Speech by Jamie Wells

Speech Type: Best man
Speech Creator: Jamie Wells
Speech Date: Jul2007
I'd like to thank you all for being here to help celebrate with Kenneth and Emily. All of you friends and family who have travelled and taken time to be here. I'd like to thank Kenneth's parents, Peter and Linda, not just for having such an incredible son, but also for their interest and support in my own life as well. I'd like to thank Emily's parents Tom and Vickie for this incredible setting and their generous hospitality this week.

I've been asked to say a few words as the best man, but truth be told I'm a little uncomfortable with that title when I'm in the room with Ken. If I'm the best man then Kenneth would be second best, and I've known Ken long enough to know that he would never settle for second best.

Kenneth and I have known each other for a very long time. We met in Kindergarten in Ithaca, our home town. Kenneth could tell you without a calculator that we've known each other for 83.39% of his life, and 80.54% of mine plus or minus 0.75%.

Now, unlike Ken I am the youngest in my family. I'm the youngest by
13 years. So by the time I went to school my older brothers were in college and out of the house. Growing up with Kenneth was like having a brother my age. We did all of the things that brothers should and many of the things that parents wished brothers wouldn't.
We went sledding off of jumps, we went biking off of jumps, we went skiing off of jumps. In fact there aren't many times that we weren't trying to get airborne! We slept over. We burned stuff some that was okay, some that wasn't. We learned to curse. We even picked on our mutual little sister Caryn without mercy. Boy do I regret that now!! Ken, stand up for just half a second please. If you can believe it, until high school Ken was my “little” brother.
[[NOTE TO READERS: Kenneth is 6” 6&quot and his sister Caryn is 6”4&quot.
The speech giver is 5” 10&quot.]]

There were advantages though to Ken not being my actual brother. For example, our parents never had the opportunity to examine both of our report cards side by side! What a relief that was for me. Ken's lifetime GPA is nearly four times mine, and that's on a four point scale.

Ken's academic record is indicative of a larger trend in his life.
It's the same concept I mentioned earlier about not being second best. He clearly was never second best in school graduating from Cornell with honors… both times! In athletics also it was all or nothing. He competed in ski racing when we were little and made it into the Empire State Games, New York State's local version of the olympics. When he took up rowing it wasn't long before he was training with the US National Team and competing on an international level. Even on his first job out of graduate school now he's been called to meetings early because the company that he'll be working for full-time recognizes his value and talent. He won't be second best in that office I can assure you.

So, he's never been second best in academics, athletics, or his professional life. I can say from personal experience that he's never been a second best friend. It's for all of those reasons that when he told me that he was going to ask Emily to marry him that even though I hadn't had a chance to really get to know her yet… I didn't need to. I knew she was definitely something special. There was no way that Emily was second best.

So, I'm a very lucky guy. For over twenty years I've had the very best honorary little brother. And I can't tell you how happy I am to see that he has found the very best for himself in Emily.

Now, in preparing this speech I did a little bit of homework on the internet, and I found a beautiful and very touching tradition that I'd like to share with you all. Emily, would you please place your right hand flat on the table between you and Ken. Ken place your left hand on top of Emily's, and look into each other's eyes.
Kenneth, enjoy this moment my friend… this is the last time you will ever have the upper hand.

So, Ken, thank you for giving me the honor of being your pretty-close to best man and congratulations to you both. I'd say that I wish you both the very best, but anyone that's been listening would know that's redundant. I don't need to wish it, because it's not a wish.
It's reality. It's coming true right now and will continue to come true the rest of your lives together.

If you would all join me in raising a glass to the new couple. To Kenneth and Emily, may all of your joys be pure joy, and may all of your pain be champagne. Cheers.