Wedding Party

Erin Lorenz

Bride

Jeremy Hanson

Groom

Judy Lorenz

Mother of the Bride

Judy has basically never met a stranger and is recently retired from organizing the social calendar for the Bowie Senior Center. She has some great stories generated from this occupation. She supports the post-retirement trip to the Alps so that she can sing the full score of The Sound of Music without interruption in the very alive hills.

Mary Henriksen

Mother of the Groom

Jeremy’s parents live in Omaha, Nebraska. Mary is a Librarian, retired from the Omaha Public Library. Her favorite hobbies now are family genealogy, organizing, growing roses, and of course spending time with the 3 (almost 4!) grandkids. She is from Atlantic, Iowa originally, and grew up on a farm. Probably their biggest claim to fame - Jeremy’s parents were formally introduced to Queen Margrethe of Denmark at their college graduation in 1976, and in more recent years got to spend several delightful minutes chatting with Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

David Lorenz

Father of the Bride

David is a generally stand-up guy who recently retired from a career in aerospace engineering. His final, wildly successful mission was to make a tiny little spaceship bounce off a tiny little asteroid and bringing some space dirt back to Earth. He promises now to visit the Alps, which Erin has been insisting he do for about 6 years.

Rev. Alan Hanson

Father of the Groom

Al has been serving as a Lutheran pastor in Omaha for more than 23 of his 40 year career.  But he claims several other “hometowns:”  Chula Vista, CA, Rock Island, IL, Storm Lake, IA, Blair, NE, and the Twin Cities, MN.  He also has fond memories of the times he lived in Posey, Texas, and Newport, RI.   Like his son the groom, he always roots for the Nebraska Huskers.  And he looks forward to never retiring from being a professional grandpa, his favorite gig.

Eileen Lorenz

Woman of Honor, Sister of the Bride

Eileen is a construction site manager and is pretty much a boss at it. Among many other adventures, Eileen once rescued Erin from being stuck inside a dress in a JC Penney’s fitting room, a task far beneath her intelligence and skill level. She is also a wise and patient confidant who listened to relentless descriptions of Erin's dating life, which only became actually interesting once Jeremy showed up and things Got Real.

Nathan Graber

Best Man

Nate and Jeremy have been friends since elementary school, close friends since middle school, and the best of friends since high school and college. Jeremy was best man for Nate’s wedding to the incredible Becky, who has also been a close friend to Jeremy for nearly 20 years. Nate was one of the band nerds in the guys’ high school ska band VKS, because somebody has to play ska, right? Nate and Becky live in Grand Island, NE with their charming son Max.

Hannah Peters

Sister-in-law of the Bride

Hannah is basically a combination of Hermione Granger and Leslie Knope, if they became scientists. She’s brilliant and kind and crafty and amazing, and super down-to-earth. Not a bad person to have on your side. She has probably already put together a binder of how to be nice specifically to you.

Zac Brugler

Groomsman

Zac has been a central friend in Jeremy’s life since elementary and middle school, and was the trombone player for VKS. Zac is always there when you need a smile and a silly joke or pun to cheer you up. He is always on the move, traveling for work or to keep up with his wife, Katie, who serves in the Air Force.

Ben Lorenz

Brother of the Bride

Professionally, Ben is a free agent at the time of this publication, but is such a versatile and collegial goofball that it seems unlikely that this will remain the case for much longer. Be sure to hector him at the wedding about his future plans. He and Erin frequently team up to generate pretty awesome ideas that have little to no practicality in the real world. They agree, however, that it is regrettable that the world never read their fake family Christmas letters.

Chris Faimon

Groomsman

Chris has *only* known Jeremy for 13 years, so he’s the “new” kid. Chris became fast friends with the whole crew thanks to the Cornhusker Marching Band. He might live in Columbia, MO, but he’s one of the biggest Husker fans Jeremy knows. Which says a lot. Jeremy was a groomsmen last year when Chris married another CMB alum, Martha.

Renee Lorenz

Sister-in-law of the Bride

Renee teaches theatre at a local Catholic high school. She and Erin bonded quickly over a shared love of theatre. They can often be found at family events furthest away from whatever game is on discussing the various Tony contenders.

Jill Hirschfeld

Groomswoman

Jill has been an integral matriarch for Jeremy and “her boys” since college, and she is yet another Millard North and UNL alum. She lives near Minneapolis, MN with her husband Brian Neppl and Jeremy was an usher in their February 2020 wedding.

Leah Lorenz

Niece of the Bride

Leah will start sixth grade in the fall, which her aunt finds entirely ridiculous. She enjoys reading, baking, playing with her dog Brexit, and corralling Ezra and the other neighborhood kids into various games. Leah has also become extremely well-versed in the world of Harry Potter. She and Erin have also collaborated on a number of animal stories.

Trevor Jessick

Groomsman

Trevor holds the distinction of being the only groomsman that’s accompanied Jeremy to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. He was the lead singer in VKS. He is Jeremy’s spirit guide for board games and having a good time. He currently lives near Wichita, KS.

Ezra Lorenz

Nephew of the Bride

Ezra will be starting the fourth grade this fall. He enjoys running, jumping, climbing, and most other types of movement besides walking. He also likes hanging out with Brexit. In addition, Ezra predicted Jeremy’s eventual entry into the family while decorating the Christmas tree by abruptly pointing out that he was NOT a Lorenz...YET.

