Laurel & Matt
Wedding Party
Julia Drain
Maid of Honor
Met: March 26, 2002 Laurel met Julia in 2002, it's casual. Just kidding. Laurel is so blessed by her sweet sister, and she can't image anyone more perfect to be her maid of honor. Julia radiates pure joy and happiness, and Laurel is so thankful for this past year of getting to spend even more time with her and see her finish high school!
Stephen Perkins
Best Man
Met: August 2014 Stephen & Matt met during Matt's first week at Liberty University at band camp. They shared the love of trumpet and playing high notes and quickly became best friends. Matt was honored to serve as best man for Stephen's wedding in May, and he is excited for Stephen to be by his side for his own wedding.
Deryn Pieterse
Bridesmaid
Met: October, 2015 Deryn and Laurel met freshman year of college when they found out they had both marched corps, and Laurel convinced Deryn to march winter guard. They've been best friends ever since! They lived together in college, most of Laurel's favorite memories at ACU involve Deryn!
Taylor LaPrairie
Groomsman
Met: November 2016 Matt & Taylor marched together at Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps for the 2017 season. They were friends during the season, but when the opportunity to teach together on Crown Brass Staff came up that is when they became really close. Taylor witnessed the beginning of Matt and Laurel's relationship and he is one of their closest friends today.
Hannah Estes
Bridesmaid
Met: May, 2018 Hannah and Laurel initially hated each other because they both wanted to be Deryn's best friend, but then they met and their love for each other was instant. They bonded over their blunt sense of humor, their spontaneous attitude towards life, and their love of quality time. Most of Laurel's favorite memories of senior year happened under the roof of their house. Living with Hannah and Deryn was the best!
Nick Losos
Groomsman
Met: June 2016 Matt & Nick met through a mutual drum corps friend, and then when Matt started attending OSU in the fall of 2016 they became close friends while participating in the Cowboy marching band together. Matt spent a lot of time at Nick's house hanging out with that group of guys, some of his favorite college memories were made there. Matt and Laurel have loved getting to spend time with Nick and his wife Emily now that they all live in the DFW area.
Katie Tackett
Bridesmaid
Met: July, 2018 Katie is not only the most wonderful human, but in a few months she'll be Laurel's forever SISTER! The moment Katie and Laurel met for the first time Laurel knew they were going to be instant friends. Katie is so much fun, and Laurel is so thankful for her presence in her life!
Jerad Tackett
Groomsman
Met: 2017 Matt met Jerad when his sister Katie started dating Jerad. One night Jerad and Katie were going to watch the Conor McGregor fight and Katie suggested that they invite Matt over, and that is when Matt and Jerad met for the first time. They instantly hit it off and ever since then Jerad has been like the older brother Matt never had. Matt was thrilled to witness Katie and Jerad get married in June 2018, and he has loved getting to be an uncle to Jerad's 2 kids Madi and Mason in addition to his sisters daughter Lexi.
Sydney Shrader
Bridesmaid
Met: April, 2012 Sydney was Laurels color guard section leader her first year of high school guard! They became instant best friends, and have been close ever since. Their memories are marked with late night slumber parties, sharing their love of color guard together, and always letting each other in on what's happening in their lives. They've walked through many phases of life together, she's a forever friend!
Kevin Marcus
Groomsman
Met: November 2016 Matt and Kevin met at Carolina Crown where they both played trumpet for the 2017 season. They bonded over their faith and they both hyped each other up throughout the season. After that summer they stayed in touch and grew their friendship even more, and now Matt is so excited to have Kevin as a groomsman in his wedding!
Kaelyn Pate
Bridesmaid
Met: August, 2015 Kaelyn and Laurel met their Freshman year at ACU when they were in color guard, but their friendship solidified during winter guard when their trips to Rosas and constant sass brought them together. She got Laurel through MANY rehearsals where just an eye roll from her made Laurel laugh and made rehearsal so much more fun. She is a constant source of joy that never fails to keep everyone around her laughing!
Kyle Hunt
Groomsman
Met: August 2016 Kyle and Matt met at OSU through Nick. They participated in the Cowboy marching band and Jazz Orchestra together at school. Matt was drawn to being Kyles friend because of his great sense of humor and his love to laugh. Matt and Kyle share many great memories together, and Matt is excited to add the wedding to that list!
Bethani Culpepper
Bridesmaid
Met: September, 2016 Bethani and Laurel met when they worked at Chick-Fil-A together their Freshman year of college, and Laurel was immediately drawn to Bethani's kind spirit. It was when they pledged TKG together though that they became really close friends. Pledging together was so much fun, and afterwards Bethani was always a face Laurel looked for in a crowd at club events. Bethani is so sweet and so hilarious, and every time they spend time together Laurel leaves with a big smile on her face!
Matt (Dean) Martin
Groomsman
Met: August 2016 Matt and Dean met at OSU through Nick. They played together in the Cowboy marching band, and bonded over their love of sports. Matt loves that Dean is someone he can constantly laugh with, but also someone he can have deeper and meaningful conversations with. Matt is so happy that Dean will be there with him as he kicks off this new chapter of life!
Emily Clunn
Bridesmaid
Met: July, 2012 Emily and Laurel met in high school band and were a part of the same friend group, but they became especially close when Emily came to ACU. They were both pursuing the same major, and then when Emilly pledged TKG she became Laurel's little! (They even won best big little duo). They are so alike that it's scary. Laurel had so much fun getting to go through college with her since she's known her since she was 14!
Andrew Meiller
Groomsman
Met: August 2016 Matt & Andrew met through Nick and became fast friends. They marched in the Cowboy marching band and participated in wind ensemble together. Matt loved getting to go up to Kansas City where Andrew lives to watch the Super Bowl in the square with Andrew and his soon-to-be wife Julie. Matt and Laurel are looking forward to witnessing Andrew and Julie get married in early September!