Wedding Party

Lauren Nygren

Maid of Honor

Lauren knows Dawn better than anyone. As her little sister she has been there with Dawn through everything, good and bad. She's been there to pick Dawn up when she's down and make her laugh until she's out of breath. Lauren is a fun loving, world traveler who loves animals! She currently works as operations manager at The Wags club, a luxury dog hotel. Dawn has always been so proud of how fearless and determined Lauren is. Dawn cannot imagine her wedding day without Lauren by her side.

Madeline Motamednia

Bridesmaid

Dawn has known Madeline since they were about 5 years old. They met in elementary school and became the best of friends in high school. Dawn has spent many a Friday night at Madeline's house. They've gone from watching movies on her trampoline to dancing the night away. Madeline recently finished her Graduate degree in Denmark, where she is also a citizen. She now works as a specialist in Brand Partnerships at Ipsy. Dawn is so glad that she's had a friend like Madeline to grow up with who is sweet and supportive.

Amanda Gulack

Bridesmaid

One of Dawn's earliest memories of Amanda is when they took a field trip with their Elementary school daycare to the beach and Amanda wanted to sit in the back of the bus. Dawn of course wanted to sit next to her (even though she gets severe motion sickness). It was a memorable day. These two got even closer in high school while they bonded over their shared obsession of Harry Potter. There was never a midnight premiere or Daniel Radcliffe sighting that they missed. Amanda worked at Disneyland for a while as she was studying to be a teacher. Dawn loved visiting her at the theme park. Amanda now has her very own classroom where she decorates the walls with the Hogwarts house banners. Dawn is forever grateful to have a friend like Amanda who is obsessive like she is, and so creative!

Rachel Katzer

Bridesmaid

Dawn and Rachel first became friendly in jr. high, when Rachel moved back from Australia. They ate lunch with the same group and even went to Magic Mountain together on the school field trip, but it wasn't until high school that they became besties. They would both get to school early and eat bagels and drink hot cocoa. They've had many fun times between them through high school and at CSUN where they both attended college. Rachel now lives with her husband Logan and their fur kids Karmann and Spock in Colorado. Rachel works at an ad agency where they like to have fun and prank each other by filling each others offices with balloons. Dawn has always loved how easily she can talk to Rachel. She's one of those people who can strike up a conversation with anyone she meets!

Kandace Brown

Bridesmaid

Kandace and Dawn met in English class in high school and quickly became best friends after that. Dawn has always admired how bold, romantic and feisty Kandace is. She's the life of the party wherever she goes, and always makes sure that Dawn is having fun, no matter what they are doing. Kandace recently graduated from Chapman with her graduate degree in marriage and family therapy. She is such a caring person, so it makes sense that she would use her degree to council young kids and help get them through the tough parts of life. Kandace also loves anything Italian. She's been to Italy multiple times, and even taught herself to speak Italian! Dawn is so happy to have such a smart, fearless friend in her life like Kandace.

Alex Burkert

Best Man

Alex is Zach’s younger brother as well as his oldest and best friend. They have had their challenges getting along when they were younger but have grown to be as close as siblings can be as they’ve progressed into adulthood. Zach has been fortunate enough to always be able to rely on Alex to be a helping hand or as a trusted friend to talk too whenever he’s needed one and couldn’t imagine life without him by his side. Alex has a passion for teaching and has had several positions in which he has taught students of all ages about the natural world. He is currently residing in Sacramento as a graduate student studying microbial ecology with aims of being a biology professor in the future. His hobbies include gardening, enjoying the great outdoors, and reading.

Brandon Jacoby

Groomsman

Brandon and Zach met in the 9th grade at Golden Valley High School where both spent their senior year on the pole vault team learning the thousands of ways to hurt yourself in the sport. The both had an interest in physics, science, and technology and would always start nerding out on the topic whenever they got the chance to hang out together, to the chagrin of Dawn and anyone else who noticed the topic of conversation. They see each other less often now than they did in previous years, but Zach is always happy to see Brandon and greet him as an old friend whenever they get to see one another. Brandon currently owns a home in San Diego and has recently started a new job as a mechanical engineer at Fuse Integration.

Arash Firoozeh

Groomsman

Arash and Zach also met in the 9th grade at GVHS. Since they have known each other Arash has always been one to push the group to do something new or make last-minute plans to turn a normal evening into an adventure, even going so far as organizing epic weekend trips to Las Vegas in just a few hours. Zach’s always appreciated the energy Arash bring whenever he is around and his willingness to get out and try something new without any hesitation; whether that be checking out a new bar in DTLA, or organizing weeklong trips to a random city half way around the globe. His presence is pretty much a guarantee a good time will be had regardless of the circumstances. Arash has attended UCSB and is currently living in Santa Clarita where he works as a Claims Consultant at AAA Insurance.

Nicholas and Justin Nygren

Groomsman

Zach first met Nicholas and Justin when he and Dawn first started dating and they were just two years old. Since then he has been happy to see them grow into smart, kind young men over the proceeding 11 years and is excited to see where life will take them as they enter high school and their college years. Both are currently starting their first semester of the 8th grade and enjoy video games and hanging out with their respective friends’ circles. Justin is taking Tennis lessons, enjoys gardening, and is interested in working with animals when he’s older. Nicholas enjoys playing Football, mountain biking, and has aims of studying biology in the future.

Gianna Borsotti

Officiant

Gina Nygren

Mother of the Bride

Jim and Julie Nygren

Father and Step Mother of the Bride

Teresa Burkert

Mother of the Groom

Tom Burkert

Father of the Groom

Anita Miller-Burkert

Step Mother