Wedding Party
Kelly Lesko
Maid of Honor
Kelly has been Jess’ best friend for nearly 17 years. From high school rivals to college teammates, the two quickly became friends. Between playing college softball together at Madonna University and being roommates, they pretty much spent all of their time together. The two have created so many great memories over the years and even got the occasional “talkings to” from the infamous Coach Al White. All stories they now love to reminisce about. Upon graduation, Kelly took a couple different jobs that took her out of the state. While it was sad to see her go, they still kept in touch and visited one another as often as possible. The birth of her beautiful daughter, Penny, brought her back to the area to be closer to family and friends. Shortly after, she also gave birth to her son, Henry. Kelly is such an incredible mom to her babies and their happiness truly shows what a compassionate person she is. No matter where life has taken them, Kelly and Jess have always been each other’s biggest supporters. Jess cannot wait to have her long time best friend be her maid of honor.
Mike Bauman
Best Man
Mike and Matt have been friends for over 22 years having met their freshman year at Central Catholic High School and attended the University of Toledo together. Over time, they became best friends. Both guys love the Toledo Rockets, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, bourbon tastings, and the movie Tommy Boy. In 2015, Mike took a leap of faith and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Matt has gone down several times to the Music City to visit Mike or the two meet somewhere in between to catch a sporting event. They text almost daily and enjoy sending each other various Instagram Posts. Mike also has a podcast called March Forth with Mike Baumen about perseverance and moving forward if you’d like to check it out.
Heather Murnen
Bridesmaid
Heather is Matt’s younger sister and the middle child. Having grown up together, they spent a number of family vacations going to Myrtle Beach, Notre Dame games, as well as random trips to New York City, Penn State, San Diego. They both also enjoy the occasional trip to the casino. Heather currently resides in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio. On the weekends, Heather often joins Matt and Jess at the Anchor or The Mayfly for a night of fun and catching up. Heather’s contagious personality makes her a crowd favorite.
Peyton Irwin
Groomsman
Peyton is Jess’ younger brother. Growing up 7 years apart made life difficult at times. At first, he just seemed like the annoying little brother that was always around. As they grew older, Jess’ perspective quickly changed. She realized how lucky she was to have such a big hearted little brother. He has always been her biggest fan whether it was on the softball field or just in life in general. Anyone who knows Peyton would agree he is the life of any party, with his quick wit and humor. At times, he might also be the most gullible person around. Jess admires how comfortable Peyton is in any situation and can always just go with the flow. While he is now thriving in Nashville, it is tough to have him so far from home. It makes the time they do get to spend together so much more appreciated. God couldn’t have blessed Jess with a better little brother.
Kayla Burgei
Bridesmaid
Kayla is Matt’s youngest sister. The two have created many memories together on their family vacations to Myrtle Beach and trips to Notre Dame Football games. Over the years, they have enjoyed tailgating, golfing, walking the family hounds, as well as running a few 5K’s together. The random trip to Boston together will always go down as one to remember. In 2020, Kayla married her now husband, Jeff, and Matt finally got the brother he always wanted. Kayla and Jeff reside in Perrysburg, Ohio with their Mini Bernedoodle, Kona. They enjoy meeting Matt, Jess and the rest of the Murnen’s for dinner around Toledo.
Jeff Burgei
Groomsman
Jeff is Matt’s brother-in-law. Jeff quickly fit right in the family and survived a couple family vacations to Myrtle Beach and the Dominican Republic. Jeff quickly became a crowd favorite and him and Matt have made up for lost time since Matt never had a brother before. Both guys enjoy trying various local beers and Toledo Walleye Hockey. Jeff and Kayla reside in Perrysburg, Ohio with their Mini Bernedoodle, Kona. They enjoy meeting Matt, Jess and the rest of the Murnen’s for dinner around Toledo.
Courtney Michelin
Bridesmaid
Courtney is Jess’ only female cousin on the "Henderson" side. All of the cousins growing up so close in age made it feel like they were all more like siblings than cousins. Being the only two girls they had to constantly remind the boys who was in charge. Anyone that knows Courtney could identify her from across the room by her contagious laugh. Being in a room with Courtney it is impossible not to laugh along with her. She is someone that always puts her family and friends needs before her own and is the best mom to her miracle baby, Ellie. Jess was lucky enough to stand by Courtney’s side as she married her husband, Trevor, and is excited to now have her stand in her wedding.
Jared Henderson
Groomsman
While Jared is Jess’ cousin, Matt and Jared became good friends right from the get go. Jared and Matt’s love for college football gives them something to constantly keep in contact about. They are already making plans to attend games for next season. Jared is one of the kindest people around. He is always the person to set up family get-togethers at his house. Time together with family is something that Jess and Jared both deeply value. Jared and his wife, Samantha, are expecting their first child this year. After spending years loving on and spoiling their nieces, nephews, and cousins, they will soon have their own bundle of joy to love on. We can’t wait to follow his journey of becoming a parent this year.
