Maid of Honor's Toast

Joke: What is the difference between a girlfriend and a wife? Answer: Forty-five pounds.

Some history for all of you.

I first met Mik at a party at the Waverly, which is the high rise condo downtown where it all began.

He was drunk.

Later that night I said to Sam, “Hey, he is really cute” and then I was met with “Oh nope, nope, nope”.

Sam was drunk.

I wasn’t sure if it was Sam’s dedication to her career as property manager of the Waverly and the “no resident dating” policy or the fact that we never really had the same taste in men that made her disagree.

But then a funny thing happened….Sam starting being seen after hours at the Waverly.

I am sure many residents thought she was an extremely dedicated, hard working manager.

Many leaving for work in the early hours of the morning would pause and say to themselves what a hardworking girl, why I saw her in that outfit yesterday, she must be going home to change after putting in a night’s work only to do it all over again today.

Their undercover mission impossible relationship would soon develop and it wouldn’t be long before they would move out of the Waverly to the Money Pit on Edgewater Drive.

And as they say, the rest is history.

What a wonderful person Sam has married today. I wouldn’t have picked a better husband for her.

As a child I often tried to pick her husband. I would tell her who she was to marry. For instance, Hall and Oates-I would say that I was going to marry the blond singer and she got the guy with the big thick hairy spider mustache….

And Dukes of Hazard-I got the strapping intelligent brunette and she the doofey blond.

Funny how karma works because in real life …well never mind.

But in all seriousness it is today where two families become one. Two loud crazy families. It is today that we welcome not only Mik but also Wubba and Marjorie into our family.

So I ask that we raise our glasses and toast two beautiful, unique people as they begin their journey today as Mr. and Mrs. Brauchand.

Ceremony - Proclamation

Now that Mik and Samantha have, before family and friends gathered in this hallowed space, promised themselves to one another in their intention, in their words, and in an exchange of symbols, it is my great pleasure to say…

You may now kiss the groom!

Let the celebrations continue, for it is with much pleasure that I present to you for the very first time Mr. and Mrs. Branchaud!

Thank you for bearing witness to this joyous day!

Ceremony - Blessing

May I ask everyone independent of faiths to join in this blessing according to your own beliefs and desires.

In silent prayer let each of us wish Samantha and Mik health and happiness always.

May they appreciate their togetherness and may they be guided in marriage by honesty, loyalty and respect, and may their family and friends always be by their side.

Ceremony - Rings

The rings which you give and receive this day are the symbols of the endless love into which you enter as partners.

In ancient times it was believed that the vein in the fourth

finger of the left hand led directly to the heart. So by encircling this finger your heart is forever touched by the one who loves you.

Let these rings represent your promises to each other.

Let them be a reminder of this moment, your love, and your commitment to each other.

A love that has no beginning and no ending, no giver and no receiver… for you are each the beginning and the ending… each the giver and the receiver.

And so may your hearts always be connected by these rings.

Ceremony - Homily

I’m beginning with a poem that you may be familiar with, by the Lebanese poet, artist, and sculptor, Khalil Gibran.

Love one another but make not a bond of love
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls;

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup,
and give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf;

Sing and dance together, and be joyous, but let each of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give of your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.

Marriage symbolizes the love and intimate sharing of two lives, yet this sharing is not meant to diminish but rather to enhance the individuality of each life.

A love that lasts is one which is continually developing and in which each partner is individually developing, while growing in understanding of the other.

It’s very much like a dance. A dance in the sense that the lovers are free, and yet connected… barely touching as they pass, and then embracing.

Partners moving to the same rhythm, creating a pattern together, the same pattern, a marriage, a life together…

A good marriage, like a dance, is built on some of the same rules. The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently to the music of their love, intricate, but gay and swift and free, like a country dance of Mozart’s.

To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endlessly changing beauty of its unfolding.

There is no place here for the possessive clutch, the clinging arm, or the heavy hand.

For marriage is an unfolding.

It takes years to marry completely two hearts, even the most loving.

A happy wedded life is a long falling in love.

Too often we think that love belongs to the brown-haired and crimsoned-cheeked. Not so.

We marry in fractions. Now a small fraction, then a larger one, until, if we’re fortunate, after 30, 40, 50 years, we are married totally.

