Wedding Party
Benjamin Crane
Groom
Ben was born in Michigan, raised in Vermont, went to the University of Kentucky (Go Cats) and the Kanakuk Institute in Missouri, and somehow ended up in Colorado. He met Claire and thats all he cares about now. Ben works as a Ski Patroller at Winter Park resort and enjoys climbing, officiating sports, and the occasional good book.
Claire Crane
Bride
Claire is a Lift Operator for Winter Park Ski Resort in Winter Park, Colorado. She is originally from Dallas, Texas and studied Digital Media Studies at Tarleton State University. She is spontaneous, adventurous, loves to rock climb, hike, camp out, skiing, and honestly anything that involves the outdoors. She has three brothers, Jacob, Noah, and Campbell - who are now ALL married and has two sweet nephews, Atticus and Davis. She has the best sister-in-laws - Hali, Mal, and Amber - and finally pumped that she can team up against her brothers with them! Most of her fondest memories include the women that are listed below and she is so honored to get to share the day with them and celebrate the friendship and life that they all get to share! Fun facts about the bride: she took 12 years of classical piano lessons (alongside her brothers) and before moving to Colorado she knew nothing of snow or skiing or snowboarding. Now she can't get enough of it!
Adam Winter
Best Man
Adam met Ben at Kanakuk K-7 where they worked the ropes course together. Adam loves cars, basketball, tools, 3D printing, and he also collects model cars. He is an electrician in Dodge City, Kansas. "Shoot I got a lot! There’s the time it was pouring rain at camp we just finished cleaning up and getting dried off you walked in the dining hall and said get in we going to check the slip n slide and then we went down it for like 30 minutes in the rain. You and I also just had a lot of really good talks at treetops through the years I have a lot of good memories with you at camp Ben I appreciate you a lot as a friend and a leader."
Shady Kuster
Maid of Honor
Shady is a scientist in training at Colorado State University. She studies how the mitochondria in wild deer mice allow them to survive in the cold, low oxygen environments found at high elevation. She enjoys the outdoors - hiking, camping, kayaking, fishing, and snowshoeing. "Claire and I bonded over corndogs and Holding on to You lyrics on a fateful trip to Albuquerque, NM. Now we’ve gotten into trouble on the east coast and all over the Rockies, and she is just like a sister to me. My favorite in recent memory would be our attempt to go wild ice skating on Lake Haiyaha in Rocky Mountain National Park. The lake in the winter is a beautiful glacial blue, and we had seen it all over instagram and TikTok so of course it was doable (spoiler: it was not). So we strapped ice skates to our backpacks, bundled up, and began our hike to the lake. We were welcomed by 10+ feet of snow and as we came to the end of the hike and more would begin falling, covering our tracks behind us on an already hard to see path. Ill prepared and no end in sight, we were singing, making jokes, and talking as if we weren’t about to end up on some girl’s survivor stories podcast. Finally, we ran into another crazy hiker out in these conditions, found the path, and made our way back. I topped the trip off by almost sliding the car into another driver on our way back. Like I said, we get ourselves into trouble! And you better bet this was only attempt number 1 of how ever many it takes to make it happen!"
John Micheal Ladner
Groomsman
John Micheal knows Ben through the Kanakuk Camps in Missouri. Specifically, K7 & Dock and Kanakuk Institute. ("We're lowkey soulmates tho") He enjoys good music, cooking cajun food, overloading (shoutout to his Tundra), hiking, camping, and boating. "The list of fun memories with Ben is way too many, but here are a few highlights: - Repainting the K7 Ropes course little by little over the entire summer and being covered in green paint - Our "Special Ops" mission to steal things from K-West - National Parks trip. Subaru boys. Best road trip, car rides, views, conversations, so much more, ever. - Taking K7 boats our in the evening to explore the lake and chill My favorite memories of Kanakuk always include you brother. I deeply miss our late night talks, tomfoolery, and star gazing on the dock."
