Nicole & Jason
Wedding Party
Maegan Higgins
Matron of Honor
My oldest friend and sister. Maegan has been present for every important life event... except for when Jason popped the question! But of course she was only a FaceTime call away in Hawaii. She finally answered her phone after 5 consecutive calls. Maegan and I have had our ups and downs throughout our life but she has always been the person to talk some sense into me when I was stressing about some small detail in high school or to let me borrow her group of friends because I didn't have any of my own. She is one of the most amazing people in my life, and I am so lucky to be the Godmother of her youngest son, Liam! I will always call her my hero because of the person she is - she has the kindest, most generous heart, and I can only hope to emulate her throughout my life.
Hannah Ellis
Maid of Honor
The last and the most fun of the three oldest Ellis girls! Hannah and I have always had a very special relationship. We shared a bedroom for all of junior high and high school. We missed each other so much that we ended up sharing a condo when we were both in our last year at The Ohio State University. Hannah's fun and spunky personality has always kept me on my toes, and she has been a good influence on me to stay young, as best I can ;) I can always count on Hannah to be straight with me and tell me what I need to know. Her love is unwavering, and I feel incredibly lucky to have her as my Maid of Honor.
Grace Ellis
Maid of Honor
Where do we even start with Gracie girl. I promised Grace years ago that she would be one of my maids of honor. This is not only because she thought she would never be one of her sister's MOH, but also because she is probably the sister I share the most similarities with... let me tell ya, this does not always bode well for us. Grace and I have had many a fight in our day but it's because we both care so much. Grace and I have a tendency to be the anxious Ellis girls, and we are perfectionists. Grace has grown up to be an amazingly thoughtful, intelligent and loving woman. She has such a kind heart and infectious smile and laugh. I feel so honored to have her as my Maid of Honor.
Mary Ellis
Bridesmaid
MaryEllis is one of a kind. Her loving, kind-hearted, compassionate nature is matched by none. She has always been the sister who is willing to help in any situation. I have always admired the way Mary goes out of her way to quietly help any one of her siblings, and she is always asking what she can do for anyone and everyone. She has an unbelievably hard work ethic and has proven to us all just how far that can take you in life. Mary is so special, and my wedding party would not be complete without my second youngest sister. And of course, I am so lucky that I will be able to count on her to help me with whatever I may need on that special day!
Kate Ellis
Bridesmaid
Kate is the baby of the family, but this doesn't hold her back in any way. She and Jason have bonded since the day he and I started dating - and Jason now refers to her as "his buddy." Kate and I have always had a special bond. She is probably one of the only people to think I am funny, or maybe she just tells me this to make me feel good. Kate keeps me up to date with all the young people lingo and tells me I'm old when I need to be told such things. She has a tendency to be humorously dramatic (unlike the rest of us seriously dramatic Ellis girls) but we certainly love her for this. I am honored to have her stand by my side as I marry her buddy!
Jennifer Gibbons
Bridesmaid
Jen and I immediately bonded when we were in PT school at The Ohio State University. As very type A, perfectionist-type individuals we were able to share in our anxieties as we struggled through our PT curriculum. Jen is the most caring, loving, thoughtful person I have come across in my life. She remembers the smallest details and is always checking in on me, even from afar. Jen and I have a special ability to calm each other down and talk each other off the ledge in the highest anxiety situations, so of course I would need her by my side on my big day!
Kailey McCollum
Bridesmaid
Kailey was my first friend at the University of Florida and then proceeded to continue to be a very good friend for the next decade. Kailey taught me how to have fun in college. Despite my resistance, she made me go out and socialize right from the start. I was lucky enough to live with Kailey for 3 years. During this time she tried with all her GRAMMAR powers to teach me how to properly use a comma. As you might have noticed from these summaries, she was only somewhat successful ;) She has since been very busy starting her family, and is the proud Momma of 2 beautiful girls. Even though we don't see each other often, we have stayed with each other through all the important things in life, so of course I need her by my side on my wedding day.
Alaina Peacock
Bridesmaid
Alaina and I were teammates, roommates, and best friends while at the University of Florida. She turned into the sixth sister I never had (or needed) but loved it none the less! Alaina made me a better person while we were Gators. Not only was Alaina an amazing gymnast, but she is an even better person. Her loving and nurturing tendencies helped me through some of the hard days in college. We also had many adventures while being at UF. We went to random ROTC parties (please do not ask), took cross country road trips, and even ended up with nearly identical tattoos at the end of it all... Momma Ellis approved y'all !! I couldn't start this next adventure without her by my side!
