Wedding Party
Harrison Piotrowski
Best Man
Brother of Sofie and Best Man to Simon, these three have been here there and everywhere as together. During their Elementary and Middle-School days, Simon and Harry frequently spent Wednesday evenings at church, post-dinner, playing catch, or the most recent game they had found that week on their iPods. This was of course only the beginning of their friendship. Harry and Simon have since continued to bond over their shared humor, desire to work with athletes at a high level, and much to Simon’s delight, Formula 1. When Harry and Simon are together, it is often a recipe for many laughs, and a lot of Chaos.
William Baldwin
Man of Honor
Will and Sofie first met when they worked together at Lambs Farm in Libertyville. While they became best friends during their time their together, the most frequently told portion of their story there together was Will’s first words to Sofie. Upon seeing Sofie on her first day (while he was dressed in his work uniform), his first interaction with Sofie was “I work here.” Sofie of course found this quite comical, and they have been friends ever since. For the last year and a half, Will has been a roommate of Sofie and Simon in their townhome in Lansing Michigan. Will has started attending Michigan State University in the last year while Sofie and Simon worked their respective jobs. Living with Will for the last year and a half has created countless memories that will last them a lifetime. Will is not only a true friend but chosen family of Sofie and Simon.
Arrow Peterson
Honor Attendant
Sibling to Simon and member of the super team consisting of Sofie, Harry, Simon, and Arrow, these four were frequently seen out and about together before their college days. While they all still lived together in Chicago/Skokie, there were plenty of late movie nights, unplanned runs to Target, and other miscellaneous adventures. These four and both of their respective families have spent an abundance of time with each other – even prior to Sofie and Simon being a couple.
Tegegn Piotrowski
Honor Attendant
While often quiet, Teg's sense of humor brings a laugh (or two or three) from Sofie and Simon. From the very beginning of Sofie and Simon’s relationship, Teg has been a quiet but mighty force. Even though he was often too young to stay up with the big kids during sleepovers, he often joined Simon, Sofie, Arrow, and Harry for games of soccer or wiffle ball at the park. Teg attended all Sofie’s sporting events, often seen sitting in a kayak at the top of the bleachers on the pool deck. Even though Teg was young, Sofie could feel his support and love simply through his presence or an occasional snack being lowered down from the bleachers between heats. Teg’s love for Simon has also been evident, as he once asked Simon to take a picture with him and his light up shoes. Simon is very excited to call Teg official family.
Ella Reese-Clauson
Honor Attendant
Sofie and Ella weren’t the greatest of friends at first, as Sofie and Noah would often exclude Ella and Harry from games for “being too young.” However, we don’t need to talk much more about that. As they grew up, Ella and Sofie spent many summers going to Covenant Point together where they only grew in their friendship. They even created a movie called “Daisy’s Big Break” fully made on iMovie. The two of them share a love for nature and protecting the environment and the people and animals that live in it. Ella has a passion for traveling and experiencing the world which Sofie can see through her weekly photo dumps. Every week it seems like Ella is in a new country doing something off Sofie’s life bucket-list.
Noah Reese-Clauson
Honor Attendant
Born only two days apart, Sofie and Noah were each other's first best friend. As each playdate started, Noah would welcome Sofie to his house with a full greeting of “Hello, Sofia Piotrowski” and often a hug or kiss on the cheek. From years going to the zoo, drawing dinosaurs, and playing with Play-Mobil, Noah and Sofie were inseparable. Sofie was even able to convince Noah to attend Kindergarten at St. Ed’s, but they were unfortunately put in two separate classes. There's no one else Sofie would have preferred to grow up with, as all her favorite childhood memories included Noah by her side. Noah’s passion for writing and creativity really inspires Sofie to continue dipping into her own creative side.
Maja Applequist
Honor Attendant
Maja attended North Park Cov alongside of Sofie and Simon, where they were quickly part of the same group of friends. While attending yearly trips to waterparks and Sunday night gatherings with friends, they built a relationship that will last a lifetime. Sofie had many sleepovers with Maja and Ella growing up, full of facemasks, Musical.ly dances, crafts, and of course, Swedish pancakes. Maja and Sofie ended up going to Niles West together where they shared a basketball court and even a study hall period. To this day, Maja and Sofie keep each other updated on their lives through weekly photo dumps and lots of chats after Church when Sofie’s in Chicago.
Chloe Jao
Honor Attendant
Chloe and Sofie first met at the Niles West Girls basketball camp the summer before their freshman year. As the only two players coming from Catholic schools, Chloe noticed Sofie's presence immediately. She went home and told her mom about the "other quiet Catholic school kid" at summer camp. They quickly became best friends, going on Dunkin' runs after practice to "study" (which ended up being more talking than actual studying), getting late night Cold Stone, and wandering the Evanston lakeshore. Chloe is now a special ed teacher in the Chicago suburbs and while busy, tries to at least grab coffee with Sofie whenever she’s in town.
