Sarah & Loren
Our People
Kristen Huepenbecker
Maid of Honor
Sarah's world was rocked at age 2 when sister Kristen appeared on the scene, in the best possible way. Growing up, they of course argued over clothes and "whose drawing is better", but also shared secrets, adventures, and activities (much to the dismay of Sarah's competitive spirit, Kristen was better at gymnastics, swimming, soccer, cheerleading...the list goes on). They have become even closer as adults, from family games and vacations to helping each other with life advice. Kristen lives in Minnesota and has a full schedule between taking care of her dog Okie and pursuing a Master's of Social Work degree. Sarah could not be prouder of her "sista bear" and is so happy that she is bringing her love of life and fun attitude to the wedding as co-Maid of Honor!!
Nick Mead
Best Man
Nicholas Alexander Mead, private eye. Loren's brother was named for a gumshoe detective in the bedtime stories his father told. Who would have thought, the real Nick would turn out so heroic? Mini-Mead, as he was once known, long ago surpassed his older brother both in height and accomplishments. Loren now looks up to him both literally and figuratively and he could not choose a better Best Man.
Laura Huepenbecker
Maid of Honor
Sarahs's world was rocked AGAIN at age 7 when youngest sister Laura was born. At first Sarah didn't know what to do with her new rambunctious, energetic sister, but once Laura stopped head-butting her, they got along splendidly. Sarah likes to think that Laura relied on her sage wisdom growing up (and that she taught her to properly play board games), but in reality Sarah learned even more from Laura and was inspired by her take-on-the-world attitude and positivity. Keeping up her reputation as the coolest sister, Laura lives in Los Angeles where she works for a TV production company and also creates her own sketch comedy series. Sarah could not be more thrilled that Laura is her co-Maid of Honor and can't wait to see her breaking it down on the dance floor!!
Benjamin Wise
Groomsman
As Loren's oldest male cousin, Ben played the role of surrogate elder brother. He lived up to his surname, schooling Loren in everything from spotting animals on safari to body surfing the waves of Pawley's Island. He was the first family member from this generation to catch the rowing bug, which he quickly passed on to his younger cuz.
Kristen Schnaus
Bridesmaid
Kristen has been Sarah's best friend since they met as neighbors on Southcrest Drive at age 2. They've had a million adventures together since that time despite going to different schools growing up and living in different places for most of their lives. Thankfully, Sarah has now followed Kristen to Texas and they only live 250 miles away (Dallas to Houston)! Kristen teaches Sarah everything she needs to know about hair/contouring/makeup, Texas calculators, international online marketing, and the other really important things in life.
Blair Fox
Groomsman
Blair and Loren grew up in the 'burbs outside Philadelphia and went through high school together. As an elder cousin, Blair blazed a trail for Loren at school and by the time they graduated they shared a number of friends. Despite parting ways at graduation, the two look forward to catching up each year over Thanksgiving to reminisce about hunting cougars through the woods of Strafford and Episcopal latin classes.
Melissa Perez
Bridesmaid
Sarah and Perez met freshman year of college at UPenn, and randomly decided to be enemies. One year later, they realized they were actually BFFs and were inseparable the rest of college (and even survived the cheerleading team captaincy together). Perez now lives in Boston and not only runs the financial world at Fidelity, but also literally runs the world as a BAMF fitness trainer. It is Sarah's goal to someday run as many marathons as Perez and look as good as she does during workouts.
Charlie Fox
Groomsman
Charlie is Loren's cousin and Blair's younger brother. He and Nick were in the same grade at Episcopal. They rose to prominence as President and VP of the class, respectively, buoyed by their infamous godfather-styled posters and campaign slogan of "welcome to the family". Later on, Charlie would hang out with Loren's group of nerdy friends in medical school for games nights.
Jillian Olsen
Bridesmaid
JO helped Sarah survive Penn Med by throwing the most fun reverse birthday parties, giving the best advice, and choreographing her dance moves (and all of Spoof). She continues to make Sarah's life survivable as her best friend in Houston, TX, where she is saving babies' hearts as a pediatric cardiology fellow.
Brian Young
Groomsman
Brian has been a steadfast figure in Loren's life since kindergarten at the Episcopal Academy. Along with fellow groomsman, Alejandro Rettig y Martinez, Brian carried Loren's sizable posterior across the finish line of the scholastic national championship in their senior year of high school. Loren followed Brian to Penn where they finished out their competitive rowing careers before both starting jobs in major gift fundraising. Brian now works in commercial real estate in Philadelphia.
Kendra Wulczyn
Bridesmaid
Kendra and Sarah met on a bus during med school and immediately knew that they were destined to be friends. Kendra is an only child (you would never know) and the originator of the "rock people" game, but her true talents include being the Mayor of Funtivities, being as competitive as Sarah, being Beyonce's biggest fan, and knowing all about the kidneys in her role as a nephrology fellow in Boston.