Kara Clark
Bridesmaid
When Jess was hired at Airport, it didn’t take her long to become friends with Kara. Both share in their love for traveling, watching sporting events, going to concerts, or just finding somewhere to play games. The two can often be found laughing with their group of teacher friends. Between trips to Kara’s place in St. Augustine, teacher camping trips, lots of lake days at different places, and softball conferences the two already have enough stories to last a lifetime. Kara and her husband Andrew often venture down to Monroe or Toledo to spend time with Matt and Jess. Over everything else, Kara is an awesome mom to her two children, Ashlynn and Murray. Jess is so thankful that Kara is such a caring friend and is always there when she needs someone.
Dave Nowak
Groomsman
Dave and Matt have been friends for over 22 years. They met in Coach Santoro’s Freshman Conference at Central Catholic High School, thanks to alphabetically assigned seating. Both guys enjoy attending, watching sports together, and putting together long shot parlays. Dave has always been the go-to guy for anything Hockey, especially the Toledo Walleye. Dave currently resides in Toledo, Ohio with his wife Natasha and their three children. Matt and Dave enjoy getting together for lunches around town.
Jenna Kloster
Bridesmaid
Jess and Jenna have been good friends since high school. They played on the varsity softball team together at Monroe as well as on some local travel teams. Over the years, life transitioned away from softball and the two still remained close. Their get-togethers nowadays usually involve a girls trip, hanging around bonfires, or just hanging with friends at the local watering holes. It makes it easier to catch up with both of them settling down in their original hometown of Monroe. Put them in a room with all of their parents and friends and great memories are always created. Jenna’s mom, Sandy aka “Princess” always makes sure the group is taken care of by sending “salad” to all the group functions. Jess is thankful to still have Jenna as a close friend after almost 20 years of friendship and is excited to have her as a part of the big day.
Shawn Murnen
Groomsman
Shawn is Matt’s cousin on the "Murnen” side. Growing up two years apart, they were more like brothers than cousins and attended high school together. Both guys are passionate about the Toledo Rockets and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They have spent several Saturdays together in South Bend for games. They even flew out to Las Vegas to support their Irish a few years ago. They also enjoy meeting up for CCHS football games. Shawn currently resides in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio with his puppy Knute. Matt and Shawn enjoy tracking down rare bourbons around Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
McKenzie Cleland
Bridesmaid
Jess was lucky enough to coach McKenzie in not only high school softball but in travel as well. McKenzie was a fierce competitor in the circle which led her to Ferris State on a softball scholarship. During McKenzie’s senior year in high school, COVID struck and created a time of uncertainty. Entering college, she unfortunately sustained a couple of injuries. Through all of those tough times, the two talked almost daily to work through all the curve balls life threw and their friendship grew closer. Over the last few years, Jess has become an honorary member of the Cleland household, often joining them for euchre parties, pool nights, and golf cart rides. In May, Jess will get to celebrate with McKenzie as she graduates from Ferris State with a degree in Healthcare Administration. Shortly after, McKenzie will get to celebrate the very special day with Matt and Jess. Softball bridged what is now a great friendship.
Bobby Livernois
Groomsman
Bobby is Jess’ younger cousin. When he was in high school, Jess was teaching and coaching at Erie Mason where Bobby went to school. Being so close, Jess was able to attend all of his sporting events and be one of his biggest fans. The two have always been very close due to their intense competitiveness and love for sports. While getting older means not seeing each other as often, they always pick up right where they left off. Thanks to Snapchat, Bobby and Jess keep up with one another daily and check in. Bobby and his fiance, Samantha, live in Temperance which is fortunately close enough to still get together. We are excited to have Bobby be a part of our big day and can’t wait for the day to celebrate with him and Samantha.
Penny Lesko
Flower Girl
Penny refers to Jess as, “Aunt Jess”. While she’s not actually Jess’s niece, she is her best friend’s daughter, which makes it close enough. Jess has watched Penny grow and learn so much over the last few years. Penny is such a smart little girl with the best sense of humor. Kelly sends Jess daily doses of Penny (and Henry) videos that can always brighten anyone's day. Penny will make the cutest little flower girl for Matt and Jess’ special day.
Knox Scott
Ring Bearer
Knox refers to his cousin Jess as “Nugs”. When Knox and his big brother Kolton were born, Jess referred to them as her little “nuggets”. They then returned the nickname by designating her as their “Nugs”, which has since stuck with all the little cousins in the family. For a kid Knox’ age, he has such a big heart and deeply cares for those around him. He is the first to walk in a room and give all of his loved ones a hug. Knox could sit and talk with adults all day and teach them so much about any given topic. We are excited to have Knox as a part of our wedding party.