Wedding Party
Jacob Michael Sprock
Groom
Jacob and Claire became friends starting their freshman year of college at QU initially bonding at biology and chemistry study sessions as well as at campus ministry events. While at QU, Jacob found time to explore his passion for English in addition to his double Chemistry and Biology majors. Jacob is a St. Louis region native, so he has been showing Claire all the ropes of St. Louis life since her move to the area. The pair have explored Forest Park, the Art Museum, local restaurants, and the Cardinal’s baseball stadium. Jacob works at a clinic for young children with autism, a field he plans to stay in with the career goal of child psychiatry. When he’s not working you can find Jacob doing crossword puzzles, studying for the MCAT, crocheting, reading fiction, making a new recipe, or of course spending time with Claire. Jacob brings both calm and joy to Claire’s life. Whether they are hiking in a state park, trying a new restaurant, studying for exams, or just watching a movie, everything is better with Jacob. He is a grounding presence through all of life’s adventures. He makes Claire laugh on even her hardest days. He is incredibly thoughtful, compassionate, loving, and everything Claire could want in her husband. Conversation topics: how great he looks in his suit, favorite books and suggestions, his amazing wife ;) (Written by Claire)
Claire Estelle Sudkamp
Bride
Claire is Jacob's one and only—his love bug, his honey bun, his sunshine. She graduated with highest honors (summa cum laude for you Romans out there) in May of 2025, blasting off from her novel alma mater with degrees in Chemistry and Biology Pre-Med in tow. Where to, you might ask—to Saint Louis University School of Medicine and all the apartment expenses, tuition loans, and Jacob snuggles that come attached. She lives with her furry buddy Juniper, who some might say has learned to utilize the control tactics Claire spent so much time learning about when studying for her Psych minor. Safe to say, Juniper gets what she wants, and Claire is happy to oblige. Claire and Jacob met and became friends their freshman year of college, but the love story as we know it buds in the Fall of their junior year. Since then, they've made mugs, painted a house, shaved a head (Jacob's), gone to a state fair, been to (many) bars, and fallen more in love with each other than ever before. Claire brings joy to Jacob's life every day she is in it. She is a constant inspiration and source of light for everyone around her. She is a blessing to all and a friend to many. Claire is peace, she is hope, she is clarity, she is love. She is all anyone could want, and Jacob wants nothing more than to cherish her for as long as he lives. Conversation topics: how beautiful she looks in her dress, how great a job she is doing juggling all her responsibilities, her amazing husband ;) (Written by Jacob)
Noah Xavier Apprill-Sokol
Best Man
Noah has been a friend of Jacob's since high school. As News Editors of their weekly high school newspaper, they fought valiant battles together in the war against their own procrastination; during late hours on Thursday nights (the final deadline for edits and paper formatting) they could often be found breaking into the Campus Ministry office in order to hijack the chess board and engage each other in games of truly advanced mediocrity on the world's oldest stage. Their chess games rivaled the brilliance of Magnus Carlson and Bobby Fischer (if both respective players succumbed to severe dementia and forgot how to play chess entirely). When not engaging each other on the chess board, they would meld minds to tackle Physics homework problems in-between paper edits, somehow besting the odds and finding ways to perform more poorly together than they ever did individually. Noah is a scholar of Literature and Sociology, and these two topics make up the bulk of conversation between the pair of friends. Both Noah and Jacob consider themselves connoisseurs of Literature; do their interpretations of texts provide any new insights not already brought to light by actual experts and professional scholars? Who's to say. But in their own heads, they're surely the Hawthorne and Melville of the modern age. Conversation Topics: his trip across Europe this past Fall; his time at Uni. in Spokane, Washington; journalism; the beauty of Art and Literature (Written by Jacob)
Bridget Ann Sudkamp
Maid of Honor
Bridget is Claire's closest in age sister. The two have been roommates for much of the past 21 years. At the time of the wedding she will have graduated with her degree in Elementary Education plus an endorsement in middle level mathematics and a minor in Religious Studies. During her time at EIU Bridget was super involved with the Newman Center, leading some retreats and earning some awards along the way. Bridget loves all things math. Her favorite Christmas gift she has ever received is her TI-84+CE calculator. Bridget also enjoys a good book when she's not doing math for fun. Her favorites include Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, and the Ranger's Apprentice books. She enjoys sleeping in as late as she can as often as she can, often not making an appearance until around noon. This preference for sleeping in has made her incredibly efficient at getting ready and out the door for any event. Bridget is an enthusiastic participant in the wedding planning process, at least by her own standards. Although, she will be happy to not look at a fabric swatch again for a long time after this. Conversation Topics: her 22nd birthday plans, algebra, job plans (Written by Claire)
