Kayla & Ryan
Wedding Party
Nic Janto
Person of Honor
My younger sibling & best friend by birth. Nic and I grew up developing new sports and games with our Kinross Court neighbor friends and composing piano pieces to perform for our family at holiday gatherings. One of my favorite memories Nic and I share is running on the same 4x800m relay team at state my senior year & their freshman year of high school. We also share a love for dessert and travel! Even though I'm the older sibling, I look up to Nic more than they will ever know and I can't wait for them to stand by my side on my wedding day!
Lucas Trapp
Best Man
Even though when I first saw him I wasn't too excited to see him, I have slowly grown to like Lucas quite a bit. One thing that I failed to foresee when I first met Lucas was that he would end up being my best friend through thick and thin. Whether it be going to concerts, hanging out on the boat, or traveling, any time spent with Lucas is guaranteed to be time to remember. Almost all of my fondest memories growing up involved hanging out with my brother.
Kyra Gudex
Bridesmaid
Kyra has been one of my best friends since high school when we were cross country & track teammates -- and at one time we were also gymnastics teammates as well, believe it or not! Kyra is one of the most fun-loving people you will ever meet, and I can always count on her for endless laughs. The Jantos have considered Kyra family for as long as she has been in our lives. More than anything, I admire Kyra's selflessness and work ethic. She's simply the best!
Cole Konczal
Best Man
Cole is undeniably my best friend as we invade almost every aspect of each others' lives. I met Cole in eighth grade during cross country and our friendship grew from there. Everyday after school was spent together doing things such as making crossbows out of paper or watching MIOBI. Even now Cole and I are roommates and coworkers as it feels sometimes I simply can't escape him and that is fine by me.
Erica Beine
Bridesmaid
We technically met in kindergarten Sunday School at Cabrini church, but my sophomore year of high school (Erica's freshman year) is really when our friendship truly began. Our friendship is built on a foundation of running hundreds of miles together. She's my go-to girl for the best advice and she always has a way of keeping me grounded and reminding me of the truly important things in life. Erica has been routing for Ryan & I from day one, and has coined the phrase #TeamRyan
Gabe Madson
Groomsman
One of the Gaucho Bros, Gabe has been of my best friends since high school. Gabe is currently studying at Duke University become a doctor of political science. Even though Gabe moved to North Carolina, I still talk to him almost every night when we watch sports or play video games on our computer. The fact that we have remained so close even with the distance between us speaks volumes about just how good of a friend Gabe is.
Alyssa Fleischman
Bridesmaid
Aly is my Kinross Court neighborhood best friend. She and I grew up practically as sisters, spending our summer days choreographing dance routines, developing city roads along the sidewalks, and playing backyard night games with all our Kinross Ct neighborhood friends. We spent countless weekends traveling to baseball tournaments for our brothers, and in high school we spent time studying for AP biology togethe)! Since college we have seen each other less frequently than we both would like, but I know I have a lifelong friend in her. She now attends medical school at UW-Madison and she is going to make the best physician!
Alex Hickman
Groomsman
Hickman has many names; Alex, Uncle Hicky, Steamboat Willy, Wallace and Gromit, all of which describe a different point in our friendship. He is part of the Gaucho Boys and the trip we took to Europe was the last hurrah before he left for medical school. I met Hickman during cross country in high school and he has been a great friend ever since. When he left for medical school he gifted us Frieda Catlo, our orange cat which many of you know is a staple in my life.
Carly Barton
Bridesmaid
Carly and I also met our freshman year at UST on the track and cross country teams. She was a UST Dowling Hall original and then I had the pleasure of being Carly's roommate for the next 4 years. She was my favorite teammate to hand off to in relays; our 4x800m relay together at the Drake Relays our freshman year was the first of many relays together over our track careers. I can thank Carly for my love-hate relationship with KUWTK, and she is the best party planner ever!! Carly has supported Ryan & my relationship since the very beginning and I so grateful for our continued friendship even though she now lives 1,450 miles away!
Ben Longlies
Groomsman
Ben was my teammate when we ran together at St. Thomas. He was also my roommate as we both lived in the cross country house and I would not consider us great friends until a specific night my junior year. That night we just sat and drank beers on the couch and watched YouTube videos laughing until I realized I was 2 hours late to my job. That led to a friendship that has lasted years and culminated in me officiating his wedding to Brigit.
Tess Mervenne
Bridesmaid
Meet my mini-me/sister, Tess! We have shared such a special bond throughout our childhood. One of my favorite memories is the week I spent in Michigan with the Mervennes when Tess and I organized a backyard carnival full of games, activities, and pie throwing contests to raise money for a local charity. Tess is a very accomplished performer and vocalist, and we are so excited to have her perform a musical piece during our wedding ceremony! Don't be surprised when you see her in the next Blockbuster hit, she's a star!
Peyton Janto
Groomsman
The first time I met Peyton he challenged me to a 1 on 1 basketball game which I won and ever since we have rematched almost every time we see each other. I won most of the games at first but I will admit he has definitely got a leg up on me now. Peyton has grown over the years to being basically family and I can't wait to make him officially family.
Alex Fossum
Bridesmaid
Alex joined the cross country team at UST during our sophomore year. She is THE easiest person to have a conversation with ever. She's even struck up conversation with my grandparents in the stands at track meets, which they bring up often! Along with our continued love for running, Alex and I share our love for good music (hello, T-swift) and Trader Joes. Alex and I were roommates for a year after college, and I still miss our daily decompressions after work and venting about what illness we were convinced we had. She is generous, humble, and down to earth!
Mike Myers
Groomsman
Mike and Joe were both my roommates in sophomore year where we lived in a really crappy basement apartment that dripped black liquid on us while we slept. It was during this time that some of my best memories of college were created which I will cherish forever. Since that time period Mike has been one of the constants in my life and I know any night spent together will end with my face hurt from smiling so much.
Bridget McGivern
Bridesmaid
Bridget was my freshman year roommate at UST and somehow agreed to be my roommate for all 1,460 days of college! She had the opportunity to witness my relationship with Ryan grow from the very start. We were USTXC co-captains, teammates on 3 nationals teams in cross country, and fellow South Campus science nerds at St. Thomas. I have always considered myself so lucky to be on the receiving end of her wisdom, advice, love, and support! And if I ever found myself on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' Bridget would be my choice for Phone a Friend, because she is THE trivia master. Ryan and I love that we were able to road trip to Colorado in 2019 to visit Bridget!
Joe Wacker
Groomsman
Joe is the other half of Mike and Joe as someone can't talk about one without the other. Joe is a talented musician that is always either in a band or recording music solo. He is also the one that I would credit with guiding me into becoming a software developer. Both Mike and Joe were my roommates sophomore year as well as whenever I was in between other houses as I tried to maximize my time spent with two of my best friends.
Zain Hasan
Ring Bearer
Zain is Kayla's cousin who lives in Seattle! He LOVES dinosaurs and is a very adventurous little guy who hikes, swims, and even downhill skis. He is sure to steal a few hearts as he walks down the aisle!
Keslyn Wiegert
Flower Girl
We are so excited to have Kayla's cousin, Keslyn, join our wedding party as our flower girl! Keslyn is finishing up 1st grade this year. We've really enjoyed watching her grow up so much over the past few years and can't wait for her to join in on our special day.