Ally & Evan
Wedding Party
Kailey Nelson
Maid of Honor
Kailey and I met during my freshman year of high school, we played volleyball, basketball and ran track together. We became best friend’s junior and senior year, from rides home in the cavalier, sleep overs, barn parties, prom, homecomings, doing everything but Spanish in Mr. Fonton’s Spanish class, and going on our first camping trip up north, which set the precedent to all our group trips. After Kailey graduated we may or may not have been each others drinking buddies on the weekends. I made many trips up to La Crosse to get a taste of what college was like, where I told my dad I was going to “tour the nursing school” little did he know UW LAX never had a nursing program, “woops”. Some of my favorite memories include, hot tub nights, boating trips, Kane brown, wine dates, shopping extravaganzas, Oktoberfest, CUSA, you name it we’ve done it all together. We are the kind of friends that can literally do anything together and always have the best time. It was through Kailey that I found the absolute love of my life; Evan, who happens to be Kailey's brother. Kailey has the kindest and most caring heart and no matter what this crazy life throws at us she will be in my life forever; the best things really do happen for a reason. I am blessed to say that my best friend is literally turning into my sister.
Derek Forrest
Best Man
Derek and my friendship literally started before we were born; our parents literally were in birthing class together. If there was one person that I could call my brother, it was always him. We first actually met in Miss Debbie's preschool class, cutting out pictures of deer in hunting magazines and making them into collages. We have been friends ever since and have shared football, hunting, and fishing throughout our lives. There have been a lot of laughs, tears, and great times. Some of things I remember are shooting and camping out in the back of Derek's old house in Tiffany, losing a couple of good buddies in high school and seasons of football. Senior year football was one of our greatest memories. Clinton High School football wasn't always very good, but senior year we had a new head coach that turned us into football players and Clinton ended with a winning season. The last home game of the season was full of emotions because no one wanted it to end. After high school our adult friendship just continued to get stronger. One of my favorite memories was on a duck hunting trip to North Dakota, where somehow a snow goose came alive in the front seat of my truck and got poop and blood everywhere. Spending time catching smallmouth bass in the Turtle creek where we grew up is something we have always loved to do.
Meghan Lindsey
Bridesmaid
Meghan is my best friend from college. We met at Carroll our freshman year. It was the first day of chemistry and I walked in looking for an open seat next to someone who looked, "friendly and normal" and luckily that person was Meghan. Come to find out we grew up just 20 minutes away from each other. We bonded over mutual friends of friends, country music, our nursing careers and just about everything in between. Meeting Meghan is one of the best things to come out of my college experience. After finishing 1 full year at Carroll we both decided to transfer to a college closer to home; and were able to get into the program at the same time. Being able to have the privilege of graduating nursing school together will forever be one of my favorite moments. The friendship we built and the memories made will last a life time. One my favorite memories with Meghan was our consecutive trips to Clearwater beach, FL. One of which I was able to help Colton plan his proposal to Meghan on the beach.
Sam Duggan
Groomsman
Sam is one of them "guys" guys, the one everyone has a memory with, the one everyone calls when they just did something badass! So... Sam had to be the first person I called to ask his permission to marry his sister. He's a good man I'm looking forward to calling my brother-in-law. Sam is one of those guys that pretty much never backs down from a challenge or dare. I remember the last time Sammy came home from the service on leave, it was "Hey guys, you ready to let the dogs out?". I bet Sam he wouldn't belly flop out of my truck window as we crossed the turtle creek. It was like 50 degrees at the time and knowing Sammy, I should have known he was going to do it. I'm definitely looking forward to him coming home this time to be by my side as I marry his sister.
Olivia Gunnink
Bridesmaid
I met Livy through sports in high school. Our friendship took off my sophomore year in high school and Olivia's freshman year. Livy's outgoing, goofy fun and down to earth personality was the most perfect fit for a friendship. We have may have died through many T25 workouts, lost our voices yelling so loud on our volleyball Dells trip and lost some close (leave our hearts on the floor) volleyball matches. Through all of high school she always had my back. From then on, I knew our friendship wasn't going anywhere. After dating Clayton (my brother's best friend) she really just became family at that point, from barn parties to giant bonfires, and drinking God only knows how many mikes hard lemonades. Then working at the golf course with me, sipping strong one's poolside, many nail dates shop parties, girl's trips, CUSA and cabin nights we've really been through a lot of life together. Evan and I consider you more than a good friend but rather family.
