addison // jack avery

Part 75

he blew me a kiss and i caught it, kissing my hand. he passed the microphone over to kristen and sydnie as they walked up.

k- jack, i have known you for a very long time and i like to think that i know you well. and from the moment I met addi, it was crystal clear that she was the one for you. if i had not been introduced to her yet and was asked to pick her out from a crowd of people, i would have been able to spot her right away. and i would have known she was your soulmate.

you and addison were meant to be together. your wedding day is just a reminder of that, a promise that you have made to each other to stick together and stay side by side. congratulations to the two of you, from your proud mother.

jack mouthed 'love you momma' to kristen as she smiled at us, handing the microphone to sydnie who smiled.

s- hey everyone, my name is sydnie, and i'm here on behalf of isla, ava, camila and myself as jack's sisters. i am so happy today to be able to congratulate my brother and his beautiful wife, addison. i have always believed that there is someone out there for everyone and today, jack has found his soulmate in addi.

the first time i met addi, i was absolutely sure that she is the right person for my brother. instantly we became friends and our families bonded together smoothly, that was a relief. she gave me the gift of being a godmother to my gorgeous niece, norah. when i told jack that i wanted to give a speech at the wedding, he sort of freaked out as he thought i might embarrass him. but I'm not going to do that because we have our entire lives to get to that with addi. plus i am not going to bore you all with any poetry or a long speech. i just want the happy couple to know that i am proud of both of them and really happy to be able to stand here with the entire family to witness your wedding.

on this day, all i would wish is the two of you the greatest happiness for the rest of your lives. it might come with a mix of good and bad times, but they are only there to test your love for one another. so be true to each other and never stop believing in yourself and one another.

this toast goes to the beautiful bride, my beautiful sister-in-law and to the handsome groom, my sweet, kindhearted, loving brother. here's to you both, jack and addi.

sydnie, kristen, darrin and isla came over to the table. both jack and i stood up, embracing all of them in tight hugs and thanking sydnie and kristen for their speeches. as we were walking back to the table, logan and jake were waiting by the microphone.

a- oh no.

l- ladies, gentlemen and anyone who might have sneaked in for a free meal, my name is logan and this is my brother jake and we are the brothers of the bride.

i would firstly like to thank everyone for coming today, we have guests who have travelled in from far and wide including places like england and australia. i think it shows how much we all want to be here today to celebrate jack and addi's wedding, it has been a wonderful day and even though the sun has set we have the whole evening ahead of us. which brings us nicely onto the time that every bride fears.....what is he going to talk about....is he going to tell about the time when...??!! well as you instructed addi, we won't tell of any of those times even though it cost me 99% of my first draft.

jake- at this moment in time we am full of admiration and pride for the commitment they have both made today and one day hope to follow in the example they have set. i think we all agree that jack matches addi very well and since we've known him, we've come to realise how special he is to her; and anyone can see that they're made for each other.

jack, i would like to welcome you into the family, even though you have been part of it for a good while now. i think you have been with addi long enough to know what you are letting yourself in for, so to be honest i haven't got any sympathy for you. from the first time i saw you and addi together, i believed you would be a special person in her life. you're kind, funny, have all ten fingers, and well mannered.

l- we raise our glasses to honor my sister on this, her wedding day. it is hard to find the right words to express the depths of my feelings. she is a wonderful sister, and i am sure she will make as fine a wife. you are looking beautiful today and it proves the one thing i've always known about jack – he is clearly a man of vision ... .occasionally blurred, sometimes double, but nonetheless a man of vision who's been lucky enough to find my sister.

jake- addi and jack have obviously worked really hard organising everything for today but their hard work has definitely paid off. i'm sure everyone here agrees that the ceremony was wonderful. although in the run-up to today addi and jack did have a bit of an issue with the seating plan and who to put where. so as brother of the bride, i offered to step in and help work something out. i decided to use the wedding present list, the biggest items nearest the centre, and work back from there.

on a more serious note it seems like the done thing is to offer some guidance on marriage so i found something with a more pragmatic message - love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. another one that i really liked, though somewhat less constructive, was the observation that when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage it is love; after marriage, it's in self-defence.

With that in mind, i know that jack has chosen well and i believe that addi has too and i wish them well for a long, happy and prosperous future together. i can't stress enough how proud i am today, and how good it is to have you all here. once again, i hope you all have a wonderful evening.

jake- we would like to thank you both for the honour of giving this speech, it has been a great day and we, like everyone here is privileged to share it with you. ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses. here's to the future, for all that you look forward to together. to the bride ... addison...the new mrs avery.

i stood up, wiping away the tears on my cheeks and hugged both my brothers. i was towered by their heights but managed to feel safe in their arms. they kissed my cheek again and i blushed, hugging them again before it was time for my speech to jack.