Wedding Party
Braden Hammond
Groom
Game over. He's finally leveled up and locked in on the woman of his dreams. Braden has acquired many friends throughout his life, and one day befriended someone he wouldn’t realize would become his best friend and wife. When deciding to marry Mercedes, Braden had an epiphany that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his days with. Braden has always thought Mercedes brought out the best in him and to this day encourages him to grow into his best self. He’s ecstatic to start this new chapter with his beloved and carry on forever with her.
Mercedes Davis
Bride
From playing house as a kid to writing out her ‘dream husband’ wishlist in her 6th grade purity class, Mercedes has been praying for this big moment. Over the last 8 years together, she quickly grew to love Braden’s tall, dark, and handsome features as well as his quirks. One of her favorite things about Braden is that he continues learning about life with her, often bringing a fresh perspective to appreciate. They truly bring balance to one another’s lives, in so many ways! Mercedes is very ready to embrace all the joys and memories to come as the two start the rest of their lives together!
Owen Kriech
Best Man
In 2007, Braden’s little brother was born. Owen brought Braden many opportunities to learn about responsibility and being a good role model. Owen’s favorite memories of the couple is when the two were living with him in the Kriech house. He watched them grow closer as a couple and got to watch them both grow as people. Owen was also able to gain a better relationship with them through all the time they got to spend with each other. They were all able to grow as a family even with Sadie not being a part of the family yet. Owen thinks the time they spent together really showed him and the rest of the family that Sadie was a perfect fit not only for Braden, but for our whole family.
Whitney West
Maid of Honor
Sadie’s sorority sister and long time bestie. They met in 2015 at IU when Sadie was an RA in Whitney’s dorm. Once when Braden came to visit Sadie, the three went to Upstairs Pub. Before leaving, the couple hounded Whitney about not having a coat in the freezing winter. She listened to ‘mom and dad’ with rolling eyes but loving their concern. They had a great time chatting and Braden let Whitney sample all of his drinks to see what she did and didn’t like. After a random drunk guy fell into Whitney, Sadie quickly put a protective arm around her and Braden put his arms around both girls, just as equally protectively. After the guy’s friends pulled him away and apologized, the three relaxed and laughed at how in sync both of their protective natures kicked in to take care of Whitney. She knew in that moment those two would always be on her side and now she’s standing by theirs on the big day!
Danny Herrick
Groomsman
Braden’s childhood best friend when they met in middle school in 2007. From gaming to pregaming, these two are partners in crime and have experienced every big milestone in life together. Danny’s favorite memory was the night Braden jammed his finger in flag football at IU. Braden had to manually reset it & Danny taped it backwards. After a night of partying, Braden woke up with a black finger and was told he almost had to amputate it. One surgery and big apology later, Braden’s finger will be forever crooked but still functional! Fun fact: Danny is a huge reason why Sadie & Braden met. Sadie's high school friend had a huge crush on Danny, which led to Sadie & Braden crossing paths at a birthday party one summer. The rest is history!
Katie Hattabaugh
Bridesmaid
Sadie’s friend since 2019 when they met working together at the Y. Since then, the two have been besties, neighbors, and even roommates for a year! One of Katie’s favorite memories with Sadie & Braden is when they had Covid. Braden kept testing negative, but Sadie was positive. Katie was their neighbor at the time and also positive. So, they all planned a quarantine game night. A couple shots into the hangout, Braden realized he could no longer taste his casamigos - it was going down like water! To his surprise, he was in fact positive too. They spent the rest of the night laughing and reenacting Braden’s face of realization, shock, and acceptance of joining the Covid club.
Nick Walters
Groomsman
Braden’s childhood friend from the block. Since 2005, Nick has been a true brother to Braden. Braden has always appreciated Nick and shows his love in typical brotherly ways. Whether beelining for the pop tarts in Nick’s family’s snack bin or pranking Nick by sitting in his dark bedroom fully dressed in a Slender Man morph suit until Nick woke up an hour later (slightly traumatized of course), these two have always been by each other’s side. Most notably, for their countless afternoons, evenings, early mornings, entire days committed to the beauty that was; Rockband. They played hours upon hours “ touring the world,” performing hits from all decades, and tearing up the drums (Nick) and lead guitar (Braden) duties. You can imagine how much blood, sweat, and tears went into that game!
Taylor Walters
Bridesmaid
Sadie’s friend after Nick introduced us to his new crush and nervously invited Braden & Sadie on a double date back in 2019. Taylor quickly become a friend to the group, first to marry, and first friend group momma! Taylor’s favorite memory with Sadie is admittedly a little fuzzy for her. She had hung out with Sadie maybe 3 times and invited her out for a bachelorette party that she wasn’t even really part of, but the more the merrier. They ended the night with Taylor drunkenly sobbing to Sadie about how much she loves Nick (Taylor’s husband/the red headed groomsman) who she had been dating for about a month maybe. Sadie was so kind and supportive just letting Taylor do her thing. They don’t have to talk everyday, but when they are together they pick right up where they left off.
Kurt Sermersheim
Groomsman
Braden’s friend from high school. Since 2009, Kurt has been reliable for a good gaming night whether next door neighbors or thousands of miles away. Braden and Kurt have years of memories together. One of Kurt’s favorites is from spring break senior year of high school. Braden’s dad took the 5 friends to PCB, where they ended up celebrating Kurt’s 18th birthday at a glow paint party. Always a good time when Kurt’s in town!
