Nicole & Mark
Wedding Party
Amy
Bridesmaid
Romey. Rowan. 6th grade seating chart. The rest is history! Amy and I spent most of our adolescence doing what normal small town kids do: eating salad, drinking diet coke, getting coffee and watching the train (we’re talking REALLY SMALL TOWN). Despite our paths diverting to the big cities of Helena and Missoula after high school graduation, we remained close throughout college. We even have the scrap book to prove it!! Although we have not lived in the same state often throughout the last decade, each time we get together it’s as if we’ve never been apart. Amy is incredibly down to earth, honest (even when I don’t want to hear it), and has a way of always making me feel at home. I am eternally indebted to the alphabet for the gift of her friendship.
Brian
Groomsman
Brian and I were fraternity brothers at Idaho, and one of the first people I met at college. Over the years I have been amazed at his ability to overcome obstacles all while keeping a positive attitude, and equally impressed by his ability to set up his fantasy football lineup exactly wrong on a weekly basis. All jokes aside, our league named our last place game after him. Ok, really, now all jokes aside: our friendship has lasted for 13 years through many challenges and happy moments which have created life-long memories (I think I killed my speech at his wedding). He is one of those friends you know you’ll have for life no matter how many miles are between you. I’m so happy and excited for the life he’s building for his family and am so glad he’s here to help us celebrate!
Carly
Bridesmaid
Loyalty: The stuff that friendships since kindergarten are made of. I have known Carly longer than I’ve known almost anyone else in my life. I spent so much time at her house riding snowmobiles, killing spiders with music and watching Trading Spaces that I’m pretty sure her parents thought about charging me rent. Some of the best stories that I’ll never tell my parents happened with Carly, but somehow we still both managed to get our doctorate degrees. I have always admired how fiercely she loves her family and friends, and she is truly one of the most loyal people I know. I don’t know many people in their 30s who have true friendships that started with sharing crayons, but I feel extremely fortunate to have found a lifelong friend in Carly.
Chaz
Usher
Do you have questions about obscure kung fu movies? Comic book movies? Or just any movie in general? If so, Chaz is your man: he has more knowledge on movies than Trump has tweets. But on a more serious note, Chaz and I have been friends since we both moved out to Seattle; me for a full-time job, and he as a lowly intern at the Boeing Co. in 2010. Over the next nine years we both moved on to greener pastures after our final round of schooling, and we shared a lot of experiences: from our annual co-birthday party on a (somewhat questionable) boat with captain Jerry, to making it to the Gorge in Central WA to see Dave Matthews for five years running over Labor Day. We’ve made a lot of memories together, and we’re so glad he’s here with us today!
Christie
Bridesmaid
Sometimes, a jug of wine & a shared nickname turn friends into family. So was the case for Christie (nickname shall remain unspoken) and me. We met playing volleyball at Carroll College, where we bonded over many hours of hitting practice & countless nights at Haps. Her family was the reason that I was able to move to Washington; taking me in when I needed a place to live, & providing me with excellent career opportunities. If it wasn’t for my friendship with Christie, I likely never would have met Mark. I am lucky to be, “Auntie Cole” to her two amazing boys, & I am looking forward to watching her & JC raise them into incredible young men. Christie is one of the most selfless people I know, and I am forever grateful for a teammate who became more like a sister.
Eric
Groomsman
The one who has known me the longest, in fact for my whole life. While we may have disparate interests today, I’ll always value my childhood memories of growing up. Specifically those golden years where he wasn’t so much taller than me, and I could almost hold my own on the basketball court. The year was 2002, our height difference was minimal and we were as even a match as we’d ever be (obviously both better than dad). Then nature took its course as you’ll see. He’s tall and I’m not: you can guess what happened from there. Neither of us became NBA stars, but our parents are happy to report we’re not selling drugs on the street! I’m thankful that we’ve both found partners in life that make us stronger, and am so excited that my adorable niece will be able to be part of our wedding!
Jeff
Usher
Jeffe, Jeffrey, Treatzilla, Bevo: all names that he may answer to if you yell them out at the wedding, but you’ll have better luck looking for him on the dance floor. Jeff is one of the first friends I made in Seattle when we were interns with Boeing in the summer of 2009. Over the course of that summer, and the subsequent years we have managed to navigate through our early careers; go on vacations to the other side of the world; and start an MBA program together where we survived three years of working full time and going to school at night. While I’ll never have as much energy as Jeff does, I’m grateful he has it. It’s led to him convincing our friend group to go on many a weekend adventure and on fun nights out, all of which has helped to make the last decade pretty amazing.
