The Prize at the End

I survived! The wedding was beautiful and everything was perfect! I don't have a lot of photos myself, but my brother and father took well over 1200 photos between the two of them and I'll post some later. But for now, here's a few tidbits about the details.

I was really worried about my toast. For months I couldn't think about what to say or what little memories to bring up about my childhood with Jaclyn. Then one day I was sitting in my room and looked up and sitting on the top shelf of my bookshelf was Herman. And I knew I had gotten the most amazing idea ever for a toast. So here goes...

I'd like to sincerely thank all of you for being here today. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Elise and I am Jaclyn's cousin. Throughout my life she has been the big sister I never had and I am honored to be here to help her with her special day.

There is barely a memory that I possess that doesn't include Jaclyn. Growing up we all spent a lot of time together just playing around the house. Back in the day, we were all about the scavenger hunts and let me be the first to say that Jaclyn can put together a mean scavenger hunt, she sent us on a different wild goose chase every time.

One thing that was always constant though, was the prize at the end. My sister Julianne had a plastic turtle named Herman. I'm not sure when it started, but Herman became an integral part to every scavenger hunt. He stood sentry over the prize at the end. We'd find clues like "Herman is flying!" and he'd be attached to a chandelier, or "Herman is drying!" and he'd be sitting on top of the dryer in the basement. My all time favorite, was "Herman is crying," and we found him and our prize in a tissue box.

Obviously, we’ve come a long way from the days of scouring the house for Herman but Jaclyn is still a kid at heart and it doesn’t surprise me that she’s found someone as fun as Andy to share her life with. And that is why, I feel it is only right, that Herman should be passed over to Andy today. Andy, you are certainly the prize at the end of Jaclyn's scavenger hunt. And today, Herman is dying to celebrate!


From there I went on a little further with a more traditional, we love Andy, he's awesome and perfect for Jaclyn...welcome to the family celebratory toast. But Herman was pretty much the guest of honor at the wedding.

What's even weirder is that Jaclyn apparently had a dream two nights prior to the wedding where someone gave her a turtle and she was carrying it around on her big day.

Apparently she's psychic!