Sydney Hammond
Bridesmaid
Braden’s sister that gave him his big brother badge in 2004! Sydney’s favorite memory with Braden was on the road for a family vacation. Because they are 9+ years apart, there were many times she wished she could be older so they could connect better. However, this trip was different. Instead of playing his video games or plugging into her movie, Braden handed her the opposite end of the old wired headphones and spent the next hour playing her his favorite songs. He played air guitar until she belly laughed and tapped out the drum line on her knees. After that Sydney never once felt the need to be older. They just connected. He wasn’t just her big brother, he was also her built in best friend for life.
Joey Euliss
Groomsman
Braden’s friend since 2014 when they started hanging out in college. Braden went to IU and Joey would visit over the weekends. Throughout their years, Braden introduced him to Sadie. Soon after, Joey introduced them to his new girlfriend, Christine. The four quickly meshed and spent many nights out together. One of Joey’s favorite memories of the happy couple is when they did a couples trip to Orlando. So much laughter shared in Disney & Universal! Top tier experience was drinking around the world at Epcot in their mouse ears. They barely completed the journey with all memories in tact!
Maddie Little
Bridesmaid
Back in 1999, Sadie earned her big sister badge when Maddie was born. With a newfound sense of responsibility to the world and her family, Sadie spent many moments with Maddie learning about life and trying to teach her how to navigate it. One of Maddie’s favorite memories of the couple is when Sadie came home from college and spent hours on the phone with Braden, just sitting in her car in the driveway. That’s when Maddie was first introduced to Braden, and she got to see them laugh and cry together, all in one setting. It was inspiring to Maddie, as her little sister, to find someone who makes her smile like that too.
Josh Garmon
Groomsman
Braden’s childhood friend from high school swim team. Since 2009 these two have been go to teammates in sports and gaming. Josh’s favorite memory is their whole junior year swim season at Warren. Bray was willing to give that painful sport a try just because they were really good bros. Not only did he survive try outs, but he stuck it out for two years. Josh knows it wasn't a sport for fun, but it was awesome having Braden be a part of that process. Josh believes a huge portion of his motivation in swim was Braden being there every step of the way. He was insanely proud of Braden for making it as an alternative for a relay at state. He put in a lot of hard work & appreciated the effort Braden committed to the team, sport, and their friendship.
Kenzie Davis
Bridesmaid
Sadie’s baby sister. In 2001, Kenzie was born and made for another opportunity for Sadie to show her responsibility skills. During play time, Kenzie would often be the baby doll while Maddie & Sadie would dress her up and ensure she was fed. Overtime, Kenzie joined in on the play and brought a larger than life level of imagination. One of Kenzie’s favorite memories of Sadie is when they used to play Barbie dolls for hours, building their dream house out of VHS tapes. They were so immersed in their world of Barbie adventures that they didn’t notice their neighborhoods took over the whole house. Kenzie believes Sadie is still able to make all her problems disappear and have fun. Kenzie says, having an older sister like Sadie is like having a built-in guide through life’s ups and downs. She’s often the first to experience things and shares her wisdom, whether you ask for it or not. Even today, Kenzie appreciates Sadie and Braden adding light to Kenzie’s life.
Carrie Kriech
Mother of the Groom
Braden’s mom. Half the reason we’re all celebrating! Since 1994, the bond between mother & son has been irreplaceable. 8 years ago, Braden introduced Carrie to her future daughter in law. Some of Carrie’s favorite memories with Braden and Sadie are the times they’ve spent together in the kitchen in her home. Braden would be cooking up something new for us to try, they’d be drinking wine, and their conversations would cover every topic under the sun. Carrie cherishes these moments because they allowed her to get to know and love Sadie even more, and she loved watching Braden and Sadie as a couple. It makes this mom's heart happy to see how her son has found his perfect match. She looks forward to many more moments of banter, love, laughter, and great food as their love continues to grow.
Bambi Davis
Mother of the Bride
Sadie’s mom. Half the reason we’re all celebrating! Since 1995, this mom has nurtured a very sweet & special connection with her first born daughter. In 2017, Bambi came to IU for mom’s weekend. The first time she met Braden, and her immediate thought was, 'Wow, this guy is tall!’ It brought a smile to her face realizing this was one item on Sadie’s list for a dream husband — to be taller than her. Bambi remembers leading a middle school Bible study with Sadie and her friends. Since then, Bambi has prayed for God to lead Sadie to the husband He had perfectly planned for her. It's been such a blessing for Bambi to witness the journey these two have been on, how they've grown individually and together, and watch their love story unfold! Their relationship is truly inspiring, and it's evident how beautifully they complement each other.
Jim Hammond
Father of the Groom
Braden’s dad. Jim was always a weekend of fun for Braden, including many Red’s games & visits to Oaken Barrel. One of Jim’s favorite memories of the Braden is when he was little and took him fishing. Young Braden loved animals so much that he dumped the bucket of minnow bait into the water when Jim wasn’t looking! Later in life, Braden introduced Sadie into the Hammond family. One year for Father’s Day the family went kayaking at Eagle Creek. While taking a lunch break at a dock in the middle of the water, Sadie struggled to find her balance getting out and tipped. This sent the whole family into painful belly laughs!
Jason Davis
Father of the Bride
Sadie’s dad. Making memories together since 1995 when Sadie was born on Jason’s army base in Alaska. As Sadie grew older, Jason took her to daddy daughter dances and always told her no boys til she’s 30. Until one Christmas when Sadie brought home a “boy from IU”, Braden. Jason was in charge of buying gifts for the daughters’ boyfriends that year and was uncertain what to get this new boyfriend he didn’t know much about. Obviously, he landed on gifting a Chinese throwing Star. (If you know, you know). When Braden opened the gift, his face lit up and from that moment Jason knew he’d like Braden!