The Best Best Man Speech

It was a bright sunny day at the playground. A young Marc was happily enjoying himself in the sandbox when a bully came along and took his shovel away. A young girl sensed Marc's despair and offered him her own shovel. That girl was Kate and from that moment on we all knew it was love.

Perhaps that's not exactly the way it happened, but when Marc and Kate met, the moon hit his eye like a big pizza pie. It was amore.

It was the summer of '96. I had the privilege to stay with Marc and Kate at their downtown abode. I got to spend quality time with them and saw how right they were for each other. I quickly accepted Kate as a friend once I discovered that she would laugh at all my jokes as well as share in the guilty pleasure that is found in Blossom reruns. I quickly learned to respect her once I discovered that she had the courage to challenge Ben and Jerry's Vermonster. A task I have only dreamed to undertake.

When Kate started to become a more permanent fixture at the Colello household we use to have this joke; I would only know her name and therefore call her Kate due to the fact it was inscribed on her track jacket. On this, the day of my brother's wedding I am very happy to be able to call her sister.

Of course with any relationship there were fights along the way; most of which consisted of who's cooler chemical or mechanical engineers. It's an endless battle, but through it all the girl of Marc's dreams became the love of his life.

With that revelation they decided that marriage was the way to go. Marc gets a digital camera and a car and Kate gets alliteration and a place to watch The Simpsons. Plus there's the mandatory eternal love and companionship for each other through the rest of their lives.*

And there will always be some unanswered questions such as what exactly is in the vegetarian chopped liver and how many times has Kate seen Batman and Robin and with whom.

Now let me steal a few words from popular culture:

Marc, Kate, may the sun shine over your playground as you build your castles to the sky and keep protecting each other from the bullies. I love you both.

To the bride and groom.

* Note from the Best Man: I don't think I actually said this on the wedding day, but I did have it written down as part of my speech. It can be like the asterisk next to the 61 on Mantle's HR record.