Yet the amazing thing about these fractions is that at every step of the way, they feel like whole numbers, it feels totally…

And then we discover that it just gets better and better. Because love has no boundaries other than those that we impose upon it.

My grandparents were a wonderful model of love. I had the privilege of witnessing the changing beauty of that love

My grandmother, in her late 70’s was in the hospital with a serious illness. My grandfather also became ill and was in the same hospital. Not wanting my grandmother to worry about him, he made everyone in the family promise not to tell her. Then every day he got out of his hospital bed, dressed in a shirt, tie and jacket, and went to “visit” his wife. Grandma never knew.

Or at least she never let grandpa know that she knew.

Two people, married for over 50 years, deeply loving and caring for and about each other.

The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda wrote about this love, a love in which there is no I or you, in Sonnet 17…

I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz

or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:

I love you as certain dark things are loved,

secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries

hidden within itself the light of those flowers,

and thanks to your love, darkly in my body

lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,

I love you simply, without problems or pride:

I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you,

so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,

so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

In marriage we need to care for each other so much that we know, as completely as possible, what the other is feeling.

It is your hand upon my chest…and when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close …

To be open, to be honest, to be exposed, without fear…

To share not only joys and successes, but also the burdens of sorrows and failures.

To care so much… to trust so much…to be vulnerable…to be imperfect and know that in that imperfection we are loved.

To know and be known in this way is beyond measure.

Such understanding and acceptance equips us to live with the problems and failings and worries that accompany every marriage.

Mik and Samantha give themselves in love today but they don’t give themselves away.

And it is in that tension between separateness and union that love-- whose incredible strength is equal only to its incredible fragility-- is born and reborn.

Ceremony - Opening Words

Good afternoon my name is David Vita and I have the great privilege of standing before you here today to begin the celebrations as Mik Juche Branchaud and Samantha Ruth Thomas join together to become husband and wife.

Mik, I’ve known you for a very long time. I remember putting up a basketball hoop for you when you were about 5 years old. Rather than shooting the ball from the ground, you climbed up on the porch and dropped the ball down through the basket. You were a pretty smart kid then. And you’re a pretty smart man now as you’ve demonstrated by choosing to spend your life with Samantha.

Samantha, I’ve known you for a much shorter period of time but as you entered Mik’s heart so did you immediately enter and enlarge his circle of family and friends.

Thank you to everyone who spent many patient hours traveling to be here with us. Mik and Samantha asked you to be with them today because you have been there for them in the past.

Your presence is a true testament to your love and friendship and their dearest hope is that you will be willing to remain beside them as their journey continues.

Let us please take a moment now to reflect upon those who could not be with us in person, but who are certainly with us in spirit.

There is a special quality to the hours we pass with the people we care for. Mik and Samantha’s family and friends should never be denied the knowledge of how deeply you have touched their lives and continue to do so.

As Shakespeare once said, "I count myself and nothing else so happy as a soul remembering my good friends."

And so, Mik and Samantha stand before you… their family and “good” friends…counting themselves so happy as they begin their journey together.

Welcome to this joyous day!

Thankyou

I just wanted to respond to everyone who has left us voice mails and sent us emails wishing us luck and expressing their thoughts. While we did not have time prior to the wedding to respond to everyone individually, I just wanted to say thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.

For all those that attended, thank you for making the 10th of November a day that Sam and I will always remember and look back on. For those that could not, we look forward to seeing you again soon and hope that the pictures and readings I will continue to post here will allow to participate in spirit.


Thank you all.

Tammy's Reading

Sammi and Mik have chosen one another to be partners to walk through their lives together Please remember to love each other for your unique qualities and

cherish the people that you are deep inside.

It is so important to not only to be in love, and be husband and wife, but to be friends.

life throws things in your direction that you will need strength and perseverance to endure and walk through. To have a wife or husband who loves you

and is your friend to stand by your side is a blessing beyond measure.

Be a shelter for one another to run to for comfort, for understanding, for warmth, for affection. Most of all just be there for each other.

Marriage vows are not just words, marriage takes great commitment, not all days are happy, or easy, enjoy those that are, be there for one another when times get rough.

Love is more than just the initial attraction; it is the beautiful coming together of two people who find that where ever that other person is, it is home.

