Wedding Party
Amber Olson
Maid of Honor
Middle school boo, volleyball tournament tyrant, and fellow sister of STEM. Since the age of 12, Amber and I have been together through all the turbulence of growing up: making and losing friends, long days at volleyball tournaments, and years and years of school - and we are still the same fierce friends that we were on day one. We may have taken paths that led us apart after leaving our hometown, Longview, but a spontaneous Sunday FaceTime gossip session reminds me that we can always pick right back up where we left off. Amber is my ride or die and I love her to the moon and back!
Kris Garrett
Best Man
The bread to my butter; Kris is one of my oldest friends, and someone I've literally shared EVERY stage of my life with. T-ball; elementary, middle, and high school; sports at each of those stages; college at WWU; and employment at Boeing. Apparently we met in T-ball as 5-year-olds, but our earliest origins are primordial, murky and somewhat irrelevant. Our shared history and living friendship today is what makes Kris so important to me. As someone whom I've held dear my whole life, I'm eager and honored to call him my Best Man. Did I mention we won an international competition together? Yeah, we almost kissed on-stage.
Tristen Burns
Bridesmaid
Tristen and I met at WWU through Max. Though it was a shy start, our friendship has ripened with the shared struggle of gritty adventure. From living in the frozen, derelict house at 711 E Chestnut St, to pushing ourselves to the limit on a multi-day biking trip, Tristen and I (and the rest of our ragtag tribe of college kids) really became a family. Even though 711 E Chestnut St has been literally demolished, the Slurpee house family will live on forever. Though we both tend to act like one of the boys, Tristen is like the sister I never had.
Conner Uhlinger
Groomsman
Conner was Ben's college roommate throughout that fateful freshman fiasco, and although him and I weren't quite as immediately bonded to one another, our friendship has been a slow burn, steadily bringing us closer. Conner is an infinite well of compassion, a sound source of support, and a fountain of love, but he could never pass an opportunity to crack his sharp whip of a wit upon the tender egos of arrogant college boys. He would often roll his eyes when Ben and I bickered (a regular occasion), and then proceed to artfully craft a stunning piece of origami in the time it took us to resolve our petty squabbles.
Amber Asher
Bridesmaid
Another friendship forged in the fires of grad school. Between commiserating the despairs and celebrating the triumphs, we’ve bonded over our shared passions: science, the outdoors, and good food. Depending on the day, you might find us out in the woods looking for birds and fossils, or drunkenly discussing stem cells with our uber drivers. Either way, I’m beyond thankful to have Amber as a friend. Amber is a woman who I admire for her strength, authenticity, and fierce loyalty. I know she’s got my back no matter what.
Ben Larson
Groomsman
Ben and I met our freshman year in the dorms at college. It was an instant connection; two dirt-loving, math-savvy, rabble-rousers that took an instantaneous liking to one another. As I learned more about him, I increasingly found my self gravitating towards Ben and our friendship crystallized into the rock that carried me through much of college. Whether it was hiking, partying, biking, or laboring through gigs for Bellingham's elderly, we did everything together. It's difficult to put into words how connected Ben and I are, but Ben is easily one of the people I admire most on this planet and I'm beyond fortunate to have found him and kept him close.
Jess Wickline
Bridesmaid
Nobody may have seen it coming (including us when we first met in grad school), but the saying that opposites attract couldn’t have found a better example in us. Jess is my introvert, and I'm her *~extra~*-vert; we fill each other’s cups in ways that we can’t always do ourselves. You may think we're an odd couple, but we balance each other out. We have just as much fun on low-key nights sitting on the floor, drinking wine, petting cats and playing cards as we do on a night of drinking and dancing. Even though I tease her a lot, I love Grandma Jess just as much as J MF'n Wicks.
Ricki Schneider
Groomsman
My brother fully by blood, literally the friend that has known me the longest. Much of my personality is derived from the absolute fountain of whimsical consciousness that Ricki embodied in his youth, and the other parts formed in opposition to some of the choices he made. Regardless, Ricki was and continues to be a forge for some of the my most core personality traits, and to this day I delight in our brotherhood.
Hannah Elam
Bridesmaid
Hannah simply has it all together. At least that’s the first impression she’ll always make ;) Hannah and I met in our graduate school program in San Antonio, and it didn’t take long for the organized, well-mannered student we’d come to know and love to transition from Granny Hanny to a dual cigar-wielding heathen (she IS a gemini, after all!). All jokes aside, Hannah is one of the most caring and loyal people I’ve ever met. She helped me through one of the tougher transitions in my life as a grad student and I couldn’t be more grateful for all her love and support.
Jakob Stoll
Groomsman
Overlapping elementary schools and Mrs. Pattison's enrichment classes are what first brought Jakob and I together, while a beautiful fusion of creative juices and mutual motivation is what kept us together. Another one of my first friends in life and to this day one of my closest, Jakob and I have always bonded over our love of creation and big ideas. As we grew older, Jakob eventually realized he was bigger than me, endlessly reminding me that I'm powerless to his sheer physical strength. The tides have yet to turn back in my favor, but that sweet, sweet day when they do will not find me sitting idly by.