Carrie & Sahin
Wedding Party
Anna Williams
Matron of Honor
Anna and Carrie grew up as neighborhood friends sharing a fence. They spent many nights sleeping over at each others' homes, many days swimming at the pool, and enjoyed making videos and playing around the neighborhood together. Their friendship has been long-lasting and feels easy whenever they both reunite after long periods of time apart. Anna's a wonderful mother to little John Mark and wife to Ryan. She is currently finishing up her Nursing degree, where she will undoubtedly continue blessing people's lives.
Sarvesh Anavkar
Best Man
Sarvesh (aka Savvy) and Sahin met the first week of Sahin's freshman year at Iowa State University during President's Leadership Class, a weekly leadership course held at the university president's home. They were roommates for most of college and have been on many adventures together, including exploring Utah (along with David) and probably all of the restaurants and ice cream shops in Los Angeles, as they both share a love for food and sweets. An engineer by degree, Savvy lives in LA and is an actor, a writer and someone who is passionate about people and their stories.
Erica Lorenzo
Bridesmaid
Erica and Carrie have been close friends since childhood growing up in the same neighborhood. Erica and Carrie played volleyball together in high school and sang in the choir. They have been lucky enough to remain close friends, and still enjoy karaoke nights, drinking beer, and laughing together. Erica currently works as a technical writer for BKD in Springfield, and I'm sure when she reads all these things I've written her grammatical brain will explode from all the mistakes. :)
John Plamoottil
Groomsman
John and Sahin met through some mutual friends during their freshman year at Iowa State University. They ended up being college roommates and spent way too much time at ISU's rec center trying to hoop like Mike and Hakeem the Dream. While they disagree on who the best NFL team is (correct answer: Packers not Bears), they both share a love for sports. A realtor and entreprenuer by trade, John lives in the Chicagoland area with his wife Stephina. They are expecting a little one this Spring!
Natalie Wilbers
Bridesmaid
Natalie and Carrie were roommates in college and post-college. Living in the same city has made them even closer, sharing wine nights, happy hours, holiday parties, as well as all the daily life things that come up. Natalie is quick to suggest going on a walk, no matter the weather, which has only brought on deep conversations and a deeper friendship. Natalie works as an art teacher and that girl is changing lives!
Ashor Chirackal
Groomsman
Ashor and Sahin met freshman year of college at ISU through mutual friends. One of Sahin's first memories of Ashor was when Sahin beat Ashor during racquetball intramurals at ISU. These two were also roommates in college. They enjoy bantering about who is the best team in the English Premier League as well as whose city has the better barbecue. They're both into live music and enjoy checking out new bands at music festivals together. Ashor lives and works as an engineer in Austin, TX.
Melissa McCracken
Bridesmaid
Melissa and Carrie have been friends since college, and have enjoyed lots of coffee, wine, and food over the years. They both love music, especially artists like Stevie Wonder and Prince. Melissa's been a good friend and confidant for Carrie, and her joyful spirit brings warmth to everyone around her. Melissa works as an artist and recently moved to New York City. (PS check her out at https://www.melissasmccracken.com/)
David Funni
Groomsman
David and Sahin met through an introduction from John and Ashor during their time at Iowa State University. While these two were never roommates, they hung out enough to practically be roommates. David is passionate about cooking and introduced Sahin to the finer things in life such as the cast iron skillet and the French press. David has traveled all over the world as an officer for the United States Marine Corps and is currently pursuing his Master's in Electrical Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He is also a newlywed.
Paige Lorenzo
Bridesmaid
Paige and Carrie grew up in the same neighborhood and bonded over volleyball and their sense of humor. They also enjoyed hiking together when they had more time! They still enjoy getting together every time Carrie is back home or when Paige goes to KC. Paige does all things marketing/advertising for Wilkinson Dental in Springfield. She's the reason so many people know where to go for some seriously beautiful chompers.
Billy McLendon
Groomsman
Billy and Sahin met by chance at a music festival in Kansas City. They quickly hit it off and explored the best that KC had to offer with its local cuisine and music scene. They eventually went on a really fun trip to Peru, including an epic 5 day trek to Machu Picchu. They both share a love for good food, good music and Arsenal F.C. With an extensive non-profit background, Billy has served in AmeriCorps and has a passion for improving access to healthful foods in food deserts. Currently, he works for Tableau and lives in Seattle.