Alejandro Rettig y Martinez
Groomsman
Alejandro burst onto the Episcopal Academy scene in middle school. He was athletic, yet dedicated to his school work, and from the far off land of New Mexico. In short, he was everything Loren was not. Nevertheless, they struck up a friendship which was strengthened through nerdy rituals of watching the Lord of the Rings and playing video games til the wee hours. In high school, Alejandro was one of the poor souls that Brian and Loren eagerly recruited for freshman crew. Professor Rettig y Martinez now teaches legal writing at the University of New Mexico.
Kendra Moore
Bridesmaid
Sarah met KM during medical school and has since learned that Kendra is the best travel buddy anywhere in the world, including Africa, the Middle East, Mexico, and California. Kendra is the only med school friend who has made it to the goal of attending physician and also continues to be the go-to for celebrity gossip and the hottest new sound bath/float/meditation trends.
Kevin Kennedy
Groomsman
Loren met Kevin at a summer rowing camp, where they were roommates and became fast friends. They bonded over a mutual love for girly pop music, video games, and pulling oars. Their friendship only grew when they both ended up at Penn for college. Kevin and Loren often found themselves in the engine room of the same boat, from a frosh 4+ in snowy Boston to the nihilistic second varsity in their senior year. After college, they joined University Barge Club together, where they sparked a renaissance of "young" masters rowing. Kevin now works as a purchasing agent at the Kennedy Companies.
Miranda Theodore
Bridesmaid
Miranda has been a Penn Med friend since the beginning, and always knows how to make sure the group is "having fun". She is also amazing at speaking Dutch, baking personalized cakes, nail polish, spin classes, and knowing more about the lungs than anyone else as a pulmonary and critical care fellow in Boston.
Tanner Mathison
Groomsman
Like a number of groomsmen on this list, Loren and Tanner became close while rowing for coach Greg Myhr. Tanner chose to spend a summer in Philly training at Penn and living in Loren's fraternity house. They became fast friends and continue to talk almost every day. Tanner is a lawyer for the government and founded Abaton, a nonprofit to help protect frontline workers in 2020.
Molly Forbes
Bridesmaid
A FORBES! Molly and Sarah go back to middle school, where they first bonded over a school trip canoe mishap and later bonded over Harry Potter, AP History video assignments, and playing clarinet. While plotting her return to life on a sailboat, Molly lives in Wisconsin and answers all of Sarah's questions about Epic.
Eric Ward
Groomsman
Eric Ward, MD was the perfect med school roommate. Eric and Loren spent their time outside of classes throwing theme parties or discussing philosophy late into the night. Dr. Ward is now at the University of California, San Francisco for his residency in Internal Medicine.
Sarah Violante Richards
Bridesmaid
While it was at first confusing to have another Sarah in the group starting in middle school, Vio and Huep quickly got over the name confusion and became fast friends. In between nursing shifts, Vio keeps busy with her hubby, two dogs, and new baby Lily Mae.
Whitney Watson
Bridesmaid
Whitney and Sarah met in middle school, where they were both band, science, and Harry Potter nerds (they've gotten cooler since then). Whitney splits her time between being a master's student in Wisconsin and chasing owls around California.
John Huepenbecker
Father of the Bride
Having watched the movie "Father of the Bride" countless times and run Loren through an exhaustive list of questions, John finally feels ready for the wedding. Growing up, he was the best stay-at-home Dad that Sarah could ever ask for. He taught her everything she knows about being a Minnesota sports fan (including how to deal with disappointment), the rules of board games, at-home dental care, manual yardwork, crossword puzzle-solving, and the importance of lake cabins and proper boat care. Sarah can't wait to walk down the aisle with him and her mom!
Marcia Page
Mother of the Bride
Marcia can't wait to have Loren as a member of the family, mainly to teach him Page traditions and indoctrinate him with all things Swedish. "Marsh" is Sarah's inspiration for everything from work ethic (she started her own investment company with two small kids at home!) to personality quizzes to a passion for travel to being an awesome mom - she truly "does it all"! She is up for literally anything that her kids suggest (including triathlons and Kilimanjaro hikes) and loves doing anything and everything with her family. The wedding is going to be the best new family memory!
Phil Mead
Father of the Groom
Loren's dad is excited for the wedding, but even more so for future grandbabies to spoil. As with his sons, Dr. Mead plans to teach them to love animals, science, and rowing from an early age.
Carolyn Mead
Mother of the Groom
Outnumbered by men for the last thirty years, Carolyn is happy to welcome another woman to the Mead family. Loren's mother is the kindest person he has had the good fortune to know. Her loving nature is so charming that Phil's relatives often told him that they would keep Carolyn if there was ever a divorce. In addition to raising two Mead children, Loren's mom also worked as a lawyer for many years. During that time, she somehow managed to teach her sons a modicum of patience and manners as well.
Mark Page
Master of Ceremonies
Mark is Sarah's uncle who, upon meeting Loren, declared that he was "flawless!" Lucky for Sarah and Loren, Mark is an amazing public speaker who is eloquent, heartfelt, and hilarious. They feel very lucky that he agreed to run the ceremony for them and can't wait to hear what he has to say!