather and lined up on the side of the building as the temperature started to quickly drop.
We waited�.. waited�. And waited�
And waited some more.
(This is what my grandfather would call �hurry up and wait�. �Because if you want a good seat to a general admission show, you�d better come early!�)
As we were waiting outside a photographer came around to all the people waiting and took their pictures. I was very surprised that my sister agreed to take a picture together because back then, she was very camera shy.
The photographer handed us a ticket with a website and a number on it so we could go back and retrieve the picture once we got home.
After we had our picture taken, the ushers opened the door to the theater and we RAN to the front to get the best seat in the house. We were FRONT AND CENTER for the whole show.
We waited for about another hour for the band to take the stage, but once Johnny came out of the dark playing the lead guitar riff for �BLACK BALLOON�, my sisters face LIT UP!
I remember seeing that look on her face and thinking, �THIS WAS SOOOOO WORTH IT!�
I guess what I�m trying to say is, today, all these smiles, good times, and photographs are so important in the memories that Katy and Dave will be making together.
Even when things don�t go as planned we still manage to remember the good things, and the bad things come out a little humorous after we�ve accepted them and moved on.
Even today, Katy has taken any mishaps with a grain of salt.
When the wedding planner told Katy that she wouldn�t have flowers from the florist in time to walk down the aisle, she improvised and said she would rather take the flowers from the lobby centerpiece than wait another minute to walk down that aisle.
Don�t sweat the small stuff! It�s the happy times that will pull you through when you struggle.
When I look at the photo of my sister, and me waiting to get into the concert I don�t think about being stuck in traffic, or arriving way too early! I think about the smile on my sisters face the moment The Goo Goo Dolls took the stage and sang her favorite song!
I would like to toast to Katy and Dave�s happiness, as this is the first BIG memory of their long future together!
