The "I Do" Crew

Bailey Hagen

Maid of Honor

Sande's lovely daughter who still isn't *quite* sure she's ready to share her mom with Jeff, but she's getting there - especially now that she is also engaged to the love of her life!

Jay Welsh

Best Man

Jeff's taller, younger brother. Husband to bridesmaid, Darby; dad to flower girls Daphne and Vada as well as ring bearer Judd. Also a fellow loyal Green Bay Packer fan.

Mary Wirta

Bridesmaid

Sande's lovely sister who is also the mother of ring bearer Ashton and flower girl Avery. Mary was raised in Grand Forks and now lives in Steamboat Springs, CO and insists that Sande climb things whenever she visits.

Matt Berglund

Groomsman

Matt has been Jeff's friend since 1998. They spent the better part of two decades together coaching wrestling. Matt also holds the never to be broken record for most nights spent in a tent with Jeff.

Heidi Johnson

Bridesmaid

Another of Sande's lovely sisters! Heidi always brings the funny and also has the distinguished role of being our Maid of Honor's Godmother. She is currently working through her feelings about Josh Duhamel marrying someone else. Heidi was raised in Grand Forks and currently lives in Wahpeton, ND.

Brian Halvorson

Groomsman

Jeff met Brian early in his teaching career at the Air Force Base. They've been good friends since and enjoy attending concerts and sporting events together.

Jennifer Hagen

Bridesmaid

The youngest of Sande's lovely and sweet sisters! Jeni was also born in Grand Forks, but moved to McPherson, KS while still in school. She's remained in Kansas, where she is a great mama to her ring bearer son, Matthew.

Erik Myrold

Groomsman

Jeff and Erik's lives intersected a few times in junior high and college, but then became permanently entangled when they ended up teaching in adjoining rooms in 1995. The rest of the story can't be mentioned here.

Heather Hagen

Bridesmaid

Sande's sister-in-law for the last 20-ish years! When not keeping our officiant in line, she spends countless (and often futile) hours trying to get Sande to go to the gym. Heather lives about a mile and a half from Sande in Aurora, CO.

Ron Walsh

Groomsman

Jeff met Ron (Ronnie) in 4th grade. They became fast friends. During that 4th grade year they convinced their teacher that they were actually brothers and that one of their last names was spelled wrong on the class roster. This lasted until one of our parents found out. They later worked together moving furniture which was another adventure.

Darby Welsh

Bridesmaid

Jeff's sister-in-law and soon to be Sande's as well! Lovely Darby is the busy mama of two of our flower girls, Daphne and Vada, and ring bearer, Judd, as well as wife to the Best Man. Sande is hoping that between Darby and Bailey, she'll one day have "The Ticktocks thing" mastered.

Lee Baker

Groomsman

Jeff and Lee went to junior high, high school, and college together. They eventually taught together at the Air Force Base for many years. Who knew that two jokesters would be tied together by education and academia.

Kristi Grzadzielewski

Personal Attendant

Sande and Kristi have been friends since their days at Schroeder Junior High School. They may or may not have been angelic role models during their time in GF Public Schools. Kristi has also known Jeff since high school. It's possible that Kristi knows ALL the dirt.

Marty Johnson

Usher

Brother of the Bride. Marty made his way from Grand Forks to Denver, CO, where he makes sure his local siblings are aware of UND hockey games. When he doesn't have a tournament for the traveling girls' softball team he coaches, he acts as Sande's nemesis in the insurance adjusting world and spends time with his beautiful daughter, Brynlee.

Lisa Berglund

Personal Attendant

Lisa is Groomsman Matt's wife and has been a friend of Jeff's for years and is now a new and wonderful friend to Sande.

Craig Bennett

Usher

Craig was actually a student in Jeff's class many years ago. He went on to wrestle for Jeff in high school. After that he started helping with all things wrestling in Grand Forks. Along the way they became friends and Jeff was the best man in Craig's wedding in 2014. It was a KISS themed Las Vegas wedding (Craig's idea).

Karen and Steve Schmidt

Parents of the Bride

Colin Gordon

Usher

Colin is engaged to our Maid of Honor, Bailey...which makes him a soon-to-be son-in-law! Colin has been dating Bailey for 6+ years and their recent engagement happened in Las Vegas in Oct. 2022. In addition to all of that, Colin and Sande share an affinity for "middle-aged lady drinks."

Ronald and Debra Hagen

Parents of the Bride

Lloyd and Shirley Welsh

Parents of the Groom

Rich Hagen

Officiant

Our newly ordained officiant is not only a great cook, purveyor of spirits, and all-around good guy - he's also Sande's brother and has had a front row seat to The Long Distance Courtship of Sande and Jeff.

Paula Slaughter

Wedding Day Coordinator

Sande met Paula when she joined the Wilhite Law Firm in early 2022. Paula jumped in to help Sande do a couple of jury trials in the winter/spring of 2022 and proved to not only be an amazing attorney, but also a great friend. Paula has graciously volunteered her ridiculously awesome organizational skills to make sure Sande doesn't go full Bridezilla on August 12!