I Now Pronounce You...Husband & Wife

Oh how do I begin a post that I have prayed about and dreamed of for my sister for so many years? How do you accurately put into words the vast array of emotions I feel as the realization sinks in that my Rachel is married? I have neglected writing this post because, well, I have just had too many emotions, too many thoughts, and too little time to sit and process the reality. On May 18, Rachel and Jeremy became Mr. and Mrs. Eaton. The day could not have been more perfect! It was an absolute honor to be Rachel’s maid of honor and so much fun to enjoy the fun activities and preparations leading up to the big day. I really can’t put into words how it felt to see my sister in her wedding dress (because she looked absolutely stunning!). To walk down the aisle (straight down to Darin…ironic, huh?) at my sister’s wedding. To watch her walk down the aisle with her arm wrapped around my Dad’s as she attempted to process the unbelievable reality that was hers. To see her giddily and tearfully commit her love and her life to the man of her dreams. And to look around and see hundreds of friends and family who had traveled from near and far to celebrate Rachel and Jeremy and bless them with their support, their encouragement, and their excitement. Just a couple of my favorite moments were…seeing Rachel for the first time in her dress (yup, there were serious water works involved), praying with her just the two of us before the wedding, having pictures before the wedding with the wedding party, getting ready, watching Darin officiate the wedding, worshipping during the service, doing Rachel's makeup (no pressure, huh?) walking down the aisle and seeing so many people who loved Rachel and Jeremy, seeing Rachel and Dad walk down the aisle, hearing for the first time “Mr. and Mrs. Eaton,” Rachel and Dad’s father-daughter dance, delivering the maid of honor speech, dancing like a fool at the reception…okay, basically I loved the entire day. Ha!  It was so special and so surreal!

As the maid of honor, I had the responsibility and honor of giving a speech/toast at the reception. Umm, yeah…while this has been a norm that I have seen play out at countless weddings, I never understood the weight of that moment until I stood before our friends, family, and the new Mr. and Mrs. Eaton and attempted to speak without my voice shaking or my hands trembling. Ha! I struggled and prayed over the speech for so long, wanting it to be perfect, wanting to say all the right words in all the right way, and more than anything, wanting to honor my sister and remind her how much I loved her. No pressure, huh? After putting it off until the week before the wedding, I finally started writing. And if you know me at all, once I got going, I didn’t stop. There were so many memories that flooded my mind from childhood and so many things that I admire and love about Rachel. Needless to say, I had a whole lot of things I wanted to say about my sweet sis and her new husband. Because my speech was quite long (probably a little too long. Ha!) I thought instead of attempting to rewrite what I love about Rachel, I would share what I said at her reception…

Wow, what a surreal moment this is. My sister is a married woman. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Emilee, Rachel’s little sister. I want to preface this by apologizing for this speech being so long. Once I got writing, I had a really tough time stopping because my heart is overflowing with joy.

First of all, I just want to say thank you on behalf of my family. Thank you for joining us in celebrating Jeremy and Rachel and for being such valuable, influential, and special family, friends, role models, leaders, and prayer warriors in their lives. It is absolutely humbling to look around and see so many people who are eager to celebrate the amazing love that God has blessed Jeremy and Rachel with.

Rachel, you are an absolutely stunning bride. You’re always beautiful, but tonight…wow. You look gorgeous. There are so many things I love about Rachel, which has made writing this speech pretty difficult. Rach, I love your heart. You have such a beautiful, generous, and humble heart that seeks after the Lord in all that you do. I love how willing you are to give of yourself for the good of others and how generous you are with your time and your unique gifts and abilities. I love your love for family. I love how sacrificially you love and serve us and how beautiful of a role model you have always been to me. You are the most amazing big sister. You have always sacrificially loved and taken care of me. You have always had my best interest in mind and have shared your wisdom, time, love, support, and friends with me. You have always been my best audience member, sis. I love how much you laugh at and with me. It doesn’t take much to make you giggle, which I love. I love how lighthearted you are. Your “hancackle” has and always will be contagious. I love how unafraid you are to be silly and to laugh, sing, and dance, whenever your heart desires. You have busted many a dance moves over the years…and have provided quite the entertainment. I love how adventurous and fearless you are. I love your love for travelling and experiencing new things. I love your gentleness. I love how maternal you have always been. I love how hard you work. I love how innocent you are. I love how unassuming you are. I love how quick you are to forgive. I love how compassionate you are. I love how genuine you are. I love so many things about you, sis. You are so special and I am so thankful for you.

