Wedding Party
Mary McFarland
Maid of Honor
Sister of the bride. Megan and Mary have known each other a full 21 years! From makeovers, late night talks, living in St. Louis together, to being back in their home town, they have such a special relationship! While being the little sister, Mary has a found a way to love Megan and push her to grow at the same time. She is one of the most thoughtful people Megan knows and she cannot imagine Mary not being by her side for this day!
Adam Vander Ploeg
Best Man
Brother of the Groom Adam is the second oldest of the Vander Ploeg siblings and the closest in age to Ryan. While some men might feel an obligation to give the honor to their brother, Ryan can confidently say without obligation that Adam is his Best Man. They shared a room until the day Ryan left for Hope College, and two years later, Adam packed the car for the school they would share for Ryan's junior and senior year and Adam's freshman and sophomore year. Whether it's quoting obscure childhood movies, hitting the slopes, or grabbing some drinks on a weekend, Adam and Ryan have always been and will always be best buds.
Claire Schaefer
Matron of Honor
Cousin of the Bride Megan is so lucky to be able to have cousins who are also friends! Growing up, Megan looked forward to cousin sleepovers, time spent at the lake, or family vacations where she would get to spend time with Claire and Corrine. As they have gotten older, their friendship has grown while going to the same college, sharing meals in their varying apartments (Claire is an amazing cook!), to weekly calls on their way home from work. As one of the people Megan looks up to most, she cannot wait to have Claire by her side.
Jake Vander Ploeg
Groomsman
Brother of the Groom Jake is eight years younger than Ryan and growing up was compared a lot to our Groom. They looked similar as kids and even shared quite a few of the same hobbies and personality traits. Both were Mundelein High School football players and lacrosse players, and Ryan actually coached lacrosse against Jake during Jake's junior year! Both share a love for family and an optimistic personality, and they both enjoy "fighting" each other in the living room just to get a rise out of Mom. Jake and Ryan have always shared a unique bond, and will continue to do so long after the wedding.
Kelly Vander Ploeg
Bridesmaid
Sister of the Groom Megan cannot wait to have another sister! Megan definitely hit the jackpot in the in-law category! From day one, Kel has made Megan feel loved and welcomed into her new family. Kel's love for her family, friends, and God, as well as her hard work ethic, and adventurous spirit are so amazing! Not only is Megan looking forward to having Kel by her side on this big day, but so is her oldest brother. Ryan and Kel have developed a super special relationship growing up, through weekly calls, inside jokes, and rough housing (Kel tolerating the rough housing).
Tyler Vander Ploeg
Groomsman
Brother of the Groom Tyler is also eight years younger than Ryan and has really connected with him over the last five years or so. Ryan helped teach Tyler to wakeboard and wakesurf, and they found a mutual love for video games, volleyball, and cruise vacations. During each cruise, Ryan and Tyler team up against Adam and Jake for a 2-on-2 basketball game. Since the cruises stop at various countries and are also sailing through international waters, Ryan and Tyler were quick to name themselves "International Champions" when beating Adam and Jake by a point on the first cruise. Not only will Tyler continue to be Ryan's 2-on-2 basketball teammate in the future, but also one of his closest friends.
Lizzie McFarland
Bridesmaid
Sister-in-law of the Bride Lizzie married Megan's brother, Matt, this past year. Megan had the honor of standing up in Matt and Lizzie's wedding and loved getting to witness their love for and promise to each other. From day one, Megan has seen how happy Lizzie makes Matt. As if this wasn't enough, Megan has also had the joy of getting to know and love Lizzie the past 5 years, growing to become both sisters and friends. Megan and Ryan have really enjoyed double dates with Matt and Lizzie this past year, and cannot wait for more to come!
Matt McFarland
Groomsman
Matthew (Matt) is a year younger than Megan and certainly brings the fun to the McFarland family. Whenever a funny story is brought up about the McFarland's as kids, there is a 60-70 percent chance the story revolves around something Matt did. Matt and Megan strengthened their relationship in college when he also chose to attend St. Louis University, and Ryan has enjoyed getting to know Matt better through comedy shows and double dates with their ladies. When Megan asked Ryan how many groomsmen he wanted as a minimum, he said, "At the very least...five. Because as of June 22nd, I will have five brothers."
