Sara & Mathias
Our Wedding Party
Amy Chalfant
Bridesbud
Sara and Amy met through the music department at Humboldt State. They became fast friends through a shared love of making music, and sharing a very particular brand of off-beat humor. Some of Sara's favorite memories involve Amy, from recording cover songs together on tiny toy instruments, to an ill-fated camping trip to Yosemite. Amy has been a big help in cleaning up the cabin in the woods, and always knows how to make trips to the forest a fun time! Sara's favorite thing about Amy: she's super encouraging in all aspects of life, and she regularly makes Sara laugh to the point of tears.
Michael Schott
Best Brother + Best Man
Mathias got to know Michael, when a three year old Mathias was presented a one day old Michael through a window in the Schmalkalden baby ward, which unbeknownst to both was the beginning of a happy childhood. They then went on to grow up together, playing in the grandparent’s garden, on the living room floor and on the computer. When Mathias moved back temporarily to Germany a few years ago, they lived together in an apartment in Jena, which was filled with adventures continuing their childhood, namely hiking, cooking and playing video games. And vacationing in Porto. Mathias' favorite thing about Michael: His ability to catch airborne snacks hands-free.
Gabriel Holman
Bridesbud
Sara met Gabe during freshman year of college, where the both appeared in HSU's adaptation of Urinetown: The Musical! They've performed and collaborated on countless creative projects since then, including some uproarious campaigns of Dungeons and Dragons. Sara knows that as long as Gabe's around, you'll never be left with the "Late Night Blues!" Sara's favorite thing about Gabe: his welcoming and inclusive energy, and his boundless creativity that he loves to share with the world.
Lucas Magder
Groomsman
Mathias met Lucas during internships at NVIDIA in Santa Clara. They initially shared a cube where Mathias was impressed by Lucas’ soda can stacking skills. They quickly became friends due to their shared interest in “making pretty pictures”. Since then they’ve been camping together, playing video games and amusing each other with funny “internet” things. Mathias' favorite thing about Lucas: His wikipediaic knowledge. And the memes.
Colleen Hotchkiss
Bridesbud
Sara and Colleen met in high school, though to the both of them it's a bit of a mystery as to how... What's important is, Colleen brought Sara into a community youth choir called Lumina, which very well may have changed the trajectory of Sara's life for good. After attending college on opposite coasts, the two moved in together and shared a crummy little apartment in downtown San Jose, "living it up" every night going to bed by 8:30. Sara's favorite thing about Colleen: she's a great listener, and a great storyteller.
Michael Thompson
Groomsman
Similarly, Mathias met Michael during internships at NVIDIA in Silicon Valley. Quickly they became friends due to their shared interest in making things, using either keys or tools, or both. After Mathias returned from Germany, they had many “Steak & Factorio” nights which were also a welcome opportunity to do projects in Michaels workshop. Lately those projects also involved a certain cabin up north, which now has a woodstove on shiny new tiles and a new bathroom floor, all thanks to Michael! Mathias also enjoyed many camping trips with Michael and based his camping gear on Michael’s thoughtful recommendations. Mathias' favorite thing about Michael: His calm demeanor and his practical problem solving skills.
Jaclyn Inkster
Bridesbud
Jaclyn was a good friend of Sara's roommate in freshman year at HSU. Sara and Jaclyn have faced a lot together, including some incomprehensible grief and pain, but are both stronger for it. The two of them never lost touch, even through intercontinental separation, and have always found the time to have a (probably overly-emotional) catch-up session whenever needed. These days the two of them enjoy the occasional "GirlzNite CraftsNite," a semi-annual low-stakes judgment-free crafting session. Jaclyn and her husband Clinton are new parents to their adorable son Rowan Finn, and Sara cherishes every moment they get to spend together. Sara's favorite thing about Jaclyn: her enthusiasm for sharing knowledge, and her tenacity and willingness to put in hard work.
Eric Foo
Groomsman
Unsurprisingly, Mathias also met Eric during internships at NVIDIA in the South Bay. They quickly became friends due to their shared interests in caffeinated beverages and delicious treats. Eric kindly hosted Mathias’ “stuff” in his crawl space, during Mathias’ “exile” in Germany. And in similar helpfulness he let Mathias crash on his couch while Mathias was looking for apartments after returning from Germany. Mathias' favorite thing about Eric: His cheerful nature and his knowledge of all the tasty food places in the area.
Juli Lehnen
Bridesbud
Sara and Juli met in freshman year of high school. They became fast-friends when they found a shared interest in goofy flash cartoons on the Internet. Sara cherishes the time they got to spend together when Juli would come to Sara's house after school to do homework, study, and play video games, and still holds very fond memories over the composing of Thy Dungeonman, a two-person text-based RPG the two of them came up with during a shared free 5th period in the school library. Once Sara's wedding is over, Sara is most looking forward to being part of Juli's wedding to her long-term partner Jesse in August! Sara's favorite thing about Juli: her caring heart, and she's always ready with a hilarious one-liner.
Nick Scibetta
Officiant
Sara has known Nick her whole life... owing to the fact that he is her older brother. We are so excited to have him officiate our wedding and to have him play a special part in our special day.
Leela and Violet
Honorary Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
Sara found them in the forest way in Arcata during college. Since then, they've been following Sara wherever she went, whether that's the bay area or the fridge. They quickly warmed up to Mathias and adopted him their step dad, expressing this nightly by stepping on him.