I stood next to my best friend Katherine Patricia Tucker this past Friday, March 15, 2019 as she said “I do” to the love of her life, Eric Bigon. I decided to write a post on this day because it exemplifies two of the most important parts of life, relationships and love.
Bringing together two different elements to create something beautiful is truly a magnificent part of life. Seeing Eric and Katie tie the knot was an incredibly beautiful thing, and it brought together two souls who make each other better and are a testament to the beauty in life.
I am blessed to have had Katie in my life over the past 15 years, and now I will get to be blessed with Eric and Katie for the next 60+!
Having this gap year has allowed me to invest even more time in this day, this celebration, these relationships, and appreciate the beauty in relationships and love even more. I can see that God is giving me this time and has given me this time to invest in these relationships and memories. Truly letting me soak it up and fully be present.
Cheers to Katie and Eric
MAID OF HONOR SPEECH
First I want to thank the Tucker’s and Bigon’s for putting together such a beautiful celebration. Can we get a round of applause?
It is my privilege to be Katie’s maid of honor (runner up to the groom as I like to refer to it). If you don’t know me already, my name is Madison Buck, and I have been best friends with Katie since the fourth grade which would be 15 years now.
As Shania Twain said “The best thing about being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun” and I feel that that truly defines katie and I’s relationship since growing up. We have always been laughing and having a good time amongst spending every waking moment together. A key story that Shania Twain provided for us was after school when Katie and I were making a video on the computer to Man I feel like A Woman!. I looked back, and I see Katie throw her broom microphone to the floor and in slow motion I begin to see a head disappear behind the body. Now let me clarify that Katie was never a gymnast nor could she do flips, but something about that moment and Shania Twain inspired Katie to thrust her body backgrounds and hit the ground face first. In classic Katie fashion, she bounced right back up and we kept going.
Growing up I think many people can attest to the fact that Katie has had this superstar personality... When we were together, there was truly never a dull moment. Even though we went to different high schools, the party did not stop. On one of our many mission trips, we formed a group called the Doremigas with Emily and Melissa Schlosberg and Kara espey. you have probably heard of us (i know we have some fans in the house), but for those who don’t know the doremigas were a fake acapella singing group -- largely inspired by the movie Pitch Perfect.
Although we were a singing group, the Doremigas were not all that... talented. Aside from Katie, the rest of us are pretty tone-deaf. Therefore, we really relied on Katie to be the heart, soul, talent, and voice of the group. Growing up, I always thought Katie was going to be a superstar from all the times we would practice for, you know, our huge Disney Channel and American Idol auditions coming up. Or the fact that we have several “covergirl videos” on youtube with a whopping 83 views. So needless to say, Katie had been training for years to be the star of the Doremigas, the band that would finally make us superstars. So it turns out we didn’t become superstars, but we still shine like stars (can I get an amen, pastor tucker!?)
Alongside this energetic, full of life personality, Katie also is unbelievably compassionate, honest and loyal. She has a heart that wants to give and cares so deeply for those whom she loves and I have seen these qualities stay true to this day. Honesty has always been Katie’s cup of tea, which is something I both appreciated and … uh … had a hard time with. I would tell katie to just tell a little fib to her parents and katie would always say no which frustrated me at the time, but now I can see that she was not going to be persuaded by my young manipulative words, but stayed true to her beliefs and her sincere lifestyle. (Now mom and dad I swear I did not lie a lot, but rather might not tell the truth, but even so I never did because Katie helped keep me honest)
I am happy to say that I was there for the initial “hang out” between Katie and Eric. It was our freshmen year in college and Kara and I were visiting Katie at Concordia University. We wanted to go play basketball or soccer but didn’t have a ball … well low and behold Katie knew that that cute soccer boy would for sure have one. Katie sent over a text to ask if we could borrow a ball and luckily Eric had one and just so happened to live in the same building as katie. so we walked down to his door to pick up the ball and somehow picked up Eric too and he came and played with us. After playing for awhile, Kara and I thought in our brilliant minds that running to the bathroom for an extended period of time would allow some feelings to really spark between the two. Did this necessarily happen? No...do I like to take credit for us being here today? Absolutely. (pause for laugh)
Seeing Katie with Eric, I see so much love between the two of them. I see it not only in the sweet loving moments, but I see it in the humor and energy for life that they both have. I know that Eric helps balance Katie, and if I were to be replaced as Katie’s other half, I would pick Eric in a heartbeat because I know this is who Katie was meant to be with. Eric has made Katie the best version of herself. He knows her bathroom schedule, he can hang in a game of pickup basketball, and throw around maybe 1 too many dabs. he has shown her the same love loyalty that she has shown me . Eric cares for Katie in the exact way that she needs. I have no doubt that he will be by her side through the challenges and the victories that lie ahead.
I will end with this quote from Bell Hooks "The capacity to love is tied to being able to be awake, to being able to move out of yourself and be with someone else in a manner that is not about your desire to possess them, but to be with them, to be in union and communion."