Zoey & Matthew
Wedding Party
Zoey Elizabeth Wilson
Bride
Zoey grew up in Juneau, Alaska and found herself in Seattle, Washington during college and after. While in school at Seattle Pacific University, she met Kelly McKindley (now Peake) on her study abroad trip to Morocco and Spain. In 2016, she was in Kelly's wedding to Stephen, which is where she met Matt. This fall she will be starting her first year of law school. Zoey also has a dog named Morgan, who adores Matt.
Matthew North Peake
Groom
Matt was born and raised in Northern California, specifically Redwood City. After high school, he decided to pursue filmmaking at Brooks Institute of Photography in Ventura, California. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a visual effects clean-up artist and now is a video editor. At his brother Steve's wedding, he met Zoey and pursued a relationship with her, during which he fell in love. Amazingly, she feels the same!
Stephen Peake
Best Man
Stephen is Matt's brother and husband of one of Zoey's best friends, Kelly. He is close in age (16 months younger) to his brother Matt, and this was cause for much squabbling as the two grew up. Despite many fights with his older brother, Stephen grew into a strong, confident, and kind man who enjoys a close and meaningful relationship with his brother. He and Kelly left their corporate jobs in the Bay Area to travel the world. Find them on Instagram at @_kellypeake & @shpeake!
Cailey Neary
Maid of Honor
Cailey met Zoey through ballet at the beginning of high school and their friendship has been solidified by layers of hair spray and uncountable bobby pins. They sweated, cried, and bled through numerous seasons of the Nutcracker, multiple renditions of West Side Story, and years of dancing Tango. Cailey and Zoey were lucky enough to go to college in the same town, and stayed close. Zoey granted Cailey’s husband, Jake, permission to marry her and Zoey was the only person Cailey trusted to do her hair on her wedding day (see above history with hair products). Now Cailey is excited to get to witness Zoey begin her new life with Matt (blessing granted). She will be flying out from Connecticut where she is attending school to become a family nurse practitioner.
Cameron Brockett
Bridesmaid
Cameron was lucky enough to move into Zoey and Ali's neighborhood the summer before her freshman year, and despite her best efforts to hide away on her dad's laptop, the two befriended her and invited her on Black Wolf Way's nightly dog walks and weekly movie nights. With Zoey right next door, high school became bearable, and Cameron took joy in sharing hobbies such as choir, dance, and musical theatre with Zoey. Since she moved out of Juneau, Cameron has been working seasonally around the US, traveling to new places when she can, and learning what she can about working towards a better and more equal world.
David Emmendorfer
Groomsman
Dave is from Kalamazoo, Michigan. After studying aviation, Dave decided to pursue film making and made his way to Southern California. Despite going to the same film school, Dave and Matt actually met while working for Starving Students, a somewhat disreputable moving company that operated a branch in Ventura. They became fast friends, and eventually, Matt moved into the garage of Dave's house he and his roommates rented at the time. After school, they continued as roommates for several years in Los Angeles and remain good friends. In 2014, Matt, Dave and a few other friends traveled to Rio de Janeiro and other cities in Brazil for the World Cup. Dave is an avid soccer fan and plays regularly at local parks. Like Matt, he works as a video editor.
Alex Jenkins
Groomsman
Alex grew up in San Carlos, California, the town on Redwood City's northern border. Despite growing up in close proximity, he did not meet Matt until he went to film school at Brooks Institute of Photography in Southern California. Gregarious and eager to laugh, Alex got along well with Matt and formed a solid friendship with him that persists to this day. He works as a motion picture studio grip, and is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.) Local 80. Some of his work has been TV shows, commercials, and feature films that have come out of various Los Angeles film studios. Alex enjoys hiking with is dog Reggie, and travels often to Mexico City where his sweetheart, Karenn, lives.
Alicia Arehart
Bridesmaid
Ali is Zoey's oldest friend. The two of them met in third grade and hated each other. It wasn't until a year later, when they moved into the same neighborhood, that they decided they could make a friendship work. The week following this wedding Ali will be completing her masters in Emergency Management and Homeland Security with an emphasis in Community Resilience at Arizona State University. She also manages Welcome Road Winery in West Seattle and can make you an average-looking but a fabulous tasting latte in a variety of Seattle Starbucks locations. Ali has a gorgeous 4-bedroom house in West Seattle and is currently on the hunt for a new tenant, as her current is leaving to marry Matt Peake...
Kelly Peake
Bridesmaid
Zoey and Kelly met in Spain on a short study abroad with their university. Kelly got on the bus and seeing all the seats taken, asked if she could sit with Zoey who was kind enough to say yes. The rest is history! Or actually English. As fate would have it, both Kelly and Zoey were both English majors! Upon returning from their adventures abroad they had classes together the following quarter! Before Kelly had left for Spain and Morocco she met Steve. Intrigued with Kelly's recent adventure, Steve made sure to meet up with her and talk all about travel, adventure, and then friendship, which turned to dating, to love, to marriage. This marriage led to Matt and Zoey's meet cute and the rest really is history.