Kaila
Bridesmaid
TSA agent: “How long have you two been friends?” Response: “Seven years!” And that was SEVEN YEARS ago! What can I say? When you find a friend who will haul your favorite salad dressing from Missoula to Tacoma so that you can have a little piece of “home” in your new home, you hold onto her! Kaila & I met in undergrad at Carroll College where we became roommates & great friends. She is the PIC to end all PICs, my first travel partner & is incredibly (yet sneakily) thoughtful. We have lived in a studio apartment together, driven a MANUAL transmission car on the LEFT side of the road throughout Ireland & have sat 10 rows away from the POPE! Not only can I count on Kaila to be there for me throughout the next 14 years, but those years will undoubtedly be more fun with her by my side.
Michael
Groomsman
Mr. Lombardi, Young Michael (even though he’s not technically the youngest). He was the first of the friend group to take the plunge into marriage. Over the years of our friendship, Mike has shown that he is a dedicated and true friend. He’s someone who is willing to grab a drink on a weekday night and talk through career & life decisions, and who always has a sound, logical opinion that I highly value. On the other hand, during less serious times, I truly appreciate how he fully embraces the theory that you can’t be afraid to let the truth get in the way of a good story! I’m so thankful for the years of friendship we’ve had, and that he can be here with us to make some new ones on our wedding day.
Nicole
Bridesmaid
Big talk Leibach. I met Nicole my first weekend at Carroll College & we’ve been destroying dance floors (you guys are in for a treat) & Civil War challengers ever since. Despite being the mother of two, a devoted wife & an incredible teacher, Nicole is that one friend who never misses any of life’s most important moments. She will travel any distance to attend 30th birthdays, bridal showers, baptisms, engagement celebrations or our annual Cat/Griz reunion. She loves her friends almost as much as she loves to trash talk-which is saying a lot. Nicole has taught me how to be a better friend & a better person, all while teaching me how to drink unimaginable amounts of Bud Light. There is a reason that she has been in more weddings than I can count, & I am thankful that she is a part of ours.
Ross
Groomsman
New Jersey and Ross. Too many Jersey Shore jokes to count. We met through a mutual friend who also worked at Boeing, and when they dumped life in Seattle to move back to the East coast, our group of friends decided to keep Ross as part of the crew. That was 2012, and through a mutual love of getting outside and away from the city (and maybe a few beers here and there), Ross has become one of my best friends over the past seven years. We’ve traveled to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, backpacked through the Canadian Rockies and gone on day-hikes in the Cascades too numerous to count. Ross has been a partner in crime on many occasions and I’m so glad he can help Nicole and I celebrate on our wedding day!
Zach A
Officiant
Even though he supports the wrong team that wears the color red, Zach has been a close friend for almost 13 years. We met as part of the same pledge class in our fraternity and became close through grueling games of ping-pong (I’m better). The rest is history: from teaching him that credit cards really weren’t “free money,” to him introducing me to Anberlin concerts in Spokane, and ultimately a guy’s trip to England and Ireland we’ve made quite a few memories. Over the years we’ve had a great friendship built on many things, not the least of which is a hefty dose of sarcasm and mutual interest in soccer and Fantasy football. Zach is a true friend who cares deeply about those in his life. He’s known Nicole and I from the start, and we couldn’t be happier to have him as our officiant.
Zach D
Usher
Zach was one of my earliest friends in college, brought together by being in the same pledge class at our fraternity. Many of my early memories include copious amounts of… apple juice, tailgating and watching hours of Top Gear. When we turned 21 we switched from apple juice to beer, albeit in less quantity and as such, we got more responsible. If memory serves me right, he was the one to coin my nickname (of which I’m proud) of “grandpa Lloyd.” We made many memories along the way, but some of my favorite are of the nights at the end of each semester where it was our tradition (don’t ask me why) to stay up all night talking and drinking our juice boxes, waiting for the sun to come up. I’m hoping we can make some new, lasting memories together at the wedding!
Zack
Groomsman
Roughly 30 years ago (how did we get this old!?) this kid bought me a bike on his “birth day” & so began his reign as the world’s best little brother. We didn’t always get along as kids, mostly because I was a LOT stronger than him, but we became much closer once we stopped sharing a bathroom. We have traveled to watch each other play college sports, have spent countless nights back home just driving around (again, it’s a really small town) & have both come to the conclusion that the Mariners are in fact better than the Red Sox. Although he is the younger sibling, he has taught me a great deal about life, & I am incredibly proud of the loving, hard-working man that he has grown up to be. I am lucky to have him as my oldest friend, & I couldn’t imagine this day without him by my side.