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This past weekend my sister-in-law Colleen got married.

It was a picture perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky. Not too cold but not too warm either.

She got engaged almost 3 years ago and began planning the wedding of her dreams. Little did she know that all our plans and dreams would be put on hold last year. It was devastating. But we got through it.

This was her first wedding. And at our age you would have thought she’d be a bit more jaded, or “over it” by now. But not Colleen. She leaned in. Big time.

All the customs, all the touches were there. She thought through every detail and every experience. No small touch was forgotten.

I was so touched when she asked me to be her maid…errr….matron of honor. Not that she needed any help at all – this was her vision through and through and she did all the work.

She’s been through all the big moments of my life together and I was so happy to be there, by her side for her big day.

I wrote my speech to the newlyweds in about 10 minutes. It was so easy. Because knowing her is easy. Being loved by her is easy. And loving her is especially easy.

Here’s what I said:

For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Colleen’s sister-in-law Neha

I’ve known her since I was 19 years old

I met her when she came to visit her brother in college

And if you know Colleen, you know you only have to meet her once to become fast friends

She immediately takes you in, tells you she loves you and makes you feel like you’ve known her for a 100 years

No one is an acquaintance and everyone is lovely

Lovely is her favorite word. And it’s completely appropriate because Colleen is a romantic

She believes in love and romance and all the good things in the world

I’ve known her through really good times and really sad times, and one thing remains the same

To Colleen… the world is lovely

I remember when she told us she wanted to be a nurse, it kind of came out of nowhere but it made sense.

Nurses are kind, patient, caring and committed. Those words all describe Colleen

So, she put herself through school and earned more degrees than almost anyone in our family

She stood by me when I married her brother. And when my kids were born, she was the most loving and devoted aunt

Things haven’t always been easy for her; like all of us, she’s had her share of sadness

But it was one of those sad days that brings us to this happy night

Colleen was at our house going through a rough time. I heard her go out to the backyard to take a call

Through the kitchen I could hear her laughing and see her smiling – first smile in days

When she came back in, I asked who she was talking to and she said,” oh that’s an old friend Tim Brown”

Tim who? We’d never heard of him

But he made her so happy during a time she was so down, so I already liked him

That was a few years ago, and together they’ve built a beautiful home and life together

We were lucky enough to be there when Tim proposed and she said yes

And now he’ll become the lucky guy that gets be with the most kind, most generous and loving person you’ll ever meet

Welcome to Colleen’s lovely world Tim – we’re so happy to have you!