Amy & Jonathan
Wedding Party
Amy Finseth
Bride
A native of Washington’s neighbor state of Oregon, Amy moved to Seattle in 2002 to help with a church plant. Fortunately her sister lived in the area and helped her find a home here as well. Amy loves to travel and her favorite city in the whole world is the Big Apple... NYC - where she hopes to visit annually. She loves Jesus, good wine, her cat Cosette, Snapchat filters and is always on the hunt for a tasty treat, especially ones that are round and have a hole or filling in the center. But she will call down fire from heaven to consume any abomination that contains raisins. Amy is excited to marry Jonathan and looks forward to not having to say goodbye at the end of each night.
Heather Pillsbury
Maid of Honor
Sister of the bride and Amy’s partner in crime. Heather and her husband Scott live just north of Seattle in Edmonds with their 3 boys, 2 of which are twins, and their latest addition to their family, a kitten named Dolly. So their hands are full. Heather sees less of her little sister at their house for dinner since meeting a certain someone but when they get together, there is much cat enthusiasm which usually elicits eye rolling and head shaking from Jonathan. Heather’s twins have taken quickly to “Uncle” Jonathan and usually beg him to sit on the couch so they can jump over him.
Michelle Tarter
Bridesmaid
Michelle is one of Amy’s nearest and dearest friends. They met in 2000 as college student at Oregon State University. (Go Beavers!) They both moved into a house with a bunch of other ladies from the church they were attending. Michelle moved up to Seattle in 2001 and Amy shortly behind her in 2002. For about 4 years they were not only BFFs, but roommates, coworkers and carpoolers. Michelle now lives in Portland with her husband Jared and their 3 kids (which includes one set of twins). Amy and Michelle traveled to London together for Amy’s 40th birthday in February 2019... this is where Jonathan met Michelle as he ended up crashing their trip. Michelle is super excited to see her bestie get hitched.
Dominic Finseth
Ring Bearer
Dominic is Amy’s not so little nephew yet has agreed to be the ring bearer in the ceremony. He was assigned this role as a little child in the wedding of one of Amy’s friends and apparently it didn’t go well so now he has his chance for a do-over. So he hopes to make Amy and his mother Heather, the Maid of Honor, proud. Dominic recently picked up and moved to New York as part of his career with Nordstrom’s - of which Amy is a little jealous... because New York... and because Nordstrom’s.
Jonathan Blanks
Groom
Born and raised in Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia, Jonathan left his family and many friends and moved to Seattle in the summer of 2008 where he quickly plugged into a church and began making a whole new set of friends. JB, as many often call him, is a connector and social coordinator bringing people together wherever he goes. He brought his faith in Jesus and a love for music and movies with him to Seattle but discovered his inner foodie and a taste for fine wine and craft beer here in the Pacific Northleft. He found a fellow connoisseur of delicious things in Amy and looks forward to starting their lives together and seeing where God takes them.
Ryan Saunders
Groomsman
Ryan and Jonathan met in a church small group in September of 2008, just a mere couple of months after Jonathan made the life changing move to Seattle. They quickly hit it off as friends, sharing an affinity for Star Wars and other nerdy things. They spent many hours hanging out talking about life, theology, dating (or lack thereof); watching movies; praying together and both acquiring their taste for beer. Jonathan was a groomsman in Ryan’s wedding in November 2013. The force is strong with this friendship.
Chris McGilliard
Groomsman
Jonathan and Chris originally met early 2010 (at least that’s when they became Facebook friends) through serving at church by counting the offering after service. Little did they know then that their friendship would take them on many adventures including Hawai’i, Napa and a 3 week vacation through Europe hitting Iceland, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Jonathan is often known as “Mr. JB” around the McG home watching Chris & Melissa’s boys, sharing their affinity for sea mammals and dinosaurs. The McGs and JB can often be found attending concerts in Seattle or riding their bikes to local breweries.
Rich Lazar
Groomsman
Jonathan and Rich became acquainted through Ryan, another groomsman in the wedding. When their friendship began exactly is uncertain but they became Facebook friends in December 2011. One of their first hangouts was going to see a re-showing of the Matrix at the Seattle landmark theater Cinerama in early 2012. They also went to Oktoberfest in Munich together in September 2013 - JB's first time across the pond. Jonathan, Rich and his wife Emily (a “Throuple” until Amy came along) often spent time going to movies, doing Seattle Restaurant Week, watching the best worst movie of all time - The Room, going wine tasting or attending local beer fests as annual traditions.
Craig Sturm
Officiant
Craig is a pastor at Downtown Cornerstone Church where Jonathan and Amy both attend. He’s got the job of making this gig official.