Ethan Raymond Sprock
Groomsman
Ethan is Jacob's only brother. He is currently attending Missouri S&T for his Undergraduate education. Ethan's favorite pastimes include gaming at odd hours of the night, sleeping until noon, getting pwned by Jacob at competitive games (of course Jacob only plays the games he's good at), eating sushi, and coding. Ethan is known around the house as the lucky one when it comes to dice rolling games, so if you need a Vegas buddy, wait another year for Ethan to turn 21 and I'm sure you'll come back only $43 poorer. But seriously, if you play Farkle or Yatzee or anything similar he will inexplicably roll superbly every single time, and you will be left in a smoldering lump, questioning why God doesn't love you as much as He loves Ethan. Ethan is also known to wear long sleeves and pants in any season of the year. For Halloween, he dressed up as a character from the show "K-Pop Demon Hunters" and in all honesty, he probably could have passed for a vampire without the costume. Ethan worked at Ronnie's Cinema for a while and enjoys a fun movie. If you'd like a recommendation for a movie that's probably just a fun time, Ethan is the place to turn; if you'd like a movie rec along with a mildly snobby interpretation/critique if the film, Jacob's your guy. Conversation Topics: anime; video games; life in his frat house; how cool Japan is; movies (Written by Jacob)
Veronica Agnes Sudkamp
Bridesmaid
Veronica is Claire's middle sister and is known as “She Who Brings the Victory” in the Sudkamp family (self declared, but it stuck). At the time of the wedding, she will have graduated from STA high school. In the fall she will be studying early childhood education more than likely at Eastern Illinois University. This is something she has been prepping for ever since she built Miss. Veronica’s classroom in the Sudkamp basement a decade ago. Veronica enjoys a variety of crafting hobbies in her free time from painting to crocheting, but her greatest love is for baking. She and Claire share a deep affection for scones and all homemade bread, but only Veronica has pet names for each batch of dough and baking tool. Veronica also keeps busy scooping custard and serving cheese curds at Culver's. (She should bring some to Claire more often.) Veronica is very excited for the wedding, especially since we are running about seven and a half months behind her requested wedding date. Conversation Topics: bread whisks, her education co-op program, the Effingham Culver's sign. (Written by Claire)
Jack Joseph Urbanciz
Groomsman
Jack was Jacob's two-time roommate at Quincy University. A son of Chicago, Jack is currently pursuing a Law Degree at UIUC. Jack shares Jacob's snobbish flare for films but one-ups Jacob in that he has seen and owns several works from the Criterion Collection. Jack is also a bit of a vinyl junkie. He listens to just about anything except maybe some contemporary country music and enjoys spending time honing his own guitar skills—or at least honing his ability to make his guitars sound really cool when he actually does play them. Jack has a degree in political science and tends to enjoy reading a good western philosophy book when he can fit it in. At times his hairdo could be said to resemble that of a western philosopher. Jack has a severe peanut allergy, so if anyone is thinking about noshing on some trail mix during the reception, please steer clear of this dapper gentleman. Jack and Jacob were randomly paired together as roommates during their freshman year at Quincy University. Living in that freshman boy's dorm was truly a harrowing experience; it's where boys became men and men became dogs that left unspeakable things in the communal sinks. After two years apart, they rejoined as roommates their senior year, this time with a private sink. Living was much smoother that way. Conversation Topics: movies, music, Chicago, coffee, western philosophy (Written by Jacob)
Rebecca Catherine Sudkamp
Jr. Bridesmaid
Rebecca is the 6/7 child (the 6th of 7 children) and Claire’s youngest sister. She can most often be found with her nose buried in a book. Her favorite genres include historical fiction like Little House on the Prairie and fantasy like Harry Potter and Michael Vey. One of Claire's favorite memories with Rebecca is dressing in matching outfits to get matching haircuts and donuts before Claire left for college. Rebecca is most often quoted in the Sudkamp house as saying, “I got this!”, a phrase she coined while gracefully falling down the base of a hoodoo in Bryce Canyon National Park. An interesting fact is that Rebecca shares her birthday with Ben who is exactly 2 years older. Another interesting fact about Rebecca is that although she scored zero points in sixth grade basketball, she actually has a higher scoring average than Claire in her sixth grade season. Bridget can explain the math on that one! Rebecca may have been rooting for Claire and Jacob’s romance since the beginning, so the wedding is like a kissy face, eyelash batting, “Oh darling” dream come true. Conversation Topics: her current book, Fun Friday’s in the music room, horses (Written by Claire)
Leo Francis Sudkamp
Ring Bearer
Haley Ann Sprock-Moorman
Flower Girl