Drink the Day

This post, like most posts, is long overdue. But not necessarily because of my procrastination! (This time, at least.) 😏 This particular post is overdue because Kelly and Dan got engaged in July of 2019 and were supposed to be married in November of 2020… #thankscovid. They did in fact tie the knot in a small church ceremony last year, but on September 24th, we finally got to celebrate with like, 300 of their closest friends and family 😅 WORTH. THE. WAIT.

I’m including a photo dump (of my own phone snaps and a few from the legendary Aaren Lee (book her right now)) with a transcript of my maid of honor speech – to give you an idea of Kelly & Dan’s love, and to give the words a space on the internet forever. Cheers to the Pellicanos!

“Hi everyone! I’m Jacqui and I have been Kelly’s best friend since the soccer season of 2004 when both of our legs decided to stop working properly at the same time, landing us side-by-side seats on the bench. I hate my ankles NEARLY as much as I have loved the last 17 years of our friendship, and I feel so blessed to have had Kelly on my team, both literally and figuratively, during the highs and lows of our lives.”

“Like I said, I’ve had a version of this speech written for quite some time now. Don’t worry – I’m not going to sing (many of you know that I was asked to leave the chorus during high school). I’m not going to rap (because I’m painfully Caucasian). And I’m not going to give a 10 minute monologue about our friendship because it would take more than 10 minutes and we’ve got a dance floor to enjoy.”

“I AM, however, going to take a quick minute to recognize Kelly’s amazing parents. Dan and Linda… congratulations, you did it. You had 4 children… 4 uniquely wonderful and… strange children… and they all somehow managed to trick people into marrying them! Sibling in-laws… Please look after Dan.”

“Having been by Kelly’s side for over half of our lives now, I’ve gotten to witness a lot of memorable experiences, including ex-boyfriends. I won’t bore you with a dissertation on my opinions of those gentlemen, but let’s just say “practice makes perfect,” because Dan truly is the perfect partner for Kelly. He can simultaneously make her laugh and blush with his toilet humor, he is the chef counterpart to her baking masterpieces, and has tacitly (if not willingly) agreed to whatever number of dogs she eventually adopts. But on a serious note – when the world is seemingly falling apart around us, there is nothing you want more for your best friend than a partner who will move mountains to take care of her, and I know Kelly has absolutely found that person in Dan.”

“Kelly and Dan: You have been through way more than your fair share of hardship in the relatively short amount of time that you’ve known each other. You began your relationship long distance and spent more time driving through the state of Connecticut than you did with each other, and you planned an entire wedding… twice!… during a global pandemic. While that means that you have had to pivot a seemingly endless amount of times, it also means that you’ve worked together to figure out problems and overcome hurdles, and that your relationship grew stronger despite those challenges. Though that really shouldn’t come as a shock to any of us, because if you can date while supporting different premier league teams, I’m pretty sure you can survive just about anything.”

“Dan: I want you to take Kelly’s hand. Now place your hand over hers. Look into her eyes, really remember this moment and cherish it… Because this is the last time you will ever have the upper hand. I’m kidding, I’m kidding – as you know, she’s only scary when she’s hungry. So let’s wrap this up so we can get a step closer to dinner, shall we?”

“If everyone could please raise a glass to toast the happy couple? Dan and Kelly, life is short but sweet for certain, and I am certain you will continue to have the sweetest life together as husband and wife. Cheers! Annnnnnd E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!”

K&D: Love you both 🤍