Corrine Stoffel
Bridesmaid
Cousin of the Bride As mentioned above, Megan is lucky to call her cousins some of her best friends! Growing up, Megan always looked forward to going over to Corrine's house for cousin sleepovers, where they would make business plans for their vet clinic, where Corrine would be the vet of course. While Corrine really did follow through with achieving the vet dream, Megan took a different route--this did not come between them though! Today, Megan, Claire, and Corrine enjoy their three-way phone calls and any chance that Corrine gets to come back to visit IL. Megan will continue to look forward to these visits!
Mikey McFarland
Groomsman
Brother of the Bride Mikey is eight years younger than Megan and is the youngest of the McFarland kids. While he certainly gets a kick out of picking on his oldest sister (as younger brothers do), their relationship is incredibly solid and they are each other's biggest fans. As a senior in high school, Mikey will get ready to take on a new adventure next year at college, but knows that he will have his oldest sister and newest brother in his corner. Ryan and Mikey already have a strong bond over their mutual love for football, but Ryan looks forward to strengthening it further as the years go on.
Shelby White
Bridesmaid
Friend of the Bride While Megan and Shelby were a part of the same college ministry throughout undergrad, it was not until graduate school, when Megan needed a roommate and Shelby had an open room in her new home, that they truly became close. Very quickly, Shelby became one of Megan's closest friends. They shared a love for trying new St. Louis restaurants, playing games, going to concerts, and relaxing nights in. Even after moving back to Chicago, Megan has stayed super close with Shelby, through multiple phone calls a week and road trips to visit. Megan knows that Shelby is truly a 'life long friend'.
Scott James
Groomsman
Cousin of the Groom Even though Scott and Ryan were always close, there was a five-year stretch between 6th grade and sophomore year of high school where Ryan's friends became rather annoyed with him on the weekends. That's because every time they asked, "What are you up to Friday or Saturday?" the answer was almost always, "Hanging out with my cousin." Scott and Ryan are sixth months apart and grew up only a 30-minute drive from one another, so that made spending time together effortless. While there are plenty of fun memories to look back on, the good times have continued to roll for these two since they both enjoy snowboarding, good beer, and time on the boat.
Amy Snodgrass
Bridesmaid
Friend of the Bride Amy and Megan have been best friends for 17 years! They grew up living on the same street, only a few houses down from each other. This made it convenient for daily hang outs and sleepovers almost every weekend. As if going to the same school and living on the same street wasn't enough, Amy and Megan also always had the same jobs together, whether it was working in the nursery at church, hostessing at the same restaurant, or working maintenance for the school district. Amy and Megan were always seen as inseparable. Megan is so thankful for this friendship and knows that having different jobs (they had to at some point!) and living on different streets won't come between this lifelong friendship.
Jonathan Sladek
Groomsman
Cousin of the Groom Speaking of time on the boat, meet Jonathan. Ryan is the oldest cousin on the Vander Ploeg side, but Jonathan is three years older than Ryan and is the oldest cousin on the Sladek side. While the age gap made it somewhat difficult to be close early on, Ryan and Jonathan have more than made up for it over the last five years. Since Jonathan and his dad keep their boat only 25 minutes from Ryan's parents in Mundelein, there were two or three summers that Ryan spent almost every Friday and Saturday on the boat with Jonathan. And the fun doesn't end when the summer ends, because Ryan and Jonathan typically snowboard together three or four times each winter as well.
Ani Slager
Bridesmaid
Friend of the Bride Megan and Ani have been friends since their first year at SLU! Their friendship really kicked off when Ani needed a place to go for Easter vacation, as her family lived all the way in New York. Throughout the next four years, Megan and Ani's friendship grew over countless breaks spent together in Megan's hometown, Megan visiting Ani and her family in New York over Christmas breaks, and weekends spent exploring St. Louis together. Ani's housemates nicknamed Megan the 'fifth roommate', as she and Ani spent so much time together. Megan knows that despite living far away, this is a friendship that will stay and continue growing.
Jake Pawlicki
Groomsman
The year was 1999 when Ryan walked into his first day of first grade. If only Miss Listi could see him now...grown up, about to marry a beautiful woman, and with another one of her students from that same classroom by his side. Ryan and Jake met in first grade, but really became best buds in high school. As one of the only other people to play both football AND lacrosse at MHS, Ryan and Jake spent a lot of time at practices, in the film room, and for post-game chats at Taco Bell. As if the fall and spring weren't enough, for three summers in late high school and early college, they both were camp counselors at the same camp. Even though college separated them by 200 miles, they still found time to watch each other play college ball and have fun on weekends.