Dannielle Caldwell
Matron of Honor
Dannielle and Claire have known each other since high school, but their friendship came to fruition on a random summer day at Chic-Fil-A in 2018. Since then, they have become an inseparable pair, living life together through incredibly high highs and their fair share of lows. Dannielle and Claire bond over their love for reading, music, and creativity, and while they are separated by 2 time zones, when they reunite, it’s like they never left. Dannielle is a music therapist in Florida and loves to send Claire selfies on the beach and get snow photos in return. Dannielle is thrilled for Ben and Claire and can’t wait to celebrate their marriage and every sweet thing the future holds!
Grant Garvin
Groomsman
Grant met Ben at the Kanakuk Institute in 2022. He enjoys shooting skeet, rock climbing whenever he gets the chance, and playing boardgames. He pretends to be good at pickleball and snowboards whenever he can convince his bank account that he won't go bankrupt after the trip. He is a Polysomnographer, which is just a fancy word for someone who studies sleep patterns. "Ben and I ran the K7 ropes course for the incoming KI class, where we had all the fun of Kamp but none of the responsibility of tending to kids."
Mallorie Rodgers
Bridesmaid
Mal is Claire's sister-in-law, and has been squeezing her way into the family since '07. She married Claire's brother, Noah, 8 years ago! Mal enjoys playing outside, dog training, learning ASL, reading, minor crafting, and nerding out on child development. She is a licensed professional counselor and business owner! "One of my favorite funny memories with Claire (long before Ben came along) was back in high school at church camp in Colorado. I had just graduated but was serving as a volunteer and happened to be assigned as the counselor for Claire’s cabin. The strongest memory was of us having to share a twin mattress together because there weren’t enough beds for everyone. We laid in opposite directions of one another and I pulled up a chair next to the bed so I could put any body parts on it that wouldn’t fit on the bed. I attempted to sleep all night with my butt on a chair while the rest of my body was on the bed. A funny (& sweet) memory with Ben comes from him and Claire babysitting our 2 year old kiddo Davis (their nephew) once while they were in town so we could have a date night. They took him to a park and let him try a small climbing wall (so on brand for them iykyk). He’s a timid guy but gave it a shot and got halfway up before slipping and falling a bit. Ben caught him before any injury could happen and Davis said 'Ben’s got me.' We go to that park a lot and every time we’re there Davis looks at it and says 'Ben’s got you!'"
Zach Acosta
Groomsman
I think Ben and I officially met in Latin class with Mrs. Redmond, but we started hanging out through our mutual friend, William. We then started going to the basement teen center, gaming, playing ultimate, and the rest is history. I’d say my main hobby is rock climbing, specifically bouldering. I started climbing about five years ago and have loved it ever since. I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect, the inclusive community, and that it’s a great workout. More recently, I got into disc golf, which ended up being a great fit thanks to high school ultimate. It's a fun way to get outside, hike around, and enjoy nature. I also enjoy late-night gaming sessions with the goon squad. I’m an electrical engineer at an aerospace company, where we focus on fuel gauging systems for military and commercial planes and health monitoring systems for helicopters. On the side, I work part-time at a climbing gym, mainly hanging out at the front desk, but I also get to teach some intro climbing classes which is fun. Some of my favorite memories include hanging out at the teen center after school, giving him rides in Steve, late-night LAN parties (of course he’d always have his moosey), Nordic skiing meets, ultimate frisbee, gaming, and most recently our road trip in the silver bullet (RIP… and sorry again for passing that logging truck).