Have a home that is warm and full of love, a haven to come home to, a place of safety,

a place of laughter, a place of peace.

Always listen to one another & look into their eyes when they speak. Make sure that the other person knows how much you care and that you want to hear what they say.

Listen also to what they are not saying. To be known and understood

is a blessing that cannot be measured.

Be kind even when you don’t feel like it. Be appreciative of the other person for all that they do even if you feel it is not enough! Be thoughtful and treat the other person as you want to be treated. Smile and laugh and never lose the closeness that you feel this day as you wed.

Sammi, my little girl now grown to be a beautiful woman, you have chosen a wonderful

man in Mik and we all love him and trust you to his care now as his wife. When you have a child and love them so dearly, this is a trust that is very special.

Go now, and have a happy life together, don’t let anything come between you.

Know how special you both are and how much you are loved.

Thank you for letting me be a part of your wedding,

I love you both

Mike's Best Man Speech

My name is Mike. I am one of two best men. The other is Rob. I only bring up Rob because I know how upset he gets if you forget to mention his name in a speech.

This is a story about young love, a chance meeting and international travel. A story about two people who have lived under the same roof and shared so much. Yes, it is the story of Mik and . . . . Me.

1993. My college dorm room. Jean shorts on, radio playing ace of base. The phone rings. That’s when I first heard the name Mik Branchaud.

Now I know I can’t talk about certain topics in this speech. It would be inappropriate to talk about Mik in jail, or if I told you why he can no longer rent cars from avis but I think this is okay.

I picked up the phone. It was my girlfriend. I knew something was wrong right away - - for once she wasn’t yelling at me. Turns out we were done and Mik was slightly responsible. We had never met, but I had this vision of Mik, good looking, charming, james bond like. Actually, she said, he’s a bit heavy, has boy band hair and smells like booze, you know Mik.

So four years later Mik and I ended up at the same company, same office. I recognized his name and spotted him. My ex described him perfectly. We joked about the events of 1993 and instantly became friends.

It is easy to be friends with Mik

· Mik is smart, honest and sensitive (It takes a sensitive guy to not only write his own wedding vows, but to finish before his fiancé)

· He is always up for fun and doesn’t seem to mind being the butt of a joke (obviously)

· And he’s very caring. Mostly he cares about his appearance. In Greece after a motorcycle accident. Mik laying in the hospital. Internal injuries. Takes my hand. ‘Mike, I have bad news about the accident. I ruined my money shirt. What am I going to wear to the club tonight?’

We spent time traveling to exotic places like Poland, Greece, Brazil and Belmar and even became roommates in NYC. Unfortunately by late 2000, things headed south. And by things I mean Mik. He got a job at Disney. Easy to see why they hired him “Your name is Mik, like Mickey mouse. . . Johnson – hire this man.”

I saw some changes in Mik shortly after he moved. He was starting to act more like a Florida native than a New Yorker. Mik was tan, he got in shape, he was spending his days playing volleyball, he got a cool apartment in the Waverly. And then came the biggest change. He told me that while living in the Waverly he met a beautiful girl named Sam and knew she was the one. Mik seemed happy. Centered.

So I had to come and see for myself, so I came down. I was blown away when I met Sam. She’s pretty, smart and funny. And I realized that Mik must have tricked her. None of this makes sense, what the heck is going on down in Orlando? This is a magical kingdom.

I was still pondering this the next morning when I woke up in Mik and Sam’s walk in closet. And I remained a little nervous that Sam might catch on to Mik’s trickery (you can find out a lot about someone when you are engaged for three years).

But the more I got to know them both, the more I thought that they were perfect for each other. . . and things worked out – I guess Sam saw the good in Mik that I have seen for years.

Sam, I’ve never seen Mik as happy as he is when he is with you. All joking aside he is a great guy and one of my best friends. Mik – I still think you are very lucky. I am incredibly happy to see you two together and know that you will make it. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening, and could you please all stand and raise your glasses to Mik and Sam.

Marjorie's Reading

Dearest Mik and Sam,

Wedding November 10, 2007

my wishes for your life together

Dear Heart Son, Dear Heart Daughter, Dear Community

of friends, family bound in joy to witness this sacred commitment to Love.

I am humbled and stand in awe in the presence of active love. Love is a daily

sometimes moment

by moment decision.

