Wedding Party

Brandt Gast

Groom

Julianna Root

Bride

Mitchell Butler

Best Man

The human dictionary, aka Webster, who studied ancient Greek in his spare high school time and is now pursuing becoming a double doctor (congrats on the PhD!). An inspiration for over a decade to dedication and brilliance. While not immediately friends, we certainly have made up for lost time competing in almost every class or blowing studying off for Castle Crashers, ping pong, Sly Cooper, etc. Not many people would debate math/science vs free will on the way to brunch before an outing at the Baha'i Temple or dedicate to months swapping between Spanish and French without using English for practice and fun.

Grace Schwarz

Maid of Honor

The unofficial freshman roommate, Grace and I's story actually started in elementary school when we were in the same girl scout troop. We were constantly within the same circles through high school without really knowing each other until those of us from Clear Falls who were going to the University of Houston banded together to have some familiar faces as we started the next chapter in our lives. Since then, we have had many an adventure together including debating life and our place in the world while baking or having dance parties and setting up a full campsite with dwindling light all in thirty minutes and to the shock of our neighbors, the whole time Grace was in a dress and heels. Truly my closest and dearest friend, I am blessed to have a friendship that withstands multiple states and the test of time.

Ricardo Gomez

Groomsman

Pursuing a PhD in Purdue's Aerospace department (seriously, you guys make me feel really dumb), work hard play hard would have Ricardo's picture next to it if the dictionary also contained phrases. While passionate about cool space things, he's also the most passionate (and loudest) Purdue sports fan I've ever met. Being in a huge engineering program and school away from home, finding an inseparable friend and roommate is a gift. Ricardo is frustratingly good at golf, a hoarder of sheep (and won't trade you in spite of needing stone to build a city), and incredibly entertaining to watch play Zelda Wind Waker during finals week (sorry Mom and Dad).

Catherine Root

Bridesmaid

The youngest sibling, the person who made me a middle child when I had the luxury of being the baby for 13 whole years, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am thankful for my little sister and am amazed by the person she is becoming. We love to go get queso, walk around the mall, go to concerts, and hang out together. Catherine is tremendously devoted to studying music and music theory and I can't wait to see where she takes that in the next few years!

Daniel Root

Groomsman

The oldest sibling (not Brandt's). He had 5 years of peace before he allegedly started throwing Juli down stairs. Daniel is an unexpected friend gained from this relationship. He's always up for talking video games and offering a solid fist bump and hard pat on the shoulder. Daniel is also a wonderful dad to Atlas and a great mediator of Pokemon matches. You can generally find him at a park on a weekend when I tell him the wrong dates for Pokemon Go Events.

Lauren LaMonica

Bridesmaid

Lauren is one of those people who just comes into your life and clicks. We met when a friend invited us to a party he was DJing. This was a going away party for someone we didn't know, but were assured they were happy to have us. The real hook is he mentioned his new girlfriend would be there, who we had yet to meet. Maybe partially due to the gaggle of girls who could talk of nothing other than their recent trip to Greece, but we immediately were able to fall into a good rhythm of conversation. Since then, I am happy to say we have grown closer and as often as we can plan play dates for the men so we can talk life, inspirations and the whims of the week.

Stephen Marschall

Groomsman

One of the oldest of friends, Steve and I met when our moms forced a playdate once his family moved into our neighborhood. We may hold the record for most time spent over each other's houses among friends and have continued to catch up during holidays after moving away 10 years ago. Steve perfectly embodies the trope of a shy person who really opens up and makes friendships a necessity. He'll wear a patch in your grass from running and make you question if you're actually good at video games/ ping pong. My one regret in all of our friendship is not being taller anymore...

Claire Alexander

Bridesmaid

I luckily met Claire through Brandt, when she worked in the prop group with him. We enjoyed many happy hours and planned many girl dates (the prop group was and is overrun by men) before she left for Seattle to work at Blue Origin. Even now we communicate through memes and girl power reels but I know she is always a call away if I ever need anything. She is a devoted dog mom and a mean hockey player, devout harry potter fan and a true friend.

Tyler&Eric Fick, Matthew Beil

Ushers

The bowling trio. Every Saturday morning for almost 10 years, we either competed with or against each other until it was time to go serve kids birthday parties (until Tyler spilled $300 of Coke on the floor). Unbeknownst to me they also were welcomed new friends in school hallways. More than just Saturday mornings, most summer days and holidays for 15 years have been filled with yelling at Mario Party or Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, ping pong matches, and midnight games of Uno. There's a lot of yelling... Guys that always have your back and treat you like a brother. Thanks Zola for having a short character limit so I had to combine their names weirdly.

Atlas Root

Flower Child

Although he is Juli's nephew, Brandt is one of his best friends (I get my own goodie bag at his birthdays, HA, take that Juli!). A true flower child and free spirit, Atlas took a liking to Brandt the first moment he heard they both liked Pokemon. The rest is history!

Kaitlyn Palividas

Officiant

Or for those who know her from the University of Houston, Kpal. Kaitlyn was introduced to Juli through Grace (yes, the MOH) while they were freshman suitemates. You might think it would be terribly confusing because Grace's other suitemate and Kaitlyn's roommate was also a Kaitlyn. You would be very wrong. Kaitlyn Palividas easily sets herself apart from the crowd (or other Kaitlyns). She is extraordinarily kind, passionate, and loyal. She quite literally creates and holds friend groups together. She is often the life of the party and is the first to show up to celebrate her friends and family's accomplishments. Brandt has also had the luxury of getting to know Kaitlyn through Juli dragging him to almost every sport related event that the previously UH Young Alumni Association, now the UH Young Alumni Network, has hosted. We are both continuously impressed by her accomplishments (ask her about Kaitlyn Palividas day), poise, and friendship and are thankful to have her as our officiant.