Almost a year ago to the very day, something happened that would change the course of my brother's life forever. Something so beautiful, so pure, so God-ordained that he couldn't help but believe in storybook love. I'm of course talking about the time he first laid eyes on my professionally styled sideburns, which I had done especially for his wedding. They were a thing of rare beauty, and this weekend is their first anniversary.
No less importantly, it is also the first anniversary of the marriage itself. As one of the great Christian thinkers once said toward the end of yet another stirring display of oratory prowess, "marriage is not something authored by man, but by God". The Storyteller par excellence has written the marriage between one man and one woman into his Story. It may even be that marriage unveils some of the deepest mysteries and wonders of the Story, but as yet I am not privy to this knowledge.
To commemorate this momentous occasion I'm going to do something thoroughly self-indulgent and post the video of my Best Man Speech at the bottom. Of course as distracting as my sideburns were, the day wasn't in the least bit about me, but you'll be relieved to know that the speech wasn't about me either. The quality of the video is poor - a statement you can take to be applicable on multiple levels. The volume is low, so headphones might be necessary. And the jokes...they're in there somewhere. You just have to really want to hear them.
I was nervous about the whole ordeal. That shows. But this is Declan that you hear in this speech, for better or worse. My subject matter (chiefly my brother) did make things slightly easier. His life has always been an open book. There were shouts of joy on happy occasions, tears of anguish on disappointing Christmases (note the plural), all culminating in the feeling of "walking on air" when he knew in that most profound of ways that Julie was the one.
I haven't done David Michael Kelly justice. As I noted at the beginning of the speech, I didn't even try.
And on that note...
No less importantly, it is also the first anniversary of the marriage itself. As one of the great Christian thinkers once said toward the end of yet another stirring display of oratory prowess, "marriage is not something authored by man, but by God". The Storyteller par excellence has written the marriage between one man and one woman into his Story. It may even be that marriage unveils some of the deepest mysteries and wonders of the Story, but as yet I am not privy to this knowledge.
To commemorate this momentous occasion I'm going to do something thoroughly self-indulgent and post the video of my Best Man Speech at the bottom. Of course as distracting as my sideburns were, the day wasn't in the least bit about me, but you'll be relieved to know that the speech wasn't about me either. The quality of the video is poor - a statement you can take to be applicable on multiple levels. The volume is low, so headphones might be necessary. And the jokes...they're in there somewhere. You just have to really want to hear them.
I was nervous about the whole ordeal. That shows. But this is Declan that you hear in this speech, for better or worse. My subject matter (chiefly my brother) did make things slightly easier. His life has always been an open book. There were shouts of joy on happy occasions, tears of anguish on disappointing Christmases (note the plural), all culminating in the feeling of "walking on air" when he knew in that most profound of ways that Julie was the one.
I haven't done David Michael Kelly justice. As I noted at the beginning of the speech, I didn't even try.
And on that note...
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