Wedding Party

Valerie Jacobson

Bride

Daniel Thayer

Groom

Joanne Jacobson

Mother of the Bride

Joanne is Val's mom. She is quite possibly the smartest person you'll ever meet. Somehow she knows exactly what you need to hear and exactly how to say it so it makes sense. At least, that's the case if she's your mom. She's the kindest, most giving, supportive, and loving human and mother Val has ever met. With Joanne, Val got to learn how to ride horses and love nature and find peace even in the most chaotic of times. She also taught Val the importance of being strong and independent, but also that sharing a life with someone amazing is a gift and doesn't diminish that independence. We can't wait to share this happy day with this genuine and wonderful woman!

Marilyn Thayer

Mother of the Groom

Marilyn is Daniel's Mom. Her kindness, compassion, and boundless enthusiasm have been contagious since Daniel was a tiny baby. She is remarkably supportive and was unbelievably patient in Daniel's glacially slow journey to enter the dating pool. She is incredibly caring and loving of the whole family, including taking her grand-dogs on many, many walks. Both Marilyn and Paul set the standard for a wonderful, happy, and lasting relationship.

Olie Jacobson

Father of the Bride

Olie [oh-lee] is Val's dad. He spent Val's childhood demonstrating to her how to be brilliant and goofy, loving and serious, strong and patient, and reliable. Val got to spend her childhood in mermaid races and winning endless games of Pretty, Pretty Princess with this guy. As an adult, she's been lucky to have him as a friend and constant source of jokes and happiness, in addition to him sharing advice and life experience while supporting any of the potentially questionable life choices she might make. Olie is the best dad a girl could dream of, and we can't wait to have him be a part of this exciting day with us!

Paul Thayer

Best Man, Father of the Groom

Paul is Daniel's Dad. He taught Daniel the balance between silliness and seriousness, care for others and the environment, and a love of the wilderness. He passed on his passion for learning and creating new things and fixing old ones. He also taught Daniel how to cook and make way too much food. From childhood, he has demonstrated how to be a caring, loving partner and father.

Glinda

Flower Child

She's so little!

Lani

Flower Child

She's so wiggly!

Kelly Brandmeyer

Officiant

Kelly defies description. But if I had to pick a word, it would be "quirky," in the best of ways. Kelly is so full of wit and charm, you won't even know what hit you after talking with her for a few minutes-- you'll just be left feeling more hopeful about the world and excited to see what that brilliant woman you just spoke to is going to do next. Val and Kelly have been friends since elementary school, and this is truly a testament to Kelly's patience and capacity for love and understanding. Val has been so lucky to have Kelly as the closest thing she's had to a sister all these years. We're so glad she's joining us and sharing in our joy!

Drew Jostad

Groomsman

Our friendship started with one of the most important qualities anyone could ever hope for: the same Aladdin velcro shoes on the first day of first grade. While the shoes have long since worn out, the friendship remains stronger than any velcro. He's incredibly smart, thoughtful, and has a great sense of humor; Daniel has been incredibly lucky to have such an amazing lifelong friend in Drew.

Whitney Walker

Maid of Honor

Whitney has become such an incredible friend to Val in this season of life. She's a brilliant, artistic, and driven lady who is so considerate and fun. If you ever need to tile a bathroom, she can give you some tips, but she can also fix your broken website in a snap. She's carried Val through half marathons and emotional roller coasters, all the while maintaining a healthy perspective and insightful outlook. Whit is awesome and we're so glad she's given Daniel the stamp of approval!

Zach Black

Groomsman

Zach is another lifelong friend and member of the first-grade Ewok clan. He's up for anything, whether it's travelling the world, a Lord of the Rings extended edition marathon, or crashing head first down a mogul run for the first time. He's also fantastic at moving fridges.

Jaclyn Salts

Bridesmaid

Val and Jackie have been lucky enough to be friends since undergrad, where they roomed together in the world's tiniest apartment. Jackie is one of the most compassionate and patient people you'll ever meet, and she manages to balance that with an inspiring professional dedication and determination as a small business owner and generally incredible human! She's got such a strong artistic side, between designing gorgeous spaces for people to enjoy and creating beautiful music with her violin, her ability to brighten a space and add beauty to everything around is genuinely unmatched. We can't wait to share this day with her!

Billy Phillips

Groomsman

Billy is always happy to help out with any project or problem, no matter the time of day or night. He's always willing to try new things, go new places, or plan far-too-ambitious projects, no matter how silly or nerdy. He is also a contributing bad influence behind many food quantity decisions and the two of us should generally not be allowed in any grocery stores unsupervised.

Maria Franciscovitch

Bridesmaid

Maria is the brightest, most fun, and hilarious light in any room she enters. If you haven't met Maria, (first of all, I'm sorry) she's got the ability to make any event more fun and she can talk to anyone about anything. Her ability to empathize and appreciate other peoples' experiences is unmatched. It's no wonder she's become a Director of Talent Acquisition at a non-profit by such a young age! She's a prodigy, and a legend, and we're stoked she's joining us for our celebration!

Michael Cloud

Groomsman

Mike and Daniel have had many a late night deep discussion covering every topic imaginable, and we've conquered the world many times together. Virtually. Actual world domination coming soon. He's thoughtful, kind, and loves dogs (which obviously makes him an amazing human being).

Rekha Schnepf

Bridesmaid

Rekha and Val met during the visit weekend before grad school. The universe decided to make them roommates, and holy cow, thank you, Universe! Val truly would not have made it through grad school without Rekha. She's an incredibly thoughtful woman, who has the unique capacity to consider the rational and emotional sides to any human interaction. And despite being so wise and thoughtful, she has a wonderful capacity for goofiness and fun that makes being her friend the absolute best! As a bonus, her dog, Gatsby, was also Glinda's first puppy friend and they are forever besties. We are so lucky Rekha is joining us to celebrate our love!

Travis Stroth

Groomsman

Met through a Craigslist ad.

Pandora Picariello

Bridesmaid

Pandora (Panda, if you're in the "in" crowd) snuck into Val's life in her final few years of grad school and has become such an excellent friend since then! She's truly one of the most fun, charmingly snarky, truly reliable, and cat-obsessed humans you will ever meet. She could also probably deadlift your car if she wanted to (she's a a competitive weight lifter!!!), so we recommend staying on her good side (tell her about your cat, or cats that you have met and appreciated). We are stoked she's here and sharing in this awesome day!!!

Maile Thayer

Ring Bearer

Maile is Daniel's sister. She also happens to be incredibly fun and delightful to be around. You won't see her past 9 pm though, because she has to get up at 4 am to run 100 miles every day. She's unbelievably smart (probably the smartest person I know) and compassionate I've been so lucky to grow up with such an amazing, loving sister.

Keise Donovan

Flower Puppy Wrangler

Keise (kai-suh) and Val have been friends since wayyyy back in high school, and Keise has managed to stick around through it all. Wherever Keise goes, laughter seems to follow and fun is had. She has also managed to earn Lani’s trust and affection (and if you know Lani, that’s quite the achievement!). We’re so happy to have her be a part of our happy day!

Frodo Baggins

Backup Ring Bearer

Samwise Gamgee

Ring Bearer Bearer