A choice to LISTEN, stay present and let go of holdings (ancient grudges--our precious defences)

Pay attention to your noble friend.

This decision to grow love, work into vulnerability, softens our heart and gifts all of us--the whole community of witnesses, family

and friends with courage, kindness and generosity of spirit.

In the darkest hours

and there will be dark hours

love is always the answer

though the temptation may be to vent

or get even

Letting go is the path of growth.

Love

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives and in its train comes ecstasies

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain

Yet if we are bold

Love strikes away the chain of fear

from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity

in the flush of love's light

We dare to be brave

and suddenly we see

that love costs all we are

and will ever be

Yet is is only love

which sets us free.

Maya Anjelou

Tend to each other as you tend to the earth.

Daily growing love

Namaste

Marjorie/Mom

Pictures

Sam's Vows

You won’t think this is practical, but the truth is that I loved you from the moment that I saw you. I remember seeing your sparkly, blue, bloodshot eyes, thinking that you were devastatingly handsome and then….when we spoke…feeling like no one else was in the room.

On our first date, we had a little help from A LOT of rain and since then, I have never wanted to leave your side. The fact that you love me as much, has made this life nothing short of a fairy tale for me.

But, it is not only love. I also have a deep respect for who you are as a person. You are a man of great integrity, intellect, patience and honesty. That is why anyone that knows you, knows why I am honored that you have chosen ME and why I will always be proud to stand next to you in this life.

I want to thank you for giving me a happy life. For laughing with me and being patient with me. For loving my NERDY side and even when I am pretending to be cool. For listening to all of my worries and for letting me feel safe in your arms.

Thank you for showing me new places, opening my mind to new ideas and for inviting me into your family and group of friends. Hopefully, I can learn a thing or two in the kitchen. J

I promise to love you sweetly and to comfort you, to keep laughing together and to make our battles few. To be your best friend and biggest fan AND to bring out the best in you always and for YOU….be the best that I can be.

I feel the need to promise you things like….I promise to get better gas mileage, to stop teaching the dogs to bite and to put a jacket on when YOU are cold. J

But seriously, I promise that whether the days that come are happy or sad, I will always be by your side.

I am anxious about most things in this life, but about this decision, I find great comfort and peace. Because as long as I have you with me, I know that everything will be ok.

AND I am not worried that our love will last, but only that one lifetime will not feel long enough…because I will want more time with you. I love you Mik Branchaud.

Mik's Vows

Believe it or not, I am not the most effusive person when it comes to expressing my emotions. Consequently, I know I have not taken all the opportunities I should have to tell you just how much I love you and what it is about you that made me want to spend my life with you. I thought I would try to make up for making you guess my feelings (which by the way you are very good at). So, here are Ten Things I Like about You:

1 – Every relationship begins with attraction and my first sight of you convinced me I wanted to see much more of you, for I believed then and now that you are beautiful

2 – For our first date, and for many since, we spent the evening in easy conversation. You are someone that I easily warm too and feel comfortable in your company

3 – Another thing I discovered that evening four years ago and have loved ever since is your sharp wit. You appreciate the irony of the people and events around you and fill my life with laughter

4 – You know what is cool, sometimes before everyone else realizes it. This will help me shop for clothes, listen to good music, and generally not be a nerd as I grow older

5 – One of these days, we will be living the sweet life from marketing one of your many brilliant and creative ideas. While I play devil’s advocate, it is only to hone your skill as each plan is better than the last.

6 – You share my love of travel which will give us opportunities to explore cultures and geography, taste the exquisite, and share many memories. Our Christmas gift recipients should be pretty excited too…

7 – I know I have found someone with the complete package as you are also very intelligent. I know this from you wit, your insight, and your success at all that you attempt

8 – While you appreciate where we are in life, I love your drive to learn, to travel, to advance in your career, and to experience more. I vow to support you in these endeavors and hope that while you succeed, there will always be more to aspire towards

9 – I love and appreciate that you have chosen to spend your life with me, that you express your love for me verbally and in action, always aware of me and tending to me

10 – Lastly, Sam, you are inherently a good person, honest and true to yourself and the people around you. I admire and respect you and cannot think of a path more noble than to accompany you on this meandering adventure through marriage and life, my best friend, my constant companion, my wife.

I love you Sam.