Alexis Bennet-Smith
Bridesmaid
Alexis Bennet-Smith is a Nurse in the DFW area. She loves anything involving nature - hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, and simply just enjoying Mother Nature. She also enjoys reading and boxing. Alexis met Claire in college and is currently connected to her through memes, instagram and spontaneous flights or meet ups. In a historical sense, "people would probably say, 'and they were roommates.'" Through their love of God, hammocks, climbing and the great outdoors! "Oh my, let’s see! Probably the one time we were bus/train hopping in CO! We got on the bus for like an hour long ride to foco and you needed to pee so bad that you had to beg the driver to stop at the closest gas station. He said you had 10 minutes or he was leaving you. You went in there, WITHOUT YOUR PHONE and left everything. I was panicking that he would try and leave with all our stuff and I would have to try and beg him to unload our luggage or try to stall so you could make it back in time. All was good though, you made it back and even though that driver was grumpy we made it to our destination… but only after we found out that one of the buses was cancelled and we had to walk with all our stuff like three blocks. Then we got to our destination, napped for like four hours straight, woke up and decided we were starving, then went to get fried rice 🤣"
Chris Ebersole
Groomsman
Chris knows Ben through pre-school, then playing rec and middle and high school soccer together, and also through video games. He is a bartender and enjoys playing video games, soccer, skiing, pizza, bartending, sci-fi/fantasy books, and music. "It's hard to pick a specific one, but I always love looking back on our time on the JV soccer team hanging with Coach Tim and being goofballs, but also carrying in games because we were some the best on JV."
Eliana Martinez
Bridesmaid
Eliana is a ophthalmic technician/scribe in Texas. Her and Claire are connected through college living in their Woodland house. ("Woodland house 4eva🥹🤘🏾❤️"). She enjoys cycling, trail running, reading, and DnD occasionally ;). "My fondest memory with Claire is filming a horror short in the woodland house! Doesn’t get much better than chasing around a screaming shady whilst pushing Claire on a janky rolley chair. Utter chaos it was but undoubtedly one of the most wholesome moments during my college experience. Very very full hearts that night. I’ll never forget it."
Isaac Padberg
Groomsman
Isaac is a software engineer who works in Montpelier, Vermont. He enjoys playing soccer, biking, playing the violin, and reading. Ben and Isaac played soccer together when they were kids, in middle school, then again in high school, and they also had many great years of playing ultimate frisbee together. "One of my favorite memories which includes Ben and our close friends, is when we were on a summertime road trip in Ben's family can down to NYC, Washington DC, & Bush Gardens in VA. After driving for the better part of the day, we were looking forward to spending the night at the campsite we'd booked. Our 10pm arrival at the revealed a dimly lit campground which almost looked to be abandoned save for some eerie lights coming from a parked camper van. None of us were too keen on getting out of the van, and so Ben volunteered to investigate & see if we could check in. Unable to find anyone to check-in with, we proceeded to drive our campsite. We were greeted by a pitch black campsite, an upside down picnic table, and a sloping hill covered with tall grass. It was really spooky. We didn't even get out of the car to check it out further. Instead, we drove across the street to a hotel & we were too poor to get a room, & chose to sleep in the van. There were 5 of us in this van, & chaotic night of "sleep". Highlights during that night included William deciding to sleep in the Thule roof rack and myself trying to sleep underneath the car with a sheet. It was a night to remember."
Anna DeLeon
Bridesmaid
Anna works in Human Resources at an animal pharmaceutical company. She loves fishing, rollerblading, working out, and attending local concerts like the Jonas Brothers! Anna and Claire met at a climbing gym in Fort Worth, Texas, and instantly became friends while trying to solve the boulder problems together. "The funniest thing I can think of right now is how, for months, I literally thought your last name was Mikaylin —until I realized it was your middle name and I was completely wrong! We’ve shared so many fun adventures that it’s hard to pick just one. From our first climb together outside of Fort Worth to all the moments since, this friendship has been nothing short of magical. We’ve laughed, danced, and sang along to music, shared our faith, and talked about Jesus and our dreams for the future—including the husbands we imagined we’d have someday. We’ve celebrated life’s highlights and supported each other through its challenges. So again, I’ll say it over and over: congratulations, Claire! You’ve found the one who completes you, just as God intended when He made the woman from the man’s rib. 🩷 You are truly his missing rib, and together you are whole. 💍✨ Wishing you and Ben a lifetime of love and joy! 'And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."' – Genesis 2:22-23"