Katie Couricis sharing the heartfelt speech that she gave at her daughter Ellie Monahan’s July 4 wedding.
Ellie, 29, and Mark Dobroskytied the knotthis month at Cedar Lakes Estate in Port Jervis, New York. During the reception, Couric stood before attendees and delivered an emotional speech, telling the bride and groom that her late husband Jay Monahan “would be so proud” of them.
“For the past 11 years, the center of Ellie’s universe has been Mark. Now, I have to be honest. Throughout her 20s, I urged — OK begged Ellie to date around, play the field. God knows I did in my 20s. But Ellie wasn’t having it. She knew,” Couric, 64, said in the speech shared toher official website. “Ellie — this warm, kind, sensitive, sentimental, perceptive, empathetic, determined, spirited young woman just knew that she had already found the yin to her yang, the peanut butter to her jelly, the Jack to her Jill. Mark — she knew. And now, this we all know: You are a treasure.”
After praising Dobrosky’s own family, Couric admitted that she’d been “dreading” her daughter’s wedding day “for many years” due to those who were unable to be at the ceremony.
“Ellie’s maternal and paternal grandparents. Mark’s maternal and paternal grandparents, although Whitey almost made it. Ellie’s aunt Marilyn. My oldest sister Emily, who adored Ellie,” the journalist said. “But most of all, the father of the bride,Jay Monahan.”
“Jay would be so proud of you both and so thrilled that Ellie married a lacrosse player. And a terrific guy,” she added.
Katie Couric/Instagram
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Couric then recalled a conversation she had with her late husband — who died in 1998 from cancer — toward the end of his battle.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You know, nothing really matters except your friends and family.’ When everything else was stripped away, Jay understood what was essential to a meaningful life,” she continued. “Ellie, he would be beaming to witness the woman you’ve become … and somehow, some way, I hope he is.”
Concluding her mother of the bride speech, Couric said: “Here’s to Mark and Ellie — I wish you sunny skies and the fortitude to get through stormy weather. But most of all, I wish you a life bursting with love, light, and laughter. Cheers!”
Ellie recently told PEOPLEthere were “too many” special momentsthat occurred on her big day, including how shewalked down the aisle in her Monique Lhuillier gownto one of her late dad’s favorite songs.
Read Couric’s full speech from Ellie’s wedding onher official website.
source: people.com
