We asked Brad to be one of the “Best Men” in this wedding because he is, truly, one of the best men we know. Brad is the member of this group whom I have known for the least amount of time and yet I feel as if I have known him forever. It’s difficult for me to even find words that express how amazing I think he is. Brad and I met at grad school and struggled together through one of the most difficult classes I have ever taken. It didn’t take me long to recognize that there was certainly something special about Brad. He is kind and gracious and loving and adorable and… well I could go on forever! Brad is currently in the process of collecting M.A. degrees in Europe. We are so thrilled that he is going to travel across the world to be with us and we can’t wait to see him!

Along with Dharma and Susan, Jaime is one of the amazing girls I was lucky enough to live with on the 3rd floor of UC residence at Laurentian University. Jaime and I have seen each other through a lot of ups and downs including several degrees between the two of us, a broken leg, the addition of some pretty great dogs, multiple hair styles (well that one’s mostly me) and multiple boyfriends (well that one’s mostly Jaime). In the last decade of my life Jaime has been one of my most constant and relied upon friends. She is a true friend, a wonderful aunt, a loving mom to her dog Summer, a great teacher and one of the best bridesmaids a girl could ask for. I couldn’t imagine this day without her.

I hope that everyone in the world is lucky enough to have a friend as loyal, trustworthy, dependable and adventurous as Susan. In the years that have passed since we completed our undergrad degrees Susan has been around the world and back again but has always left me with the impression that she was not very far away if I ever needed her. It baffles me that although she is constantly moving from France, to Spain to South America, and everywhere in between, I actually end up seeing her as much as I do some friends who live less than 100 miles away. I received some great advice about who to ask to be in my wedding party that said: “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” Susan is the kind of friend who will be the first one on the bus when you need her, ready with a story to make you laugh and couple of beers snuck away in her purse.

Tammy’s entire family has welcomed me into their (sometimes crazy but always loving) family and I feel extremely lucky to be included. We have known each other for a very long time (and if you don’t believe me just check out my hair in that picture!) Tammy is much more than just a best friend to me. She is my family. And there is no doubt in my mind that we will be hanging out well into our 80s! There is no relationship that could come between us, no fight that could break us up and no bag of fat free chips that we would consider sharing. We’ve made it through bad 80s hair, questionable 90s jeans, crazy diets, terrible first dates, even worse second dates, numerous pets, countless moves, and we’re still going strong. It would be impossible for me to get married without Tam-Tam standing next to me.

Tina is the kind of dependable friend that everyone needs. I could call her at 4 AM and say “I’m in trouble. I’m a two hour drive away but I wish you were here.” And all Tina would say is, “what do you want in your coffee? I’m on my way.” She’s also the kind of friend who will cheer you up by coming back from the bar with an entire tray of shots balanced high above the crowd only to break-in her new credit card. I’m so lucky to have her in my life! But, of course, there’s more to Tina than being a tonne of fun. I have been fortunate enough to watch her raise her son Devin over the last decade and I am in complete awe of all she’s done. I’m so glad that she’ll be spending this day with us!