THE WEDDING!

Shaya and Bates are MARRIED! You may recall that I established this match. Thank you, thank you.

Shaya looked GORGEOUS and Bates was as handsome as ever. The wedding was SO FUN! I really enjoyed it. I cried. A lot. I cried so much during my Matron of Honor speech that I had to pause for about a minute to gather myself.

The reception was at the Skyline Club in the OneAmerican building (yes, that is Jackson's office building- random, eh?!). It was amazing. The view was spectacular. The tallest building in the photo above was my office building during my time in hell tenure with Deloitte Tax.

My handsome wedding date.

I love how the IPL building looked like a flag still from the 4th. It was awesome. The happy couple had an amazing day and now they're off to the Dominican for some R&R (insert jealousy here!)

I've pasted the gist of my speech below. I cried a lot and ad-libbed, but you'll get the picture:

First, let me say that Shaya looks absolutely stunning this evening- the picture of bridal beauty.

I’m Jenna Petefish. Shaya and I have been the best of friends since meeting in our 6^th grade orchestra class. Yes, orchestra. Try to deal with how cool we were.

Frankly, that is how I still remember Shaya. A part of me will always been a young girl hanging out at the Newton’s house in the Avondale neighborhood. They had an awesome basement where we spent countless hours and Mrs. Newton always made the best food for us. I always felt like a part of the family and stayed the night there all of the time through high school. I remember many, many nights sneaking around the neighborhood with Shaya and our friends Nicole, Whitney and Vanessa jumping on neighbor’s backyard trampolines until they woke up. Then we ran like the wind as to not get caught. Those were the days, right girls? I see those disapproving looks, Mr. & Mrs. Newton, I’m sorry- it was SO fun. (HA!) Also, Ryan (Shaya's younger brother who is now a body builder/personal trainer) will always be "little Ryno" to me. The little boy who wouldn't share his Nintendo controllers with us- I don't care how big he gets!

I also remember sneaking into the “M Club” to watch Shaya cheerlead in high school and cheering for her instead of the team. We were even at IU together for a year and had some good times in our dorm, Briscoe-Disco. I visited Shaya often after I transferred colleges and she helped me celebrate my 21^st birthday…from what I remember we had a nice time. HA! We’ve continued to be friends into our adult years and Shaya is always good for a laugh and a great time.

The moment that I met Matthew Bates (I call him just “Bates”) at a Charles Schwab Christmas party I just knew they were a perfect fit. In fact I even said to him, “if you have a girlfriend, dump her, I’ve got the PERFECT girl for you- my best friend Shaya!” Bates is one my favorite guys ever and his stories always prove to be long, but worth the wait. J I gave him Shaya’s number and the rest, as they say, is history. I’ve had the pleasure of watching their love form and grow- what a special treat. So, here we are today to celebrate the love that they share and to wish them all the best in their new lives together.

Shaya & Bates, I love the both of you so much and wish you nothing but joy and happiness in this new journey together. Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. CHEERS!