FOR TEGAN

 Dear Tegan,
Thank you so much for allowing me to share in the celebration of your marriage to Ben this past weekend.  You were absolutely glowing, head-to-toe, with your infectious laugh and beautiful smile.  The evening was truly enchanting.  If nymphs and fairies exist, I am sure they were in attendance as you exchanged vows under the canopy of pine trees with a warm breeze blowing.  Loved, loved, loved all of the wonderful details you put together - vintage mugs for each guest, the polaroid station with wooden frames hanging from the trees, white lights and tiki torches lighting up the night, the tree house honeymoon suite, vintage church pews for ceremony seating, a glowing teepee for the kiddos to play in, a rope swing, homemade guacamole sampling to compliment the taco truck feast, homemade snowball cookies and candy apples set on sticks, beautiful wild flowers everywhere, and the bomb dance mix to get your guests moving.  Wow!   You could tell that so much love and creativity was poored into every detail.  It was truly one of the most magical events I have ever attended. 

I wanted you to know that when the guests were urged to get up and say a few words to the bride and groom, I was really tempted, though my own fears and self-consciousness kept me in my seat.  Not one for public speeches, I thought of all the things I wished to say.  Rather give a public declaration there, I hope you will accept this semi-public declaration on my blog (which I know you read) instead :)   I know we have not kept in the best touch over the past 15 years, but I am thankful for the fact we have been able to hold a friendship from a distance.  Whether through our blogs, facebook, updates from Ade, or the occasional times we have seen each other in person, I love seeing the beautiful person you have become: a runner, an amazing mother, a teacher, a master sewer, an adventurer, and now a wife.

If I had had the guts to stand in front of the microphone on Saturday I would have shared some of my favorite memories from our first year together at UCSB.  Often I hear people tell horror stories of their first year of college in the dorms.  I feel so lucky that I had such an opposite experience.  Thankfully you requested of Coach Pete to "live with a runner" before roommates were randomly assigned.  I remember the day Adrienne called and asked if I wanted to live with a girl named Tegan.  "She is trying out for UCSB cross-country, too, and I know you will like her."  Well, she was right.  When I arrived to San Nick with my family on move in day and saw the tiny blond-haired girl from Nor Cal there with her mom, I knew we would be friends.  Needless to say, I did not make the cross country team, and instead decided to join a sorority.  Despite the difference of our extra circular activities, we bonded as I curled my hair for sorority rush and you packed your bag for practice.  As I reflect back I think of all of our hilarious moments of that first year.  Both of us were on the 2-meal-a-day plan at the dining commons which was not enough for our voracious appetites.  We would sneak out rice and garbanzo beans, or makings for smoothies in our "tups" so we would be sure to have snacks back at the dorms.  That was after, of course, we blew through the packs of Pop Tarts and Power Bars my mom had packed for us at the beginning of the year.  I have fond memories of dancing to "Mikey's Mix Tapes" and acting out every karate chop of "Kung Fu Fighting".  You introduced me to a new range of music, and to this day I can't get enough of Joni Mitchell's Blue album.  Brandy, you ARE a fine girl, what a good wife you will be.  I recall a chocolate cake fight where your B-Day celebration resulted in yummy frosting in our hair, on our walls and all over our clothes.  Those clothes that were mostly our everyday uniform of Levi cords, vintage T's, and V-neck wool sweaters that we would borrow from each other doubling our wardrobes. There was the night we decided it was a good idea to take every freshman's right of passage and leap from the Goleta Pier into the dark ocean water below with the boys from the Santa Cruz dorms.  Yikes, you cracked your sternum, perhaps not our best judgment call.  When winter arrived we made a snow storm of construction paper flakes that adorned our closet walls until late spring, and who could forget dressing in hoodies to go spying on the boys we had crushes on.  Do you remember, embarrassingly enough, coloring ourselves with yellow highlighter so we would glow with the black light?   Oh, and dance parties at Eliza and Ade's.  I am sure I am forgetting so many of the things that kept us up talking late into the night, and laughing throughout the days.  I am so glad to have shared those moments with you.  So many firsts as we tread on our independence of moving away from home for the first time.  I hold those moments dearly as a huge part of my college experience that helped shape who I am today.

I just want to say thank you for your friendship and for the good memories.   May there be many more to come.  Also, a huge congratulations to you and Ben.  He seems to be your perfect soul mate - both gentle and kind - and clearly loves you and Loma very much.  Wishing you much love, laughter and happiness in all the years to come.

xo,
Cathi

p.s. I borrowed the image from your facebook :)