Speech: Maid of Honor

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but to set the scene, my sister got married and I gave a toast.

And… action!

For those I haven’t met: hi, hello, I’m Katie. Annie and I met twenty-seven years and eleven months ago at Fairview Southdale Hospital. But it was not exactly love at first sight. Actually, shortly after my parents brought Annie home, I ever so sweetly asked: “Can we send her back now?” Can you blame me? She didn’t say much yet, but I KNEW this girl was going to steal the spotlight. And this firstborn was not interested in sharing it, thank you very much.

Despite our rocky start, Fran and I quickly grew to appreciate the built-in buddy feature of sisterhood. We coordinated elaborate outfits, from our butterfly clips to our ruffly socks. We choreographed phenomenal off-Broadway numbers in our living room. We spent hours in imaginary worlds with our Mary-Kate and Ashley Barbie dolls. We even honed our promising leadership skills bossing our brothers around. Much like Mia Thermopolis, we were princesses; and Larkspur Lane was our Genovia.

Middle and high school can mostly be summed up by intense orthodontia and questionable fashion choices, so let’s just skip to college. I went to Bethel, which was a whopping 33 minutes away, but to me it felt bigger than that. Annie may have been the one with dramasweetie509 as her screen name, but I too am no stranger to the drama. (Apples, tree, Dad.) Suffice it to say, going to college had me feeling all the feels. At this point in life, Annie and I were close-ish? But high school with your siblings is basically just occupying the same orbit, intersecting here and there to laugh at the same jokes and then yell at each other for hogging the bathroom. But my going to college would change all of this. Were they even going to miss me, or was I just one less person using the hot water in the mornings before school? But: I will never forget my surprise when I learned that, right after we drove away, Annie went straight up to my room, laid on my bed, and cried. As a big sister, I had never felt so loved and so needed. 

To me, college was a turning point in our relationship. (Distance made the heart grow fonder. And in my case: made the heart realize that not everyone watched and retained as many movies as your family did.) And since then, I’ve learned the true joy of not just having a sister, but having Annie as mine. People joke about her tardiness (okay mine too), her unrivaled memory of TV shows and movies, her borderline hoarder tendencies, her ability to sleep through anything. And to all that I will say: you’re not wrong. But the real Annie is this: fierce love for the overlooked; creativity that turns pandemic monotony into a full-blown fictional news show; perseverance through one of the hardest jobs I can think of; the courage to speak her mind; and eyes that always see the good in people. No one makes me laugh harder than Annie, and she is always a safe place to land.

Now, Ty. When Ty officially entered the picture, I was admittedly a skeptic. One of my best and worst qualities is how badly I want the very best for my people. Annie may as well have sang to you right off the bat, “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get past my Kath.” Fortunately, I had loads of time to warm up to Ty before this day would come. Isn’t that right, Tyra? Not that Ty himself needs warming up to - how can someone with hair that great be as kind and patient as he is? It’s more that I needed to warm up to the idea of someone - anyone - being good enough to marry my sister.

But Ty, you are the man for the job. You love Annie exactly as she is. You take incredible care of her - reliably and without fanfare. And you really get Annie - better than just about anyone. One of the first moments I thought “this could be it” was when Annie told me she had been venting to Ty about something, and Ty talked her off the ledge by expertly comparing it to a scene from The Office. This is love, you guys.

And I cannot overstate how much Annie loves you, Ty. She is downright obsessed with you. Fran’s heart is approximately the size of God’s green earth. For her students, her family, her friends… but I have never seen her so utterly over the moon about anyone else, except maybe our dog. And that speaks volumes.

Now, the last time I gave a wedding speech, Annie’s first words to me afterwards were: that was long. So I will now, as they say, land the plane. 

Fran: you are the stuff sister dreams are made of. The Ashley to my Mary-Kate, my favorite teammate in bowls, and the friend I always want around. I look up to you more than you know. 

Ty: we Kennedys just adore you. You are selfless and witty and the calm to our chaos. Thank you for making our Frannie feel absolutely cared for, deeply understood, and unconditionally loved. Our family isn’t complete without you.

Now, the rest of you: please raise a glass with me to the new Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. May your marriage be even greater than the sum of its parts - which are already extraordinary. Cheers!