Just B+E
Wedding Party
Amanda Figueroa Anthony
Bridesmate of Honor
Amanda is the incredible sister of the bride. She is widely known for her love of plants (mostly of the succulent variety) and cats (mostly of the cute variety). She lives in Austin, TX with her husband, Matt, and two cats, Kala and Haley. She got her undergraduate degree from Southwestern University and received her masters degree at St. Edward's University! She is the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at her alma mater, Southwestern. Elena is so excited to have Amanda by her side on her wedding day.
Jared Lyons
Best Man
Jared is the cousin of the groom and all around awesome person. Jared and Byron grew up together and have all the same interests. They attended Hynes Elementary and The University of New Orleans together (one year apart), and lived together from 2013-2015. Jared currently works for NASA in New Orleans, and probably three other jobs as well. In fact, since we started writing this, he acquired the NASA job, forcing us to update this bio. He is really fantastic at getting jobs, seeing as he is an outstanding people-person and is really easy to work with, which will make him a wonderful asset to our wedding party!
Amelia Muhs
Bridesmate
Amelia is Elena's longest standing friend. Their relationship has come a long way since they were sworn enemies in first grade. They've competed for who is smarter and better at basically everything (including tiny handwriting), and have come through the other side with a friendship for life. Amelia recently graduated LSU Medical School and is continuing her training in internal medicine at Vanderbilt. Amelia is one of the most determined people we know, but she knows how to have a good time. We can't wait to celebrate with her!
Chris White
Best Man
Byron likes to refer to Chris as his cousin, seeing as they are so close. Chris is technically Byron's first cousin, Alex's, first cousin on his dad's side which makes them alm... okay, I ran out of breath. They've known each-other since they were very young, but didn't get close until high school. Since then, they've been practically inseparable. Chris and his wife, Rayshel, have two children (Christopher White III, Celene White) together, and currently live in Tennessee, where Chris serves in the US Navy.
Margaret Saux
Bridesmate
Margaret is a graduate of LSU (twice), and is now a social worker and proud puppy parent along with their partner, Casey. They may claim they are the reason Byron and Elena are together, and they're a little right (but we won't tell them that). Margaret and Elena have known each-other since fourth grade. The two of them, along with Amelia of course, have been the best of friends ever since. We've been through so much together (including living together and engagements within the same month), so we couldn't get married without them!
Bryan White
Groomsman
Bryan and Byron have known each-other since kindergarten, and he is one of Byron's longest and best friends. They lived together from 2013-2015 and since that obviously wasn't enough, again from 2017-2018! If you don't know Bryan, you may just hear him before you meet him -- his laugh is contagious to say the least! We are working on training him to take good pictures (he truly hates having his picture taken), so we'll see how that goes for the wedding photos. Byron can't wait to reach another milestone with Bryan by his side.
Julian Figueroa
Bridesmate
Julian is the brother of the bride, resident math genius and beer(d) aficionado. The best way to describe Julian is a lumberjack working at IBM (which he does). He is a loving and supportive brother to the bride. Communication may vary. Julian is engaged to his awesome and talented fiancee, Kayla. They live in Baton Rouge with their giant cat, Ziggy (follow him on instagram @ziggaraute). As Mamita (Elena’s Grandmother) always says, "these are your best years," so let's have a couple of awesome weddings!
Areme Laurent
Groomswoman
Areme is the lovely sister of the groom. She is amazing and incredibly supportive, and her loyalty knows no bounds. She and Byron can have a conversation about literally anything, no matter how... unique. They also give each-other the best advice. She's always had the "big sister" mentality, even though Byron has more than a foot on her (She loves to say she's 4'11 and 7/8ths). Don't worry, though! What she lacks in height, she makes up for in love and compassion. Love you sis!
Joseph Jacobs
Usher
Joseph (Joey Pizza) Jacobs is an amazing friend and former housemate to the bride and groom. Byron met Joseph towards the end of high school, but they didn't become close until Byron's sophomore year in college. Joey swiftly became amazing friends with both Elena and Byron. Byron would go on record to say that he and Joseph are practically the same person, except Byron is slightly more handsome...
Jared Cotton
Groomsman
Jared is one of Byron's best friends and his business partner! They met in Gonzales, Louisiana after their families relocated there following Hurricane Katrina. They have been friends for over 10 years and in that time, have collaborated on many projects. Their most recent venture is running their own online retail company, Thenamel. They have all the same interests, so it's a no wonder they have such a close relationship.
Glenn Woods
Usher
GUE! Sorry, had to sneeze. Glenn has been an amazing friend of Byron's since their sophmore/junior year in high school. If you can picture the best "hypeman" in the world, Glenn would surpass that. To Byron, Glenn is probably the best person for the job when it comes to getting him out of his shell. That being said, choosing Glenn to be a part of the wedding party comes so naturally. We can't wait to see him get down at the reception.