Maid of Honor
Lauren's younger sister, Wonder Woman, and a real life Hobbit. Lauren and Raquel shared a room for most of their lives. Often times, Lauren placed a jump rope in the middle of the room to "mark her territory". Lauren's side of the jump rope would always be very neat and tidy; and Raquel's... not so much. Even with their different standards of living, Raquel and Lauren enjoyed playing groovy girls and polly pockets. They plan to one day visiting Matamata, New Zealand to fulfill their lifelong dream of visiting Hobbiton. Lauren and Michael have specifically enjoyed having Raquel as their designated third wheel at social gatherings.
Best Man
Michael and Manny have been close friends since elementary school. Throughout Jr. High and High School they would share deep, late night talks that often evolved into absolute buffoonery. Michael and Manny spent countless time together growing up; including going on vacation to Florida together. They've always loved relishing the deep, meaningful moments while also embracing their goofy sides and acting like idiots together.
Maid of Honor
Lauren and Rachael met before classes had even started their freshman year of college. We both became friends with her during our freshman year at North Central University, though we wouldn't become friends with each other until Lauren's senior year (Michael's junior year) at NCU. It is all thanks to Rachael that we "met" in August of 2018.
Groomsman
Nathan was an inescapable presence during Michael's college years, in the best way possible. Nathan, or "Droege", was Michael's Discipleship Leader (DL) his first year at NCU. The next year, Michael was a DL serving under Droege for his year as an RA. In Michael's third year, he was an RA and Droege served on the same leadership team as the Discipleship Administrator. Walking through different leadership opportunities together has built a great bond between Droege and Michael. At the end of the day, they've always had each other's backs. Even when Michael would intentionally make Droege as uncomfortable as possible in any given situation.
Bridesmaid
One of Lauren's closest friends since the age of 8 years old. All of Lauren's friends are, what she likes to call, "empowered queens," but Kristyn has demonstrated this more than anyone. Growing up, Kristyn was Lauren's go-to friend for everything: faith, prayer, movies, boys, and the list goes on.
Groomsman
Tyler and Michael became friends around the 5th grade. They've always enjoyed playing basketball together. Fun fact: Tyler has never beaten Michael in a game of 2k. Tyler and Michael have been in a constant state of trash talk since the time they met. That trash talk has still never gotten Tyler a single win in 2k.
Bridesmaid
Maggie still remembers the first time she met Lauren. She came to Lauren's school in second grade to shadow for the day. As she walked into the classroom, Lauren ran up to her and exclaimed "Hi, my name is Lauren and if you say banana pudding, I'll laugh!" Maggie has served as a tremulous source of joy and support for Lauren over the years. Lauren and Maggie grew very close their senior year of high school and have stayed close friends ever since.
Groomsman
Taylor was the first Upshaw twin that Michael met in 5th grade. When they first met they played basketball together, and still play basketball together to this day. Taylor has always been one to mess with people; and Michael is the same way. Growing up, Taylor would mess with Michael when there were no adults around, but when adults were present he would act like the perfectly nice and polite kid. When Michael would reciprocate the teasing to Taylor in front of adults, adults would ask Michael why he teased such a nice kid like Taylor.
Bridesmaid
Lauren swears her friendship with Alex stems from a ridiculous number of awkward moments. Alex was the friend in middle school that happened to catch all of Lauren's awkward or embarrassing moments. One year at summer camp, Lauren injured her foot (no surprise there) and the wound became infected because Lauren didn't go see a nurse, to "be tough" per Kristyn's suggestion. Lauren's foot swelled up three times the size of her other foot. Alex gifted her with the famous name "elephant foot." Lauren's nickname became an inside joke for years. Lauren and Alex went on to become roommates all three years of college.
Groomsman
Jordan started attending church at Michael's home church while Michael was in high school. They quickly bonded over basketball. As Jordan got more involved in the church, Jordan and Michael's friendship also grew. Jordan quickly became like an older brother to Michael. They've walked through some pretty unique experiences together ranging from dating a set of cousins to playing “Chief” and “Maxwell Smart” in the play “Get Smart” to September 12th, where they'll have officially stood by each other's side on each of their wedding days. Michael thinks Jordan is truly "Ramayzing".
