To the man who will marry my best friend,

At this point, we may have met, we may not have. But just as your name will become familiar to me, I can guarantee mine will become familiar to you. You see, you're marrying my best friend. The girl I've been there for since freshman year of high school. The girl who has seen me through every rough patch we've had in our friendship. The girl that I know is always just a phone call away, no matter how many miles may separate us when all is said and done.

You're marrying the platonic love of my life, because you're the romantic love of her life. And I want her to find happiness the same way I have. And as someone who knows her like the back of my hand, I have some advice for you, when it comes to spending the rest of your life with the spontaneous woman that she is.

1. Spend every holiday possible with her.

Yes, I know spending the Fourth of July with her seems a like it shouldn't be a big deal, but it is to her. Holidays have a special place in her heart, and she has a thing about spending them with the people she loves most, and since you're top of that list, embrace every holiday you guys can together.

2. Do not try to cure her.

She has some emotional trauma's that will always be at least a small part of who she is. They may never go away, and I don't want you to take it upon yourself to try and fix her by trying to make those issues vanish. They aren't going anywhere, so just make it so that you don't either.

3. Support her.

I know this seems like a really obvious thing to do, but I don't mean it in the way that you support her decisions. I mean support her well being, support her mental health, support her happiness. If that means listening to Panic! At The Disco on an unending repeat, do it. Because the smile that will spread on her face when she feels supported by you, makes any and all of that beyond worth it.

4. Please acknowledge that she is not average.

By this, I mean don't treat her the way a husband is "supposed to" treat his wife. Treat her the way that every storybook prince treats their princess. Treat her like she was your breath of fresh air, after you've been drowning. Never make her think she is just an average wife, or an average woman, because that could not be further from the truth.

5. Let her run to who she wants to run to.

This is a big one for me, as her best friend. Don't always expect her to come to you about everything. Some things, she's gonna want my opinion or advice on before yours. Sometimes, shes gonna want her moms opinion or advice before yours. And that's just how she is.

6. Don't be afraid to call her on her shit.

I've watched her in relationships before you, and I know from watching those that she is not always perfect, and she does not always do things the right way. She is only human, after all. But don't be afraid to call her on her shit if she's being unreasonable or anything, because chances are, she'll tell me about it, and I'll tell her you're right. She needs that sometimes, and in the end, she'll be grateful to you for doing it.

7. Give her space.

This is another big one. I'm not saying always give her space, but if she is flustered, or panicking, or just in a general negative state of mind, and she asks to be alone, or to give her space, give it to her. Because if she is asking for it, she needs it, for whatever reason.

8. Listen to her.

Once again, I know this seems like an obvious thing for you to do as her husband, but I'm serious. Listen to her, hear her out, make her feel heard, and understood. She would much rather you listen to her and give your opinion, than you just nod and smile. She just wants to feel like you're listening to her and that you care about what she has to say, even if it's just about a funny meme she saw.

9. Halloween.

If you're marrying her, you already know what I mean when I say that. But I'll clarify: Halloween is her big deal holiday. Don't discourage that in her. Let her put spider webs and pumpkins and orange lights all over the house. It's important to her.

10. Encourage her growth.

I mean every kind of growth. Don't be afraid to debate about politics and ethics with her, to help her grow in her knowledge. Don't be afraid to hold her accountable for being a better person. Encourage her to be the best her she can be. Encourage her to be a badass, and remind her that she is one, because sometimes she needs to be reminded that she's a badass.

11. Remind her.

Remind her why you fell in love with her. Remind her that you love her. Remind her what she means to you. Remember those emotional trauma's I mentioned before? Yeah, those can cause a lot of doubts for her. Just take it in stride, and don't stop reminding her why you love her, because it will make her whole day.

12. I am not your enemy.

I am not here to make things hard for you. I'm not that best friend. She's your wife, and she's my girl. All we both want for her is for her to be as happy as she can be. And my whole goal is to help her be that happy. And if you do that for her, that's all I care about. We are not in competition, we are teammates in her club of number one fans. And please know, that since you and I have her in common, that I am your friend too. I am here for you the same way I am for her.

Take care of my person for me.

Love,

Your best friend in law