Chapin Magee
Honor Attendant
While Che and Sofie were both in Zeta theta Omega, the zoology fraternity at MSU, the two of them didn’t really get to know each other until they had the same dreaded class together, Comparative Anatomy. After a few months of studying the anatomy of sharks, cats, and frogs, interrupted by quite a few deep conversations, Sofie and Che have become best of friends, and eventually co-workers at the MSU Veterinary ER. In the past couple of months, Sofie and Simon have taught Che how to drive, bonded over growing up in big cities (DC and Chicago), and had many late night hangouts. Sofie has even offered Che a job as a Vet Nurse once Sofie becomes a veterinarian.
Keely O'Keefe
Honor Attendant
“KEEELLLYYYYYYYY!!” became Simon’s most standard way of greeting Keely as they became very close friends while at Michigan State together. Keely and Simon first met when working at one of the workout centers on campus. While their early friendship was only present at work - often while playing computer games together during nights where there were no patrons to serve - their friendship quickly evolved into something that is now a very special friendship. Keely and Simon were both Psychology majors in undergrad. During their last semesters at MSU, they shared some classes! This meant that they saw each other more than ever. This is where Keely and Simon were able to form a true friendship and get to know more about the non-academic side of their friendship. Academia aside, Keely, Sofie and Simon have formed an amazing friendship that can easily pick up right where it left off. These three never have anything short of a good time together. While there is now some physical distance between where they live, they all do their best to reconnect in person together whenever the chance presents.
Lena Oslund
Honor Attendant
Lena, Lena from Chorch, LFC, Lena from Church and Tennessee, LFCT…..the list goes on. It is safe to say that Sofie and Simon have a lot of names for Lena, and for some reason or another, Lena will reply to all of them. Lena, Sofie and Simon all met on a Friday afternoon during the school year when Lena attended one of their church group Fridays @5. Given that this was a dedicated portion of the week simply to enjoy a meal and time with peers, this presented the perfect opportunity for the three to get to know each other. Lena and Sofie hit it off immediately They bonded over their desired careers, and their dreaded jobs sitting desk at the MSU dorms. In short, the rest is history. Simon was soon brought into the fold of this friendship and there was no stopping them. Being the other night owl in the wedding party, Lena and Simon have successfully completed at least two all-nighters together while travelling with friends on spring break. Andrea, Maggie, Rachel, Lena, Sofie and Simon often enjoyed hiking together, or simple board games and conversation. Sofie and Simon’s wedding is the first event to have brought the gang back together since they all graduated in the Spring of 2024, and a year later for Sofie and Lena. Sofie and Simon could not be happier to have this wonderful friend group standing up there with them on their special day!!
Maggie Haite
Honor Attendant
In many ways, if one saw Maggie and Simon spending time together ‘out in the wild’ it would appear that they are not only loud and joyful people, but have seemingly known each other forever. This has been the case since day one. Maggie, Simon and Sofie all met each other when attending a new Campus Ministry group near Michigan State's campus. Almost instantly the three hit it off. Their shared childhood memories growing up in the City of Chicago were likely their initial connection point. Maggie attended Lane Tech, and Simon, Von Steuben. While they did not know each other until college, Maggie and Simon continue to share countless experiences and ways of life that are standard to that of someone that grew up in Chicago. They continue to love and support one another in the ways they best know how.
Rachel Drobnak
Honor Attendant
Rachel first crossed paths with Simon and Sofie in a similar way that Sofie and Simon met Maggie and Andrea, through church! Just as they did with Maggie and Andrea, they very quickly became friends. From the sharing of PowerPoints with very odd topics, such as, “Providing Heightened Awareness Regarding Toots (PHART)”, Rachel, Sofie and Simon very quickly connected through their shared love for academic rigor and exploration alongside the pure joys of being in college and going on adventures with friends, this was another friendship group that was sure to last. Rachel and Simon both share an obsession of the Cars Pixar movie – Tow Mater being a favorite of Rachels.
Andrea Vera
Honor Attendant
Andrea, the crucial third member to the Chicago Trio, Maggie, Andrea, and Simon. While Andrea may not be as high energy as Maggie and Simon, Andrea's connection to both Simon and Sofie stemmed from the same connection to the city of Chicago. Andrea, Maggie, and Rachel were all close friends prior to Sofie and Simon joining them at the Campus Ministry they were a part of. Throughout their college years, Andrea, Maggie, Rachel, Lena, Sofie, and Simon shared countless memories together. From camping in the rain, travelling, and simply enjoying meals together, this group was a force to reckon with. In many ways, Andrea was the maintainer of sanity for this group - always looking to ensure everyone was safe (often Maggie and Simon with whatever their latest crazy idea was), but more importantly having a good time.