Ian Richardson
Groomsman
I met Ian through the fire service, back when we both were volunteering on Turtle Fire Department. From there we worked at Clinton Fire Department together where our friendship really began. Ian is one of those friends I really look up to as person and in a career we both love. Over the years there has been a lot of long talks in the truck on our way to Argyle. There have been a lot of projects, whether it's been in his backyard or on our hunting land. Ian and I share a passion of chasing big deer or anything that flies. One memory I will never forget is when we were on a duck hunting trip to the Mississippi River, Ian brought his small camper he just got for the 4 of us and a dog to stay in. Ian let his dog Ember outside in the morning as we were all starting to wake up for the hunt, and all of a sudden Ember came running back into the camper, then it hit us. Ember had gotten a direct hit from a skunk right outside the camper. We went from sleepiness in our eyes to tears. It was one of the strongest, worst smells I have ever experienced. After we all ran out of the camper, part of our group ran to town and got dog wash. Ian spent the next hour in the public shower, in his chest waders washing his dog and we cooked breakfast on the tailgate of the truck as the sun came up.
Anna Scribner
Bridesmaid
Anna and I are childhood best friends. We met when we were just 2 years old at story hour at the Clinton library. We really did everything together growing up; from tagging along on each other's family trips, going to basketball and summer camps, attending each twilight movie on opening day at the theaters and living at each other's houses every day. I remember starting elementary school together and taking our "last day of high school" pictures together. I also remember telling Anna in Madison, our freshman year of college, how important our friendship was and how one day she would be the one standing by my side on my wedding day. Well that day is here, and I am so excited to say "I do" with her standing up by my side!
Billy Engen
Groomsman
I met Billy through the fire service. We have worked alongside one another for many years. Billy has been my rock through many life situations and rough calls at work. We share a passion for working in the fire service and the outdoors. Billy is that one person that always thinks of everyone else before himself. If he can help you out and lend a hand he'll be there. One of my favorite memories is when we were turkey hunting last spring. We were sitting in this little island of trees in the middle of a field. We were there for a couple hours and hadn't heard or seen a turkey. I told Billy, "Ok, I'm going to call one more time and we will give it 5 more minutes, then we'll move." Then out of nowhere a turkey gobbled right above us on the hill. We both looked at each other and smiled in excitement. The turkey ended up coming 5 yards behind Billy and then into the decoys. I looked at Billy and he was holding the camera and his gun was on the ground. Yes, I ended up killing the turkey. Afterwards we were standing next to each other talking about how awesome that experience was. I asked Billy, "I thought you were going to kill that one." His response was, "dude I'm just happy to be here with you and do something we love."
Hannah Kelly
Bridesmaid
Hannah and I met in 2018, at CUSA up in Oshkosh. We got to know one-another and found out we had a lot in common, including falling in love with the sweetest Clinton country boys. Her boyfriend Garrett is a family friend and groomsman and graduated with Evan. Hannah and I both love country music, shopping, drinking wine and Pinterest planning. Our bubbly outgoing personalities really go great together, and we love hanging out. Hannah is a great friend, and I absolutely can't wait to have her stand up in the wedding.
Garrett Jeffers
Groomsman
Garrett and I grew up together. He's that buddy that calls you up on a Friday or Saturday and asks, "Hey man, you want to go grab some beers?" If It's a weekend you can usually find Garrett and I drinking some beers and listening to country music and we don't miss a Sunday watching the Packers. This past year I spent a lot of time working with Garrett at his family's business. I remember being almost 100 feet in the air on a grain tower and I said to Garrett "that is a long climb up that ladder." Come to find out we did it another 10 times that day! Some of my favorite memories have been spent down at his family's cabin in Morris IL. We have spent a lot of time getting sunburned and playing bags, to the point where we had to use truck headlights to see the boards because it had gotten so dark, but we had to finish the game. Some of our best conversations come from holding a beer and watching meat cook on the grill.
