Grace & Ethan
Wedding Party
Emma Wojack
Maid of Honor
Without sisters, Emma and I have considered ourselves SABS (separated at birth sisters) since the beginning. In reality, we are second cousins who love our Christmas sleepovers, summertime water sports, speed card games, Danish traditions and club meetings. To have Emma stand with me as my maid of honor is a childhood promise and an adult delight.
Dillon Labonte
Best Man
No one has known me through every phase of my life the way that Dillon has. We met when I was in fourth grade and we had just moved back to Pennsylvania. From there, Dillon and I remained very close all the way through high school when I decided to come to Wheaton. Dillon was my most faithful friend in high school and it is one of the highlights of each break to catch back up with him
Matt Meloch
Groomsman
Matt and I met in our freshmen year seminar "Place Matters". Since then I have had the opportunity to travel and see many places with Matt including a trips through Young Life to the Dominican Republic and Lake Champion with a group of high school guys, camping in Arkansas, multiple fall & spring break trips, and my personal favorite: seeing his beloved home-state Minnesota. Many of my best college memories would have happened if it were not for Matt's orchestration.
Annalise Chelsen
Bridesmaid
Annalise and I became friends after our moms set up a play date for us circa. 2010 so that they could talk about plants. The rest is history! Through middle school, high school and college Annalise has been a delight to learn with, travel with, create with, jig with and grow up with. I cherish our romps around the English country side, chats as roommates in Israel, walks on the prairie path and adventures at Long Lake as high schoolers and then college kids. But most of all I love all the games of pretend played in my backyard or hers. Having lived through so many transformative sages of childhood with Annalise, she truly feels more like a sister than a friend, and I count that as a blessing.
Luke Burnham
Groomsman
Of all my college friends, none would be closer to being a kindred spirit than Luke. We have had many English and Philosophy classes together that we still harken back to. Some of the most serious and silliest conversations I have had in college have been with Luke. His words go a long way.
Caitlyn Chelsen
Bridesmaid
Caitlyn and I were also fated into friendship by our mothers and, since then, Caitlyn has been a big sister to me with her wisdom, care and wit. Although we might have peaked in middle school with our matching Lands End skirts and quirky inside jokes, our sistership will never cease to bring life and light into my life. Caitlyn inspires conversations to go deeper, for laughs to be harder, for God to be bigger and for Jesus’ love to be incomprehensible. It was a pleasure to grow up with Cait, and an honor to grow old.
Max Pointner
Groomsman
Being Grace's big brother, Max had every opportunity to make life hard for me. But, he has done nothing but welcome me into the family from early on. I've found so many of the wonderful qualities of Grace that I love have had their roots in Max, either gently or forcefully instilling them into her. I am thankful he kept her standards high!
Madeleine Pointner
Bridesmaid
The timeline of my relationship to Madeleine is complex and requires more than just a few sentences to explain. So, for clarity, let’s just say Madeleine is much more than just a sister-in-law to me; she is an old friend, a piano duet player, my freshman year RA at Wheaton College, a confidant, a co-worker and, then, the wife to my brother, Max. Throughout the many years of knowing Madeleine, her steadfast faith in Jesus Christ has been the most poignet part of her character and has colored the way she hosts, befriends and, well, lives. To call Madeleine “sister” is one of my greatest joys. Here’s to growing old together!
Micah Parker
Groomsman
When at the end of freshmen year I was in a position to need a new Young Life co-leader, I thought no further than Micah. Not only did I so admire how relationally minded Micah was, he seemed the perfect complement to me. In so many ways we are opposites, and Micah has challenged me in ways that have grown me as a friend to no end.
Emma Bert
Bridesmaid
The first time I met Emma was the summer of 2020 and she let me, her older brother’s new girlfriend, inhabit her cozy room for a FULL week! And she did so with a smile, a welcoming hug and not a hint of annoyance. When she came to Wheaton College the following Fall, Emma only continued to show me hospitality and friendship. Then, the WEEK before Ethan proposed to me, Emma held her tongue at dinner like a true Hollywood actress and lied to me about her Thanksgiving plans over bowls of chili, listening to my schemes about when her brother would propose. Not only am I gaining a sister in Emma, but a friend; and for this I am deeply grateful!
Lars Johnson
Groomsman
Imagining college without Lars is impossible. Every facet of my college experience has been shared with him. From classes, ROTC, and Cross Country, Lars was there at every moment. More than anyone else, he has seen me grow and develop, both before and after meeting Grace. Lars introduced me to so many things over four years, none more than a love for the outdoors and fly-fishing!
Sophie Bert
Bridesmaid
When Ethan told me he had TWO little sisters I wasn’t sure which of them, if either, would take after him. But from the time I’ve spent with Sophie it is safe to say that the quiet, observant, hilarious nature of Ethan has taken root in Sophie too. And aside from this, Sophie is a fellow lover of soccer, a puppy whisperer, a fearless bee-hive trail climber and a Mario Cart master (teach me your ways Sophie!!)! As a girl going from no sisters to three, I feel as if the Lord has lavishly answered my prayers and Sophie is one of three examples of this!
Lucas Zurita
Groomsman
Of all my groomsman, Lucas and I have gotten to know each other the latest. It wasn't until this year, when we roomed together, that we really started to get to know each other. Lucas is passionate about learning and teaching the Bible, and has introduced me to so many great books on the topic. Not to mention how amazing of a roommate he is!
Mica Bueno
Bridesmaid
Mica was my college roommate pretty much from beginning to end. We started out sharing a tent on our freshmen orientation trip, swapping travel stories over games of cards, and ended in a funny little house called “The Dusty Nun” our senior year of college (we only missed one year of living together). Every moment in between was filled with unimaginable adventure, both mundane and marvelous, that absolutely shaped my college experience for the better. One of our adventures included a roomie date night in which a certain Mr. Bert made his first appearance…. If we could tell our 20 year old selves that I would marry the boy I took to roomie date night, well, I’m not sure what’d we’d say!
Jacob Murrie
Groomsman
Jake and I lived on the same floor freshmen year and got to know each other that way. By the end of senior year, Jake was my editor for the Wheaton school newspaper. We have not only shared many classes, but also the experience and process of sharing our lives with someone else. I will be in Jake's wedding on June 12th!
Maddie McLaughlin
Bridesmaid
Mads, also crammed into that tent on my freshman year orientation trip (and on Ethan and my first date), has been an “iron sharpening iron” type of roommate and friend since the beginning of college. A floormate, and seudo roommate, during our first two years of college and roommate Junior and Senior year, Mad’s presence and companionship was a source of peace, consistency and safety. Coming home to her reading a novel “just for fun” or telling us she was going to drive to Pittsburgh PA “just for fun” (and then drive 10 hrs right home) kept life both wonderfully calm and boldly spontaneous. Indeed, if you need a friend to attend your first date with your future husband, I would 10/10 recommend Mads.
Blake Rhoades
Groomsman
Since the time that Blake started dating my sister Emma some years ago, I have seen his caring and humble demeanor blessing my sister and my family. My roommates and I have enjoyed when he has stayed with us during his visits to Wheaton.
Bailey Whallon
Bridesmaid
Bails and I met swapping dresses for a soccer banquet my freshman year and her sophomore year of college. Amidst velvet and satin, Bailey struck me as someone I could trust and wanted to learn from. This started a Tuesday morning tradition of sharing God’s word together over a cup of coffee and sometimes a sunrise. While that tradition has shifted from Tuesday mornings, the space to talk about God and His ‘movings and shakings’ in our lives has never changed and for that I am ever grateful.