Ellie Monahan married Mark Dobrosky earlier this month.
Katie Couric had some touching words on her daughter's wedding day. On her website, the 64-year-old journalist posted the speech she gave at her daughter, Ellie Monahan's, wedding in Port Jervis, New York, earlier this month.
The 29-year-old screenwriter tied the knot with Mark Dobrosky over Fourth of July weekend. During her reception speech, Katie referenced Ellie's late father, Jay Monahan, who died in 1998 of colon cancer. Katie and Jay also share a 25-year-old daughter, Caroline.
Katie began her speech by acknowledging the joy of being able to celebrate the moment together, after a year of quarantine due to COVID-19. She continued by reflecting on the "village" that helped her raise her daughters after Jay's death, praising her new son-in-law as "a treasure" who's "the center of Ellie's universe," and gushing over the groom's family.
It was after all of that that Katie admitted, "I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t tell you that for many years I’d been dreading this day -- because of the people who are not here."
That list of people included Ellie's grandparents and aunts, 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," Katie said. "When Jay was in the throes of cancer and it seemed as if the end of his life might be near, 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."
In Katie's social media post following the nuptials, the mom of the bride thanked her late husband for providing beautiful weather for Ellie's outdoor wedding.
"It was perfect. The weather was perfect. (Thank you Jay.❤️)," she wrote in part. "... It was such an incredible, moving, extraordinary weekend full of love and friendship and some serious competition during Field Day. I can’t wait to share everything with you. I’m still walking on air even though I can barely move. I’m so happy I could cry but there are no tears left. Wait! I’m crying again. Tears of joy."
In a follow-up post, Katie revealed that her daughter honored Jay during the wedding by walking down the aisle to a song very close to her dad's heart, "Ashokan Farewell."
"Ellie walked down the aisle to 'Ashokan Farewell' played by the composer, Jay Unger and his family band. Jay Monahan loved that song, which was used in Ken Burn’s series on the Civil War, so it was a way to honor him," Katie wrote in part. "(Yes, I cried the whole time. Most of the people there did.)"
Watch the video below for more on Katie's late husband.
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