Arianna Macias
Bridesmaid
Ari, is one of my "little" cousins (well not when she wears heals, at least, lol.) Ari and I have grown closer the older we've gotten. We've found out how similar we are to one another. We have enjoyed reminiscing about family events like jet skiing in Mauston, staying in the Black River Falls cabin, loosing shoes and voices at the Haunted Dells Boat Tour. One of my favorite memories is giving you your first taste of your college bar experience which may have left us both with lots of tequila and a missing wardrobe the next day lol. I can't help but laugh because "wow, we have definitely grown up." Now being able to spend relaxing cousin time shopping at the local boutiques, having a girl's day over coffee, laughing over stories, talking about our medical careers and family ties is such a gift. I can't wait to make more memories for the rest of our lives.
Brad Burton
Groomsman
Brad and I grew up together and we have always shared a passion for fishing. The summer after high school before he left for the Army, we spent a lot of time catching fish. One of my favorite memories of Brad and I was spending time up at his family's cabin in northern Minnesota. The first time he asked me to go there we rode in Rick's plane, which was a small 6-seater plane. When we arrived at the airport in Bigfork there was a problem getting the runway lights to turn on, so we had to turn around and go to another airport to land and arrived at the cabin in the middle of the night. When I woke up in the morning, I thought I was in heaven, "my heaven" in the middle of the forest overlooking a lake. One thing I will never forget about that trip was that Brad and I took the small boat because we found a tunnel that went under the road into another lake that we just had to fish. We kept going until we found a spot we wanted to fish, many miles from the cabin. The fish just kept biting, so we didn't stop then it was dark. When we went to leave the motor wouldn't start. We ended up having one paddle in the boat, so we took turns. We paddled for a couple hours, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, finally coming to the tunnel where Rick was waiting. We left the boat and came back for it in the morning.
Sara Gosline
Bridesmaid
Sara and I met through Evan, back in 2017 before I left for college at Carroll. Sara met Evan at his mom's day care when they were little. I reconnected with Sara when I passed my boards exam as a Licensed practical nurse. Sara helped me get my first nursing job at Oak Park Place in Janesville. I owe a lot of my nursing on the job experience to Sara. Starting as co-workers led to our amazing friendship. From hundreds of daily phone calls, Janesville wine walks, hot tub nights and country concerts. Sara and I have more in common than just our careers. I am so excited to have Sara stand by my side as I say I do.
Aaron Romano
Groomsman
Aaron and I met later in life through mutual friends. I soon realized the passion he had for the outdoors, and we have been friends ever since. I never knew how much time and effort goes into killing waterfowl till I met Aaron. Aaron and I spend a lot of time chasing ducks and geese in the fall and fishing in the spring and summer. One of my favorite memories we shared was this past winter, when we took a duck hunting trip to Arkansas. Hunting ducks in Arkansas has always been a dream of mine, so when Aaron called me, the first thing I said was, "When are we leaving?" His response was 2 days so obviously I cleared my schedule. We packed the truck and headed south. The first morning we took a dark boat ride through the tall Arkansas timber and got set up. I was standing next to my tree when one of the guys we were hunting with said to me, "be quiet and watch the show." I looked at him kind of confused but I saw Aaron smiling so I knew I was in for something special. It was a half hour before light started peering through the trees and we had mallards landing in the water just a few feet besides us! We ended up killing over 80 ducks in three days of hunting, it was an experience I'll never forget and I'm glad I got to share it with one of my best buddies!
Bailey Kehm
Usher
Bailey is dating Evan's sister which is also Ally's maid of honor. Ever since Kailey started bringing Bailey around he's been a great friend to the both of us and we consider him family. Bailey ended up to be from Blanchardville, a town that Evan's family grew up in camping and hunting. From boating trips, hunting and fishing, staying up late playing euchre and always down to have a good time, both of us are beyond excited to have you help us celebrate our big day!
Clayton Jeffers
Usher
Clayton is practically Ally's little brother, since Sam and Clayton were best friends growing up. The boys were always up to something. With only two years between Sam and I, we all spent a lot of time together. Clayton is the brother of Garrett, (one of Evan's groomsmen). We all do a lot together and having a "bonus brother" worked out perfectly. From nights at the cabin, tubing, hanging out at the shop and crashing each other's family events. It's the perfect fit to have Clayton be a part of our big day.
Colton Smeltzer
Usher
Colton is the Fiancé of Meghan, one of Ally's bridesmaids and a great friend to the both of us. We have had many fun times together from, CUSA, OSD, vacationing in Clearwater Beach, and sitting around campfires drinking beers. The both of us are so excited to have you be apart of our big day!