Updated-My Brother Got Married 5/31/2026

…followed by some corrections!

Hello, my fellow Book Dragons. Just so you all know, I’m more than just a reader…I’m also human. I have family, and I’m lucky to have my younger brother in my life. He got married over the weekend to a beautiful woman whom we met two years ago. He introduced her to us, and she came to our family’s Passover for the first time. We fell in love with her that very day, and it was solidified with her social media that simply said, “I found a boy.” Her smile and my brother’s smile was all it took.

I was given the Best Sister Speech for the groom. I literally spent about three days preparing it. My time was spent planning to take the majority of wrapping paper I gathered from the bridal shower to use as part of the journal. It worked well, but I still have a mass of wrapping paper I didn’t use. Therefore, like what actress/comedian Eden Sher said of her then office-now nursery, “trash bags of papers…and such that I’ll use in a craft project someday”, I’ll continue to use these as part of a craft project someday myself. As you can see below, the cover of the journal is from a beautiful floral wrapping paper. The gold ‘heart’ clip: I have a clue where this clip came from, but it suited the journal to a T. The silver corners. front and back, were 3d embossed stickers, including the heart-shaped lock. (I didn’t get a chance to record a video of the journal. Luckily, my mother still has the pictures, so I’ll use those pictures to create a video of the creation.)

We got to the venue literally just as they were getting ready to sign the Ketubah. At this venue, there’s a 2 story barn that was converted into a wedding space. They had set up the ketubah upstairs. The ketubah was signed, and my brother’s best friend was the officiate. We went downstairs to greet mostly everyone, and then I grabbed a monogrammed yarmulke, signed the ‘fish’ book, and left a message for the bride and groom with a beautiful antique telephone they had. My job during the ceremony was to pass the ‘vow’ books to the couple. I sat in front next to my cousin Sierra, who made the bridal cake (Sweet Art Bake Shop), and the bride’s veil was right up against my feet. I thought I had to get and present it to the couple, but as I was moving the veil to go up, they just said I can hand it to them right from my seat. Their vows to each other were so precious, and hearing my brother choke up shows me that real men cry. He then stepped on the ‘glass’, and it was a Mazel Tov eruption.

Picture taking with the bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, family is the most arduous and the longest task when it comes to weddings. It was a good 30-40min before we all sat down, and the sun was still beating down on us. It’s a good thing the bride had ordered white parasols for the majority of guests to use. Then we did the Hora dance. It was both hilarious and exhilarating to see the selected guests hoist the couple in the chairs into the air. They danced to the Beach Boys song “God Only Knows”, which I was to learn later that The Beatles lead singer Paul McCartney said was the best wedding song ever written and is the overall chosen song for most couple’s first dance in marriage. Then we took our seats. The speeches were first, with the parents from both bride and groom. It was funny to learn my dad had copied and made his own speech notes from my mother’s card. I sat next to my cousin Rio (Night of the Living Pets owner) and my brother’s friend Sanam. My other cousin, Ashley (Angel I call her) and her husband Shawn sat opposite us. We all had our Bambi salad, which was a beautiful mixed green salad with Pear compote and gorgonzola cheese.

The bride’s sister then gave her speech, which was themed around law. Profoundly apt for the bride who attends law school. Then I came up and presented my speech for the groom, which was more of a performance piece, and people I highlighted hollered praise and laughter. As I read the last paragraph, I couldn’t finish the last two lines. One person whom we loved dearly was missing from this wedding. I highlighted a special thing which most people missed. During the ceremony, there was special runner that draped over one of the chairs. This runner was customized by the new couple to memorialize the names of those who gained their wings prior to the date. One of them was our cousin, Daniel, who lost his life in a car crash the day before Passover last year, April 11, 2025. I said “David, you and Daniel were like two peas in a pod” and he spoke with the bride about the ins and outs of law school, and post-law school. He became a father to his baby girl on Jan. 1, and she got to know for just a little over three months. I said something like, “Elke carries his face”…and I couldn’t finish the sentence, and I didn’t get to read the last three sentences of my speech.

“David I love you so much, and I’m always a phone call away. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you. Brother sister Coupon for Sister Speech.” (My mother slipped in the coupon the next day with the bridal material things when they came to collect their belongings.) Instead, I ended it with “To David and Gaby” through tears, and everyone cheered.

Dinner was interesting. Almost everyone tried to comprehend the roasted ‘airline’ chicken. Which airline were they referring to? Anyone who asked that question received the odd laugh, but we ate it anyway. The other option was cod, which I was informed was delicious. Then, it was dancing all the live-long day, including two special songs that they included with Fathead signs of their pets: Woolfy the Pomeranian ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ and Dougie the crested gecko ‘Do The Dougie’. The cake was served a little later, and the fountain drinks were lemonade, raspberry and sparkling water.

Since I was part of the groom’s side, I now understand what takes place post-wedding: gathering up the materials after hours, and driving home well after 10pm. It was all worth it! So now, across three families, May has become the marriage and anniversary month for my folks, my cousin Sierra and her husband Kurt, and now my brother David and his wife Gaby.