Wedding Party

Sarah Parsons

Maid of Honor

Big sister of the bride. Biggest fan. Mom to the flower girl and two ring bearers. Called Emily "hunny sweetie" in the early years. Thought she was Emily's mom. Clenches her teeth when excited. Best role model.

Seth Haapanen

Best Man

Brother and best friend to Alex. Adventure companion. First phone call when things are going great or bad. Steady and loyal. Commiserater of Minnesota sports teams. Embracer of Emily.

Kial Nelson

Bridesmaid

Celebrating 30 years as BFF to Emily this year. Pre-K, elementary, middle school, high school companion. Pseudo sister. Been through thick and thin. Our grandparents were friends and our moms were/are friends. Roots run deep.

Matt Dammann

Groomsman

College buddy of Alex. Roommates. Shares Alex's loves of competitive games, long chats, and concerts. Teacher (Matt has transferred students to Emily!). Married to Keely thanks to Alex and his sister, Abby. Dad to some of our favorite little people.

Emily Burkhart

Bridesmaid

College bestie of Emily. Shares in the joys of cocktails, recipe/food bloggers, and travel. Emily M. crowd surfed at Emily and Dustin's wedding in 2018. Hoping Emily B. reverses roles on April 15th. Emily's husband, Dustin, is happy that Emily is marrying Alex so she's not their 3rd wheel anymore.

Rocco Bachara

Groomsman

YoungLife friend of Alex. The ultimate hype friend. Passionately running after Jesus. Shares the best phone calls with Alex no matter how far apart. Softball teammate to Alex. FUN.

Dr. Lindsay Nelson

Bridesmaid

Childhood friend of Emily. Camp Patmos cabinmate for a decade. Doctor (pathologist). Current Bostonite. The other half of Emily's 4th of July hoopla. Lindsay has lived with Emily's parents and grandparents, but never Emily. When Emily and Lindsay hang out it's for a minimum of 6 hours. Emily lived with Lindsay's family for 14 straight weekends during COVID.

John Haapanen

Groomsman

Little brother of the groom. Army soldier. Stronger than the rest of the groomsmen combined. Currently on base at Fort Irwin in California. Caring. One of the nicest human beings you'll ever meet.

Alexis Madsen

Bridesmaid

Sissy-in-law of the bride. Calm and collected. Thoughtful. Enjoys snacks like the bride. Nurse and Madsen family medical consult. Mom to the littlest ring bearer. Emily couldn't have imagined a better life partner for her little brudder.

Paul Madsen

Groomsman

Little brother and friend of the bride. Neighbor to the future Haapanens. Contagious energy. Comedic relief. Gets people hyped about anything. Talks sports with Alex. Dad to the littlest ring bearer.

Elizabeth Haapanen

Bridesmaid

Littlest sister of the Haapanen crew. Matches Emily's energy. The little sister Emily always wanted. Cheerleader (for sports AND people). Will be the best auntie one day (if you're in the Duluth area and need a babysitter, Liz is your girl).

Josh Parsons

Groomsman

Brother-in-law of the bride. Fellow strategic game lover with the groom. Dad to 3/4 of the little people in our wedding. Pastor. Greatest talent: voiceovers. Best known for solid conversation about pretty much anything. Intentional.

Abigail Sullivan

Bridesmaid

Sister of the groom. Conqueror of the outdoors. Brings the party, enneagram 7 to the core. Fellow YoungLife junkie. Nurse. Abby and Emily were at YoungLife camp together before Emily and Alex ever met.

Ryan Sullivan

Groomsman

Brother-in-law of the groom. Fellow out-law of the bride. Hockey lover. Thorough researcher of all things. Emergency department nurse. Handy and handsome. The first outsider to enter the Haapanen family and forge the path for Emily.

.

.

Charlie Nowak

Junior Groomsman

AKA Charles, Chuck, Chawls, ChaCha. Fifteen. First love of the bride. Lover of Sandra Boynton and Eric Carle books. A big fan of "cat piano" and "fridge farm" toys. Loves listening to music and dancing with Emily and Alex. Contagious smile and laugh. Everyone in Emily's life embraces and quickly falls in love with Charlie.

Steph Rossow

Personal Attendant

Work bestie and twin of the bride. No longer works with Emily but still frequent flyers on Marco Polo, text, FaceTime, and in-person catch ups. Celebrator of people. Heart of gold. School social worker. The most organized. Knows what Emily needs before she does.

Dan Hartsoch

Usher

The guy who stole Alex's dream job and then became a really good buddy. On staff with YL in Alexandria, MN. Has seen "Camp Emily" in full force at Castaway Camp. Wise. Funny. One of the two people on Earth who make Alex feel uncomfortable.

Greta Sowles

Virtual Personal Attendant

Childhood friend of the bride. Fellow winner of the Wacky Tacky Beauty Contest with Emily at Camp Patmos circa 2001. Formally a Physicians Assistant, but informally the answerer of all Emily's medical questions (and life questions). Not present for our big day because Greta is running the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17th. She's a big deal.

Max Wiedenhoeft

Usher

First best friend from college of the groom. Doesn't matter how long between visits, they pick up right when they left off. Deepest conversationalist where agreeing doesn't matter. Always looking for the joke. Wonderful husband and dad. Life long friend.

Nora Parsons

Flower Girl

Niece of the bride. Seven and two thirds. When asked how she's like her auntie she'll tell you, "we're both hot and wild". Rest assured, she means we both run warm and sweat easily :) The most caring big sister and cousin. Experienced flower girl, basically a bridesmaid at this point.

Quinn Parsons

Ring Bearer

Nephew of the groom. Errrr nephew of the bride, but if you ask Quinn he's mostly loyal to Alex. Exclaimed "you're FINALLY my uncle" when seeing Alex after the engagement. Five and three quarters. Leader of the ring bearers. Tender and sweet. Bonds over being a middle child with his auntie. Lover of all sports.

.

.

Haddon Parsons

Ring Bearer

Nephew of the bride. 3 and a half. ALL joy. Passionate about trucks, zebras, and giraffes. Best independent player of all time. Happy to walk down the aisle on his own this time.

.

.

Henry Madsen

Ring Bearer

Nephew of the bride. 9 months. Neighbor of the future Haapanens. Excited to walk over to his aunt and uncle's house for all the fun. Will never know life without Uncle Alex which brings us joy. Middle name Palmer, Emily's late Grandpa, which we carry with us on this sweet day of celebration.

Drew Shepp

Officiant

Pastor of the bride and groom. Substance Church Downtown. Tall and tough. Best man bun in the Twin Cities. Has known Alex since he was 18 at University of Northwestern. Cool to see how God can work to cross paths and join our story. We're so excited to have Drew be a part of our day!