Rachel, we have some of the sweetest memories together, don’t we? Dancing, singing, rollerblading, travelling, spending countless hours creating extravagant chalk roads, jumping on the trampoline, eating watermelon, going on safari’s with Nanny and Pappy, playing school for hours on end, creeking, nightly sleepovers, and laughing a lot define our childhood. As we have gotten older, not much as changed. Ha! We have continued to create sweet and silly memories together. Rach, you are my best friend. I am so honored and thankful that you double as my sister.

I have prayed for years that this day would someday be a reality for you, Rach. For years we have talked about and dreamed for this day. I have prayed over the man that would someday be your husband and prayed that you would be blessed with a love that can only come from God. It brings me SUCH joy to see these dreams and prayers become a reality. For years, I have prayed that God would be shaping and preparing a man for you that would love the unique and beautiful woman you are and who would lead you to Jesus each day. I prayed daily that this man would be shaped into God’s likeness and would be a man after His heart. I prayed that this man would love to laugh and be silly and would be someone who you could laugh through life with. I didn’t know your name, Jeremy, but I have been praying for you for a long time.

I remember the first time I heard about Jeremy. You see, Rachel never talked about boys, so when she said his name with a smile, I knew he was something special. For about a year after the first mention of his name, I heard about this infamous Jeremy. How great of a friend he was, what a great leader he was, and how much Rachel loved serving alongside of him. The only problem was, Jeremy was perfectly content to remain in the friend zone. I remember having countless conversations with Rachel and with a lot of you in this room, as we tried to help decipher what was going on in “this boys” head. There may have been a time or two that I tried to convince Rachel to move on. Good thing she didn’t listen, huh? Rachel knew that God had allowed her to see Jeremy in a way she had never seen anyone before and faithfully prayed over Jeremy and their friendship until the Lord allowed Jeremy to see Rachel with new eyes. Your prayers have paid off, sweet sis. It is an absolute honor to stand before you and see that your dream has come true. I am so excited to see how the Lord blesses the two of you as you learn to love and serve each other as husband and wife. You have both patiently and prayerfully waited for this day and have finally made it!

Jeremy, I am so thankful that the Lord has brought you into our lives. I am so thankful that you love Rachel in such a sacrificial and beautiful way. I love that you love how quirky and silly she is. I love that you join her in her silliness and make her laugh. I love that you support, encourage, and take care of Rachel. I love that you treasure and value her. I love that you point her to Jesus and that you lead her, provide for her, and guard and protect her heart. I love your love for the Lord and your commitment to being led by Him in all things. I love how sacrificially you live and love and how you seek to serve and glorify Him in all that you say and do. I love that your relationship is built on prayer and your shared love for the Lord. Jeremy, your wife is one of the most amazing women I know and she loves you so much. As our families become one, I’m trusting you to take care of her. To continue to guard and protect her. To hold her. To laugh with her. To encourage and support her. To sacrifice for her. To provide for her. To respect, value, and treasure her. And to ultimately lead her to Jesus every day. I know that the Lord has brought you two together and am so excited to watch you two continue to fall in love each day, as you begin this new chapter.

While I have officially talked your all’s ears off (sorry), I would love to end this with a prayer for Jeremy and Rachel. Please join me by bowing your heads…

Lord, thank you for bringing us to this beautiful day of celebration. Thank you for the amount of love, support, and joy that is so evident in this room. Father, thank you for leading Jeremy and Rachel to each other and for blessing them with such a beautiful love. Thank you for their commitment to each other and ultimately their commitment to loving and serving you. Please use their marriage for your glory. Lead them into opportunities to love, serve, and bless others together. Let their marriage be defined by grace, forgiveness, and love. Lead Jeremy and Rachel into opportunities to practice the fruits of the spirit. Lord, let their marriage be defined by Matthew 6:33- “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Teach Jeremy to be a husband who, like Ephesians 5:25 says, “loves his wife, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.” Teach Rachel to be a Proverbs 31 wife, who sacrificially loves and blesses her family and who fears and knows you personally. God refine Jeremy and Rachel each day into your likeness and let them seek after you in all that they do. Bless their marriage with joy, laughter, and sweet moments. Arm them with your truth and faithfully lead them through trials. Lord, thank you for being the creator, provider and sustainer of love. Thank you for being the ultimate example of sacrificial love. Thank you for bringing Jeremy and Rachel together. Thank you for their love for one another and their love for you. Thank you for each person in this room tonight. Lord, let them know you personally and intimately and serve you humbly. We love you, we serve you, and we thank you for the abundant blessings you shower over us. Father, it’s in your son’s perfect and holy name I pray. Amen.

Here’s to Jeremy and Rachel Eaton. Congratulations!!

Okay, so the written version was a bit more eloquent then the reality of the speech. Ha! SO, for the full effect, here is the video version of the speech...