Wedding Party
Laura Bowman
Maid of Honor
Everyone in the world should be lucky enough to have a "Laura" in their lives, but this one is taken! Laura is the best big sister a girl could ask for. She is a constant role model, party planning queen, cake baker extraordinaire, and booty popping champion! Trust us when we say Michelle would not be the person she is without Laura's strong influence, and life would be infinitely more boring and plain. Laura is the Hostess with the Mostess, and if you ever get invited to one of her parties you would highly regret not attending, and as she is helping plan this wedding you know its about to be a good party! Laura is also the incredible mother of Michelle's first nephew Landon, who has quickly become the favorite in the family!
Nick Sassen
Best Man
Nick and Chase first met all they way back in kindergarten, and he has been Chase's closest friend ever since. They spent their misbegotten youth together building tree forts, hacking paths through blackberry fields, and battling head-to-head in super smash bros. After high school Nick and Chase were college roommates and then went on to start medical school at the same time. Nick is currently finishing up his final year of his Internal Medicine Residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where he lives with his adoring fiancé Brittany. Fun Fact: Brittany gets the credit for introducing Chase and Michelle, so everybody raise a glass to her on their wedding day!
Nicole Walker
Bridesmaid
Nicole (Nikki) and Michelle met in London when they were both studying abroad:Nikki in Sweden and Michelle in Spain. After arranging a trip to meet up in London through a mutual friend (shoutout to Evan), Michelle spent 15 minutes getting ready next to Nikki in a hostel without knowing it was her, until Nikki was brave enough to introduce herself. That night they cemented their long friendship by dodging phone thieves and living it up in Europe. They continued to grow their friendship stateside, living together for several years in Portland and remaining besties to the end. Nikki just brought in the newest member of our friend group, baby girl Charlie who was born on 2.22.2022 <3
Lauren Nelson
Bridesmaid
Lauren and Michelle also met in London while studying abroad, and bonded quickly over their love of food and traveling. Lauren was the person constantly keeping Michelle safe abroad, keeping her from investigating the source emergency alarms, yet was also the life of the party in every scenario. After they graduated from OSU that next fall it was a no-brainer to move in together in Portland and spent several wonderful years as roomies at "the Playground" and "the Underground" (shoutout to their London roots). Lauren was kind enough to share her birthday celebration with the couple, so please make sure to raise a glass and wish her a happy birthday on July 23rd!!
Marly Traver
Bridesmaid
When Marly joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority a year after Michelle, it was love at first sight and they quickly became Big and Little Sisters in the house. However Marly will point out that she is only 45 days younger than Michelle and frequently would "Big" Michelle in a unique role-reversal (Michelle will contest this). After college Marly moved to Portland for a few wonderful years before moving to AZ for her PT degree, and now thankfully lives much closer in Seattle with her cat Elsie. Their friendship is founded on gushing to each other about their beloved cats in baby voices, to the point where Marly's bf cannot help but tease them. But Michelle would have it no other way.
Melissa Pope
Bridesmaid
Forever thankful to a random girl from California who was meant to be Melissa's college roommate for dropping out of OSU the spring before freshman year. It allowed Melissa and Michelle to meet, fall for each other, and spend the first year of college blissfully living together in a 12x24' room. After their first "blind date" at California Pizza Kitchen, they quickly became besties who did everything together. The perfect pair, Melissa kept Michelle focused on school work and Michelle forced Melissa to have fun, it could not have been a better roommate love story. After moving abroad to Spain for several years after college, Melissa FINALLY moved back home to Portland and Michelle could not be more excited!!!
Casey Anderson
Bridesmaid
Casey and Michelle first bonded during Kappa Kappa Gamma's initiation night, when the two of them stayed up all night thinking something crazy was going to happen like it does in the movies, while every sane person in the room slept. Spoiler alert, nothing happened besides Casey and Michelle being extremely sleep deprived, but knowing EVERY detail about each others lives. Their friendship has blossomed from sorority functions and country music concerts, to wine tasting trips and homemade dinners. She's the keeper of all the fun outdoor Bend adventures, brewery recommendations, and is one of those friends who will go above and beyond for those in her life. Michelle is so very lucky to have her!!
