Chelsea & Danny
Wedding Party
Johanna Poterala
Maid of Honor
Johanna and Chelsea met in preschool and have stood by each other's side ever since. Chelsea really lucked out meeting someone so sweet and special as a toddler. Whether it's age 3, 13, or 30, these two have chosen to show up and support one another through it all. Best friends ~literally~ forever. In November 2021, they officially added her husband Michael to their forever friendship, and now they gladly and officially welcome Danny to the lifetime of love and laughter.
Jeff Nygren
Best Man
Growing up as siblings aged 16 months apart, Danny’s older brother Jeff has been with him from day one. Jeff and Danny have been classmates, football teammates, fraternity brothers, and friends, and they have supported each other through every season of life. Jeff is truly the best man to stand by Danny’s side on this most important day.
Hannah Deacon
Best Woman
Hannah and Chelsea met in elementary school and it's hard to say if their differences or similarities make them such a match. Hannah came from a big loud family, Chelsea grew up a shy only child. Chelsea's a bit of a rule follower, Hannah's a bit...not. Hannah still has the U2 album on her iPhone that got added back in 2014, Chelsea deleted it in 2014. But they both make the best of everything, have an incredible sense of adventure, and have memories from around the world to show for it.
Trent Godard
Groomsman
Trent and Danny met in the first grade and have been friends ever since. They have been travel buddies and often are flying all over the country to visit each other as each moves to new places. Probably most important of all, they are unstoppable euchre partners and have won countless games and tournaments since 2004.
Sam Doud
Bridesmaid
High school was spent soft smiling to each other in the hallway, but then one geology class in college (Chelsea's lowest grade but highest pay off in forever friendship) changed everything. Sam is hilarious, sarcastic, goofy, and fun with one of the biggest hearts in the world. Find her on the dance floor knowing every lyric to every song or over drinks perfectly quoting your favorite movie. (For your sake I hope your favorite movie is The Grinch, she does a mean impression. You're welcome, Sam.)
Patrick Dee
Groomsman
Being friends with Danny since middle school means Patrick and Danny have had a long time to make plenty of memories together. They have been classmates from middle school through college. Some of the best memories together have been made while traveling, whether it’s a road trip or a flight or a train, they’re often on the move together exploring new places or visiting friends. Danny can always count on Patrick for an adventure.
Ailie Green
Bridesmaid
Chelsea and Ailie met while sharing an office at Vanderbilt for 5 years which allowed them to create one of the most special and life changing friendships. With all sorts of support, silliness, and safety, there's no doubt they came into each other's life to change it for good. We actually all need to be celebrating Ailie Green on the wedding day, as she was the one who created a safe space for Chelsea to slowly slowly (like so slowly) come to terms with her feelings for Danny, and she was also the one who would approach Danny on nights out asking when he was going to finally date Chelsea. The different approaches were welcomed by the couple, and look at them now! Three cheers for Ailie!
Alex Morrow
Groomsman
Alex and Danny have been friends since middle school and share a love of Ohio State sports. They’ve been tailgating Buckeye football games together since high school, making Alex Danny’s go-to friend for Ohio State updates or to watch them game together. Despite not having lived in the same city together since high school, Alex is still one of Danny’s closest friends demonstrating the power and strength of their friendship.
Becca Jaskot
Bridesmaid
Becca has truly been there for Chelsea through it all. Literally. Becca is Chelsea's older cousin who grew up sharing birthday parties, friends, and Limited Too matching sets (at least 2 of Chelsea's school pictures are Becca's exact outfit from the year before). And lucky for Chelsea, Becca is a great person to model after. Beck's wisdom and wit are unmatched, and it's been so fun to navigate life and embrace their 30s with each other's support and celebration.
Tom Fenner
Groomsman
Tommy is Danny’s cousin by chance, but they’ve been friends for their entire lives by choice. Danny can always count on Tommy for a good pump-up text after a Vikings win or sharing fantasy football insights. They’ve made plenty of memories together on trips to northern Michigan, but also random nights singing karaoke in Nashville (the same time Chelsea and Danny shared their first Hakuna Matata song together) when Tommy’s work would bring him to the Music City.
Katie Troyer
Bridesmaid
Unlike her love for Danny Nygren, Chelsea's love for his sister Katie was extremely obvious and immediately celebrated and reciprocated! Neither are shy about expressing it, so much so after the engagement Chelsea texted Katie wanting to plan a trip out of the country and Katie responded she realized their anniversaries will be within days and she wanted to plan a trip all together to celebrate, so they are :) Getting to be sisters is a celebration of its own!
Jon Tepe
Groomsman
Jon and Danny became friends in college where they were fraternity brothers at Ohio State. But the fun didn’t stop there, they were also roommates in Cincinnati for a year and then reunited in Nashville (where Jon and Chelsea were also surprise next door neighbors!). Jon and Danny are probably infamous in the cities they’ve lived in together for all the shenanigans they would get themselves into, yet somehow, they always came out unscathed.
Ryne "Dad" Hambright
Officiant
We started calling him dad as a joke the night we met him, and little did we know the name and the friendship would stick forever. We're glad it did :) Danny and Chelsea met Ryne the first night they hung out by themselves and he's had a front row seat to supporting the two throughout their evolving relationship. He truly embodies all things father figure with his heart, his humor, his intensity in sports performance, and his unconditional love and support. There's no doubt you'll see all of this and more throughout the wedding weekend. We're so grateful to have someone so special make this official!