Lindsey Rose
Bridesmaid
Lindsey became my mentor, co-worker, roommate, physical therapist, and very good friend as soon as I moved home from Ohio. She showed me the ropes as I started my career as a physical therapist and instantly became a very important person in my life. Lindsey and I had the chance to live downtown Chicago together - something we both had always wanted to do! After we moved out of our overly priced tiny downtown Chicago apartment, Lindsey left me at Achieve to move to California. I am so happy she is back in town so we can continue on with the adventures of Lindsey and Nicole!
Ben Yule
Best Man
This was an easy decision, he's been stuck with me since he was 3. In all seriousness, Ben has been my biggest role model, the person I look to for guidance and the person I look to for motivation. I can remember sitting and watching Ben play video games when we were children, learning from his every move. I still do that to this day. I'm proud to call Ben my brother and my only choice for my Best Man.
Derek Binninger
Groomsman
Derek and I went to high school together, but we weren't friends until we started working out together years later. He was one of the first to support me when I opened my gym back in 2015 and he hasn't stopped supporting me ever since. Back in 2016 Derek met my cousin Kelli at the gym, and now they are engaged. Speculation is that Derek proposed so that we can have a lifetime of family events together.
Justin Craig (Big Cat)
Groomsman
Not sure where to start with Big Cat. We met shortly after I moved back to Kenosha after graduating from UW-Madison, and before long he needed a roommate and I moved in. What started as a gym friendship turned into so much more, we pretty much did everything together for 3 years, and Big Cat was one of the first people I hired to help at my gym. From Sunday movie marathons to getting Tacos after coaching, Big Cat and I loved keeping it low key. I still remember the morning after Big Cat moved back home to Michigan, it was one of the hardest mornings I've ever had.
TJ Ellis
Groomsman
I've only known TJ for a bit over a year, so I'm super excited to get to develop our relationship more. Believe it or not he was the first person to teach me how to shoot a BB gun AND the first to teach me how to eat a full lobster. Pretty strange combo but I'm sure there will be many more first for me over the years. TJ was the only family member of Coley's who I showed the ring to before I proposed, and I'll never forget his response, "Oh Shit!" He had no idea it was coming, lol.
Rob Hogan
Groomsman
Rob and I have a pretty unique relationship - we met on a Spring Break trip to Vegas. He was in the conjoined room attached to mine and when I asked him if he was going out with us, he mentioned he wasn't old enough. I'm slightly proud and slightly ashamed to say that my first conversation with Rob was the same conversation I offered him my extra ID so he could have a fake. Years later Rob showed up again, when he joined my gym. Since then he's turned into my go to business confidant and sharer of ideas.
Jared Mathieus
Groomsman
Jared is the kind of guy that every guy needs in their corner. Someone who knows you and isn't afraid to tell you exactly what you need to hear. My relationship with Jared is so special because I've also been that person for him. Jared is the person I turn to whenever my life seems a bit out of sync, and he's helped me get it corrected more times than I can count. Oh, and he's largely responsible for me asking Coley out in the first place.
Carmine Marano
Groomsman
I often joke that I don't really have friends, I have family. That's because my family is my closest group of friends. Carmine and I have been buddies for longer than I can remember - we group up spending our days together at our Grandma's, painting model cars and building race tracks. I'll never forget how close to tackling him I was when we played each other in middle school football. When we went off to college, we'd laugh about how our friends assumed we were brothers. No matter how long we go without seeing each other or talking, Carmine and I always pick up as if we've never left off.
Jared Ponce
Groomsman
My relationship with Jared blossomed when we were young children. As a child Jared and his family lived in Las Vegas, and when he would come visit we would get more excited than we did for Christmas. There are still pictures floating around of us sitting in the backseat of our parent's minivan holding hands because we hadn't seen each other in a year. Jared isn't great at staying in one spot - he's traveled all over for work so we still don't get to hangout often, but we always make a point to get together when we can. We just skip the hand holding now.
David Leiting
Groomsman
David and I have a long history over football. A few things we have in common, we both played high school football for the Tremper Trojans, we both love the Wisconsin Badgers, and we are both die hard Packer fans, although I'm a bit jealous at the amount of games David gets to go to. One of my favorite memories is when we went to Pasadena to watch the Badgers play in the Rose Bowl and I totally read my ticket wrong and sat in the wrong section. We both watched the game by ourselves, but in true Wisconsin nature we had the time of our lives.