Kenzie Williams
Bridesmaid
Kenzie and Michelle found out in the spring of 2014 that they both got into the same study abroad program in Spain, and made the best decision ever when they decided to live together and became the most epic travel buddies! In their little group of friends, Kenzie was known as the "Social Planner" while Michelle was known as the "Mom". Kenzie lived up to her title and made sure they all had the best time ever in Spain, and continued the party back home when they were lucky enough to be roommates for another year in Portland. Kenzie and Michelle introduced their parents to each other, and now commiserate with each other as their parents go on international trip after trip together, without ONCE inviting the two of them to join as a thank you for the intro **cough*cough**
Tyson Papenfuss
Groomsman
Tyson is Chase's oldest brother and when they first met, Chase was speechless -- mostly because he was an newborn baby incapable of speech. While they spent many years growing up fighting over the Nintendo, they have since learned to share without being put in timeout! Now Chase looks up to Tyson as an incredible role model. Tyson works in Banking and lives in Boring with his lovely wife Brandi and their 3 incredible children: Brooklyn, Kylie, and Porter.
Curtis Papenfuss
Groomsman
Curtis is Chase's youngest brother, although coming in at 6'8" Chase often has to refer to him as his little-big brother. Curtis and Chase pursued their dreams together, when they both began their medical school journey in Grenada. They spent two years enjoying beach life, stealing their neighbors mangos, and occasionally studying before moving to California together to finish medical school. Curtis is currently finishing his family medicine residency at PeaceHealth WA, where he lives with his incredible wife Courtney and their 4 awesome children: Dean, Quinn, Dax, and Hayes.
TJ Finlayson
Groomsman
TJ has the great honor of being married to Chase's favorite sister, Breanna. TJ is without a doubt Chase's most adventurous brother, by far! TJ is an avid climber, and the two of them have climbed many mountains together. Make sure to ask TJ about the time when he punched a shark while sailing around the Caribbean. TJ works as a dentist and lives in Hood River with Breanna and their 3 amazing children: Dominik, Parker, and Maylee. Fun fact: Dominik is Chase's middle name and was named after him!
Trevor Thompson
Groomsman
Trevor and Chase first met when they were in middle school together, and they have been close friends ever since. If you ever need a lucky charm by your side at the casino then Trevor is your man. Trevor is well known for his love of the Portland Trail Blazers. He is also Chase's go-to-guy for home improvement advice, especially when Chase needs to be told to just hire a professional. Trevor works as a construction project manager. Also, make sure you congratulate Trevor on his recent (successful) proposal to his wonderful fiancé Taylor, who just so happens to be a high school friend of Michelle's as well!
Tim West
Groomsman
Tim is another one of Chase's closest friends from all they way back in middle school. They spent many summers together floating the Clackamas River and wake boarding on Cultus Lake with Tim's family. Currently Chase is living vicariously through Tim while he travels the world, living that nomadic work-from-home lifestyle. Tim recently attended a wedding in Dubai, and crashed a wedding in Egypt, so let's hope Hood River holds up by comparison! Tim works in the marketing department at Adobe, and ladies, he is currently single so try to grab a dance if you can!
James Gomez
Groomsman
James and Chase also met when they were in middle school together. His house was the go to hang out spot for everybody who was anybody in high school! From hanging at Playa Palace to living at Fancy Towne, James has always been one of Chase's closest friends and confidants. James is an entrepreneur in California where he lives with his partner Merry and their beautiful baby girl Zaylee!
Blake Bowman
Officiant
Blake is the other half of the Laura&Blake dynamic duo, and Michelle's incredible brother-in-law. Blake has been a big brother to Michelle since her sophomore year of high school, and he had the honor of grilling Chase in the beginning to make sure he was good enough for Michelle (jk, Blake immediately fell in love with Chase). They bonded over some incredible meals, appreciation of quality whiskey/scotch, and their mutual love of the Hulquist sisters.