Sean Meister

Groomsman

Sean was always the maestro of the group back in the day. Jeremy and the other guys all spent an inordinate amount of time at the Meisters’ house throughout middle school and high school, drinking Mountain Dew and being nerds. Sean lives in Omaha and is the best bowler Jeremy knows

Peter Lorenz

Brother of the Bride

Pete resides in California with his wife, Karen. He and Erin frequently discuss the various Star Wars installments, spending a disproportionate amount of time on John Williams’s score, and also ragging on folks who can’t understand that realism isn’t a valid benchmarker in a story about space wizards. They also engage in overwrought but loving political debates. (Amy Klobuchar is OK I guess.)

Clay Staley

Groomsman

Clay has always been Jeremy’s chief spirit guide for all things music, movies, video games, or beer. He currently lives in North Carolina with Megan, and Jeremy looks forward to more frequent visits now that they live in the same time zone.

Karen Taylor

Sister-in-law of the Bride

Karen lives in California with husband Pete! She is working in her dream job as a dairy vet, and (mercifully) patiently answers random pet health questions. But the bovines are her real love, so if you had any dairy today, you should thank her; it probably came from one of her cows.

Maren Collins

Sister of the Groom

Proud sister of the groom, Maren could not be more delighted to welcome Erin to the family. Litigation Paralegal by day, Maren still manages to be a sports mom, cheer mom, PTO board mom, dance mom and band wife, because she wants to do ALL things including yoga.

Claire Coyle

Bridesmaid

Friend and Former Roommate of the Bride, Claire holds the title of Erin’s Longest-Term Non-family Roommate. For nearly four years, the pair resided together. Claire even moved with Erin to Annapolis. She is that same Claire featured in the Our Story section who bullied Erin into messaging Jeremy. She claimed her rightful spot in the bridal party immediately after the first date was arranged.

Jay Collins

Brother-in-law of the Groom

Professional guitarist, avid sports fan and golfer, sometimes found in a cubicle as a Systems Engineer for a global firm, Jay is on cloud 9 after a glorious Chiefs Super Bowl win. Jay and Jeremy share a love for the Huskers. Jay spends his spare time coaching Violet's recreational team sports.

Laura Hackett

Bridesmaid

Friend and Trusty Sidekick of the Bride (and Groom)! While Claire may have gotten things started, she faithfully passed the torch to Laura, who orchestrated the Greatest Proposal Ever. Aside from this massive success, Laura worked at A-High for three years with Erin before moving to her next post in her ongoing quest for world domination.

Violet Collins

Niece of the Groom

Jeremy's brilliant oldest niece, Violet, plays basketball, softball and golf, and is also a Stepper-Ette and cheerleader. She loves to play card games with her uncle Jeremy and can't wait for Erin to be her official aunt so they can continue discussing their mutual enthusiasm for Harry Potter.

Andrew Parr

Bridesman

Friend and Former Work Husband of the Bride! Don’t get excited; it’s not that scandalous. After arriving at Annapolis High School together in 2013, Andrew and Erin took the Drama Company by storm, producing one wild and crazy idea after another. This eventually resulted in taking 11 children to Germany for an exchange program, and if you’re wondering about how to cement a work relationship, there it is.

Kirsti Fitzgerald

Sister of the Groom

With her background in architecture and art, Kirsti volunteers for local architecture organizations, the PTO and school library. She is often involved in home and yard improvement projects.

Helene Hedian

Bridesmaid

Erin and Helene first truly bonded on a high school band field trip by assuring each other of their mutual agreement on such typical teenage girl issues such as boy bands, growing pains, social justice, and the death penalty. After that came a discussion of the Christian references present in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Helene continues to inspire Erin with her thoughtfulness, sense of humor, and dedication to social justice.

Bill Fitzgerald

Brother-in-law of the Groom

Bill enjoys living in Colorado by camping, hiking and driving through the mountains with the family. He is currently the Director of Cyber Security for a global software company.

Jessi Lazarz

Bridesmaid

Jessi was Erin’s first high school friend, spotting each other across a crowded religion classroom during freshman orientation. After college, they roomed together in their first grown-up apartment and successfully avoided ruining the friendship. It was Jessi who taught Erin how to properly take advantage of an adult salary and a nearby mall in order to counteract the warped fashion sense acquired only by spending 12 years in Catholic-school plaid.

Rowan Fitzgerald

Nephew of the Groom

Rowan is in third grade and enjoys math club, running club, swimming, and drawing. He also shares a love of musical theater with the bride and groom while performing in plays with The Mountain School of Music & Dance.

Katie Ringer

Bridesmaid

Katie has waited for this moment for an extremely long time, and has endured many a conversation regarding Erin’s dating prospects. Her hilarious takes on dating, teaching, and the world in general, as well as her shared commitment to wine, have made her a brilliant friend and confidant.

Ariana Fitzgerald

Niece of the Groom

Ariana is an active first-grader who enjoys swimming, gymnastics, gardening and cooking. She is very enthusiastic about her activities in the Little Medical School.

Lionel Peters-Lorenz

Nephew of the Bride

Lionel was present in utero at the Parking Lot celebration, but he's very excited to see the big party on the outside! Lionel enjoys blocks, splashing in the pool, and learning just how many more people there are in the world, since his first few months were spent largely in quarantine.

Eliza Hanson

Daughter of the Couple

Eliza arrived this past January as pretty much the best thing to come out of the pandemic. She enjoys kicking, smiling, squealing, eating, taking strolls around the neighborhood, and watching ceiling fans.