Bridesmaid
Lauren has known Lindsey and her family since Lauren was very young. Lauren did not become close friends with Lindsey until she joined Alex and Lauren as a roommate in college. Together, Lindsey and Lauren shared a number of unique experiences involving foot trauma (I'm sorry Lindsey, I just had to mention it!). Lindsey's friendship has been an unlooked-for blessing in Lauren's life.
Groomsman
Michael and Noah were on the same floor Michael's second year at NCU. They first connected when they spontaneously decided to go to Target one weekend. They joked around, talked about sports, and got to know each other enough to realize their bad first impressions of each other were wrong. They ended up rooming together with Chris during Michael's senior year at NCU and had some great deep talks, fun laughs, and good times of listening when Chris would passionately rant about literally anything. One of the most hard hitting topics that Noah and Michael debated; what truly makes a restaurant a "fast food" restaurant?
Bridesmaid
Lauren is convinced she would not have finished the social work program in college if it weren't for Peneal. Two years of late night study sessions created an incredibly valuable friendship between Lauren and Peneal. Peneal is genuine, hilarious, drop dead gorgeous, and trustworthy. Thank you for all of your words of wisdom and advice.
Groomsman
Daeshawn and Michael have been friends for the entirety of their lives. They always got each other into trouble growing up whether it was having water fights in Michael's kitchen, accidentally shooting themselves with air soft guns, or making dumb jokes in class. No matter what the situation, Michael and Daeshawn knew if they were together it would be a good time.
Bridesmaid
Still saved as "Holli (library)" in Lauren's phone, Holli is one of Lauren's most trusted friends. Holli and Lauren met at Lauren's on-campus job at the (you guessed it) school library. Lauren and Holli's love for music and authentic friendships has produced a life-long closeness that Lauren is extremely grateful for.
Groomsman
Culin and Michael were roommates for the second half of their first year at NCU. Michael moved in with Culin on a whim. They really didn't know each other when they began rooming together, but they quickly began connecting by talking about theology, Pokemon GO, and each of their individual life experiences. For some reason they watched all of the first season of "13 Reasons Why" together, even though they both hated the show with a passion. Michael and Culin have always been willing to push each other to be better. Even when the other one didn't necessarily like it, they always challenged the other to be more like Christ.
Bridesmaid
KaLeigh is Michael's sister. In fact, he often lets her know that she's one of his top 5 favorite sisters of all time. KaLeigh and Michael were "best frenemies" growing up. They loved to love each other and they loved to hate each other. On some extreme occasions they even hated to love each other. But at the end of the day, they knew who their true best friend was. KaLeigh and Michael are both huge Pokemon nerds. So much so that they've dragged Kaleigh's husband, Ben, along on multiple Pokemon GO outings. There's a lot of fun stories about KaLeigh and Michael, but the one that might not ever be matched was the time that KaLeigh got upset at Michael for "drawing on the window (she) was thinking about drawing on."
Groomsman
Chris and Michael got connected their first year at NCU. They both enjoy acting like idiots together, talking about movies, and telling each other why the other's opinions are trash. One fateful day Chris told Michael that he hated pranks. So, of course, Michael had to prank Chris by hanging hotdogs from Chris's dorm ceiling using dental floss. Chris wasn't too upset, he ended up rooming with Michael and Noah during their last year at NCU. While rooming together, Chris and Michael spent a lot of time talking about political issues, NCU issues, and theology. Often times, these talks would end up in Chris going into extremely passionate rants which Michael and Noah loved to listen to.
Bridesmaid
Michael and Bri have been friends for the majority of their lives. Michael, Tristan, and Manny would constantly poke fun at Bri growing up. But at the end of the day, she liked it enough to still be friends with the three of them. Michael and Bri have always said that they'd have each other be a part of their wedding day. Last December, Michael stood by Bri's side at her wedding, and now Bri's standing by Michael's side at his wedding. So, on September 12th the statement will come full circle.
Groomsman
Sam is Lauren's younger brother, though many times people have assumed that Sam is the oldest child. When Sam and Lauren were little they shared a room. During those years, some of Lauren's memories include Sam being convinced he saw the tooth fairy, playing with trains together at the crack of dawn, and Sam sleeping with his pajamas stuffed full of blankets; to the point that he looked like a marshmallow. Lauren and Sam bond over movie soundtracks, LOTR, and Parks and Rec. Michael has had the honor of introducing Sam to Avatar: the Last Airbender. Sam will never be the same.