First of all, congratulations, and thank you for allowing [...]]]> As my soon-to-be delicious creamy tomato basil soup cooks, I thought I’d write a toast for my soon-to-be… not a relative at all. My boyfriend’s sister. The whole wedding planning has been an interesting adventure, even from the periphery, but as last-minute maid of honor here goes.

First of all, congratulations, and thank you for allowing us to be a part of your big day. Unfortunately, I don’t have any embarrassing stories about the happy couple, but I have had the privilege of getting to know them over the past few years. Anyone who knows [bride] and [groom] can see they are truly in love, and if the first six years of their relationship are any indication of the life they’ll share as a married couple, then they will truly live happily ever after.

Watching you two grow, changing before our eyes from boyfriend and girlfriend, to fiances, to husband and wife, I am struck by the power that love has to transform. The search for love can transform you from someone who would never post a personal ad, to someone who would do just that, complete with photos of your latest chain-mail creations. The possibility of finding love can transform you into the kind of person who would read such a personal ad, and think, this one is worth answering. Love can give you the courage to pursue your wildest dreams, and in the next instant humble you absolutely. It can expand the boundaries of your world, taking you across oceans to exotic destinations you never could have ventured alone, and can also tint the places you’ve known all your life in brilliant new shades. Love can alter the path you’ve chosen — bending it until it merges with another. It can bring two families from all across the map together in celebration of one love.

But to me, the most amazing transformations are not the ones that dramatically reshape the course of your life, but those that subtly revive the day-to-day–the little things. With love, the smallest, most everyday moments are transformed: cooking a simple meal can turn into a romantic dinner, talking about your long day at work can grow to be the thing that gets you through it, and even the unpleasant sound of the alarm clock can become a sweet reminder that every morning you get to wake up next to the person you love.

So enjoy the big moves, the fantastic vacations, the exciting journey love will take you on — but don’t miss the thousand little things that are better because your wife, your husband is now a part of them. To love, and to the new Mr. and Mrs. [last name]!

A little help? Would anyone get Amelia Earhart if I just wear a hot bomber jacket and get some goggles?

UPDATE: People got it.