Nicole & Tim
Wedding Party
Michelle Rissky-Hughes
Matron of Honor
Michelle is Nicole's oldest sister but more than that, she's an amazing friend. Separated by 6.5 years, they didn't always have a lot in common growing up but boy did that change over the years. Whether it's travel (like going to Turkiye together in 2023), attending musicals or dance performances, taking yoga or barre, doing puzzles, cheering on their favorite sports teams, watching movies or reading the same books, and everything else in between, Michelle is always down. Couldn't imagine doing life without her. Fun fact, she's birthday buddies with Tim!
Charlie Meier
Best Man
Charlie played rugby in the second line of the scrum with Tim at Winona State, but was more than just a teammate. Part of the rugby culture at Winona is to adopt a rookie, show them the ropes, and make sure they stay on the rails. Three years Tim's junior, Charlie was the only rookie in his class, an easy target for poking fun at. He took it in stride, never giving up, which is a huge part of why he's not just Tim's rookie, but also his Best Man. Charlie is a friend like no other, down for everything, generous, and a classic, friendly giant.
Kellie Neely
Matron of Honor
The middle of the Rissky Sisters, Kellie has been one of Nicole's best friends since the days of Nicole calling her Dottie (no idea why Nicole did this, except that it made Kel mad and everyone else laugh). They made up the Roller Coaster Tycoon Duo of NiKe (yeah they thought they were pretty smart with that), played endless amounts of "school" together in the summers, and cruised to high school in a Chrysler Lebaron convertible blasting Green Day's American Idiot album on repeat. Kellie has always been there for Nicole and they have infinite amount of inside jokes that no one will ever understand (including them sometimes). Truly Nicole has the best sisters and expect all three of them to tear up the dance floor.
Ben Tremel
Groomsman
Ben is the first friend Tim made when they started school together in Hopkins (circa 2000). They played little league baseball for multiple seasons, but more importantly, they played an exhaustive amount of video games. Beginning with Nintendo in Ben's parents' basement, progressing to LAN computer parties, gaming will always be a cornerstone of their friendship. They were roommates their freshmen year of college and made sure to bring their supercomputers with them... for studying hard of course ;)
Katelyn Ruelle
Bridesmaid
Katelyn and Nicole have known each other for almost as long as they've known their own families. A quick friendship formed at the age of 3 in ballet classes together and they have now seen each other through college, moving to different states, Katelyn's wedding, travels domestically and abroad together, and endless Facetimes. Katelyn is one of the kindest people you'll ever meet and Nicole is so lucky to have her in her life. While they may live hundreds of miles apart, their friendship definitely knows no bounds. Also, totally Nicole's adrenaline junkie buddy...Sorry Moms!
Brandon Holzbauer-Schweitzer
Groomsman
Brandon and Tim also met through rugby at Winona State (common theme with a majority of the groomsmen). For two years, Brandon and Tim lived together in the Winona State Rugby Team's house (it's unofficially official). Brandon has a motor and an unmatched work ethic, which kept Tim on academic track with all the chaos that came with the house. And if you want to know anything about rocks, Brandon is your dude. Big rock guy. Loves them so much, he got his PhD in Environmental Science.
Elyse Luebbert
Bridesmaid
Elyse and Nicole met while living on the same floor freshman year at KU. They studied together, hung out together, screamed their heads off for the Jayhawks together, and walked down the Hill together on graduation. Since then, they see each other any chance they can, travel new places together, and laugh so freakin' hard. She's also Nicole's number one source for celebrity gossip/reality tv if something is happening and she needs it explained, truly like an encyclopedia for that stuff haha. She's so supportive and is one of the most loyal people you'll ever meet.
Ross "Chico" Gilbertson
Groomsman
Ross, nicknamed "Chico", is once again another rugby guy. He joined the team the same year as Huck and Tim. He's strong as an ox, a smart cookie, clever and sharp as a tack. Whether it's a Seinfeld quote or a meme from yesteryear, Chico has a quip for all occasions. Fun fact: Ross has an extensive knowledge of musicals and has discussed with Nicole, at length, the social and political commentary of Cabaret.
Amanda Taylor
Bridesmaid
Amanda and Nicole are besties starting from the Houston days. Nicole didn't get to meet Amanda when she did her internship as Amanda was galivanting Europe but they hit it off asap when Nicole came back full-time and Amanda was already a boss in operations. They bonded over musicals, food, traveling (they've been to Peru, Greece, Mexico, NYC, NOLA, KC, Austin, Iowa, and Colorado together), and their love of their families. They enjoyed each other so much, they even decided to live together for a couple of years! She is the sweetest tall drink of water you'll ever meet and Nicole can't wait to keep traveling the world with her (their list will never run out it's so long).
Max O'Brien
Groomsman
Shocker but Max is ANOTHER rugby dude. For a couple years, Max lived across the street from The Rugby House in another rugby house. Yet every Sunday morning, Max would inexplicably be on the couch of Tim's place, ready to help clean from the previous night's social and shenanigans. Quick to a laugh, if Max is around, a grand ol' time is guaranteed. That being said, he has the ability to flip the switch and handle business.
Natalie Hubbell
Bridesmaid
Natalie and Nicole met in Chemical Engineering classes at KU. They knew each other and were friendly with mutual friends but they didn't actually become super good friends until Nicole was graduating. Nicole wanted to take a vacation in another country before heading to Houston and Natalie volunteered to join her! They ended up heading to Vancouver, had the time of their lives together, cementing a friendship that would later head to Costa Rica, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland. They definitely don't get to see each other as often as they'd like with Nat having a chaotic schedule of a doctor but they try to catch up when they can and Nicole is glad to know that their friendship can survive the long breaks.
Lucas "Huck" Nelson
Groomsman
Nicknamed "Huck" for his Huckleberrry Finn-like nature, Luke was amongst the first people Tim met at university in Winona. He lived just a few doors down in Maria Hall from Ben and Tim freshmen year. Over the next 4 years, Huck and Tim would bust each others chops (this has never stopped), played (you guessed it) lots of rugby, and just been goofballs. Fun Fact: Huck has more Harry Potter knowledge in his noggin than Nicole (Nicole will disagree with this and say it has never been proven and a showdown should happen).
Ginny
Flower Girl
Nicole and Tim's pup, Ginny, is their honorary flower girl as they won't have her with them on the wedding day, but at least she was there for Tim's proposal. She maybe thought the ring was a treat in a box but she jumped for joy with them in celebration. She truly is the goodest golden girl in the world and they love her so much!
Mason Jones
Officiant
Mason and Nicole met before freshman year of college at KU even started during orientation. They quickly found out they're basically the same person, being Type A Chemical Engineers in the SELF Fellowship and their friendship grew from there. They took all the same classes, went to India together, lived together, graduated together, worked at the same chemical plant, and have done countless activities together. Even once had a dream to work on a cruise ship together for a gap year (Nicole dancing, Mason running the show; ha this did not happen for either of them). Tim and Mason finally got to meet during the pandemic at a dear friend's wedding and then were able to further bond as we all spent a week in Greece celebrating Mason's wedding to his wonderful and sassy husband Mike. Skiing trips have brought them out to Utah a couple of times and it's always a blast. Nicole and Tim both felt that Mason would be the best for this job, and trust them, he'll look and sound like a pro doing it!