Cecily & Jake
Wedding Party
Kerry Leary
Maid of Honor
Cecily's best friend from childhood and partner in crime around Cherry Knolls. Our favorite activities used to include watching daytime TV after school (Maury), streeting, and skinny dipping. Fiercely loyal Kerry is taking a break from her hectic producing job at MSNBC in New York City to be here and is guaranteed to cry during her speech.
Andrew Nauertz
Best Man
Jake's friend from high school, roommate and previous coworker. Andrew lived with Jake and Cec for 3 and a half years before venturing West to the great city of Moorhead, Minnesota. Jake and Andrew love to argue about random things, and can spend hours on end together without running out of things to talk about.
Emma Lawler
Bridesmaid
Cecily's best friend from kindergarten and childhood neighbor. We spent countless nights at each other"s houses, getting into trouble from both moms for creating sugar dispensers and spilling it all over our beds. Her adventures expanded to living in San Francisco, New York City, and living abroad while working in the tech industry. She is now in Chicago working on her MBA!
Chris Lambach
Groomsman
Jake's friend from high school and college roommate. Probably the biggest reason Jake didn't break more bones during his football career. A great friend, and a giant teddybear. Chris works in health information management and pulled off planning his wedding in seven weeks with his wife, Bre.
Brianna Leitzelar
Bridesmaid
Bri and Cecily, as student athletic trainers, bonded over college football. We have countless great memories together but my favorite is when we stole the golf cart and took it to the Taco Bell drive-thru on our last Sunday of working football. Bri is coming from North Carolina. She graduated last summer with her PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Tim Newstrom
Groomsman
Jake's friend from South Saint Paul and roommate at St. Scholastica. Well versed in plumbing, cars, and obscure facts. Most likely to strike up a thought provoking discussion and always willing to help Cec and Jake with the never ending projects.
Caitlin Hiniker Ackerman
Bridesmaid
Cecily's roommate at St Olaf College, sophomore through senior years and most likely to happy cry about corn dogs and mac and cheese. Caitlin is a Physician Assistant at the University of Minnesota and is Cec's lunch buddy to talk about healthcare issues and wedding planning, as she was also a COVID bride. Caitlin had her postponed ceremony and reception this past summer.
Jack Bjorklund
Groomsman
Jake's friend and teammate from high school and college. Also the college roommate most likely to randomly lose articles of clothing. Jack is a physical therapist with killer dance moves (must be common in the profession). He's unable to join us for the wedding as he has a baby due 2 days before!
Avery Baird
Bridesmaid
Another college roommate of Cecily's and expert mac and cheese maker (the secret is a lot of butter). Typically runs late to everything, but can always be counted on to join Cec on the dance floor. Avery keeps moving up the ranks at Goodwill, as a job counselor and supervisor.
Tyler Fischbach
Groomsman
Jake's friend from high school and accomplice in multiple dubious activities. Easily the best dressed of the group on any given day. Fish is coming from Fargo, North Dakota and is getting married at the end of August!
Jenna Jensen
Bridesmaid
Jake's little sister and Cecily's lake lounging partner. She's always down for a day floating on the water, a four-wheeler ride, a dog cuddling session, or a bonfire. Most likely to be seen kicking it on a lawn chair out in the sun after a hard week as a Certified Nursing Assistant.
Lukas Adam
Groomsman
Jake's friend from college, and stellar volleyball teammate with Cec, Jake and Andrew. Proud parent and winner of the "world's greatest dad" award. Lukas is a nurse manager at United Hospital.
Emily Whiting
Personal Attendant
Bride's friend from Physical Therapy school in Duluth. We bonded over our love of volleyball, beer, dancing and Jakes (her husband's name too!). Emily moved back to Duluth in the summer of 2021 after a stint in Iowa City.
Duncan Macleod
Usher
Cecily's best friend from baby group and preschool. If Cec had her way at that age, he would be her only friend, but lucky for her, Duncan wanted to play with other kids too. Duncan is coming from the San Francisco Bay Area where he works at Salesforce.