Plain words, true words
I'm not fancy with words, and Kim would laugh at me if I tried to be, so here's the plain truth about my best friend. She's the first person to arrive when something goes wrong and the last to leave when there are dishes. She has never once told me what I wanted to hear instead of what I needed to hear — including, for the record, about these shoes. And in twenty years of friendship, she has never broken a single promise to me. Not one. Ross, that's the woman you married today. She'll tell you the truth, show up early, and stay late, for the rest of your life. You'll never have to wonder where you stand. Neither have I, and it's been the great steadiness of my life. Everyone, raise your glasses: to Kim and Ross. Cheers.
Why it works: Three plain-stated proofs — shows up, tells the truth, keeps promises — build a portrait no flowery language could improve.
Customize it: Write your friend's three most dependable behaviors and state them plainly — resist decorating a single one.