Richard Keith
Groomsman
Rich met Matt while doing freelance work at Machinima, one of the previous companies for which Matt has worked. There they took work trips to Boston, Seattle and other cities and the duo found common interests such as Game of Thrones (the books and the show) and poor attempts at surfing on the weekends. In time they grew to be friends as well as house mates. They even suffered a frivolous lawsuit as co-defendants, which strengthened their friendship while simultaneously depleting their pocketbooks. Don’t worry, it got settled and everything is OK now. Rich continues his work as a freelance camera operator for various media outlets. On the weekends he often meets up with Matt and other friends to watch UFC and get philosophical about life, love, and the universe at large.
Katlyn Felkl
Bridesmaid
Zoey and Katlyn met in 2008 through friends when Katlyn joined the high school choir. They grew to be close as Katlyn basically lived at Zoey's house, along with all of their other friends. High school was full of countless Techno Fridays, watching cheesy movies on Zoey's living room floor, sushi making parties, fancy tea parties, and “dinner with the Wilsons.” After going to to University of Alaska Fairbanks, Franz Felkl and Katlyn moved to Florida and later got engaged. Katlyn immediately asked Zoey to be a bridesmaid and was so happy to get the chance to catch up and have her there for the celebration. Now, Katlyn is an Early Educator in a lab school for Florida Atlantic University. She can’t wait to be there for Zoey on her big day and this new chapter in her life!
Matthew Douglas
Groomsman
Matt grew up in Redwood City, California. From childhood, he and his parents attended the same church as Matt and his brother Steve. Years of seeing each other at weekly youth group activities, various hangouts due to each other's parents' friendship and boredom during summer was a recipe for an enduring friendship. Essentially, they grew up together. Over the years, Matt has remained in touch with Matt and his brother Steve. They talk semi-regularly on the phone about all facets of life and see each other, when possible, during holidays. Matt now lives in Nampa, Idaho with his wife Stephanie and young son, Liam.
Tyler Olsen
Groomsman
Tyler grew up in Menlo Park and Redwood City, California. He squared off against Matt on opposing little league baseball teams in his youth, not knowing they would later become friends. They met each other in junior year of high school, after Matt began attending Woodside High. Matt would convince Tyler to join the burgeoning wrestling team, where they were both selected as captains and went through the hell that is wrestling. Tyler works as a lot manager for an automobile auction in Portland, Oregon. He is a disc golf and ultimate frisbee enthusiast and plays regularly. Tyler has a large collection of board games and is a big fan of the quality, in-person interactions they facilitate.
Haley Stokes
Bridesmaid
Haley and Zoey were dormmates in Ashton Hall at Seattle Pacific University. Zoey and her roommate had the best-decorated room on the floor, and Haley spent a lot of time on their couch drinking tea. They lost touch for a couple of years afterwards, until Haley rented an apartment with Katie and Kelly McKindley and met Zoey again at Kelly’s birthday party. Since then Haley has been a barista in Seattle, been to Italy, rented a room in Julie and Zoey’s house (and spent a lot of time on that couch drinking tea), graduated SPU, and spent two seasons working on organic vegetable farms. She now lives in Nevada and works for a local coffee roaster. Haley was there when Kelly and Steve met and when Zoey and Matt met, which of course means that she gets the fanciest bridesmaid bouquet.
Julie Fowler-Wilson
Mother of the Bride
From the time Zoey was little she has always loved a party. The family has put on tea parties, luau parties, movie making, and award parties, gambling night parties...makes you wonder what the wedding will be like, doesn’t it? About a year and a half ago Zoey said, “Mom, Stephen’s brother Matt is coming to town and wants to know if he can stay with us.” Since that visit, Julie has watched the two of them fly thousands of miles bouncing back and forth between Seattle and LA. It was quickly obvious that mellow, zen Matt had a calming and caring effect on her hyper-organized and structured Zoey. On Thanksgiving, Julie sent Zoey’s dad a picture of Matt and Zoey dancing and said, “This is the one!” Zoey's family excited for this day and happy to welcome Matt into the family.
Jean DeTar
Mother of the Groom
Throughout Matt's life, his mother, Jean, has always assured him that he would find a wonderful woman to marry. Despite Matt's frequent doubts about finding love, Jean never wavered in her faith and always reminded him to be a good and caring man; to not think with a negative slant, to be responsible and do your work and to do what you say you will do. Jean's motherly wisdom has only proven truer and truer for Matt on his journey through life. It has grounded him in times of uncertainty and helped him remember to have faith in what is right. She has taken a liking to Zoey through family gatherings such as Thanksgiving and a trip to explore a bit of California's central coast during which she nicknamed Zoey, "Little Elven Lady."
Troy Wilson
Father of the Bride
Early on Troy told Zoey that she was his favorite daughter. She paused, smiled at him and said, “Daddy, I am your only daughter.” Since then it has been something he continues to remind her of. And, yes, he still gets the same response in return. Troy says from that little girl, Zoey has grown into an intelligent and caring young woman, and he is honored to call her his daughter. Troy had the opportunity to meet Matt last summer. As Matt and Zoey interacted throughout their visit to Juneau, it was clear that they love each other. Probably most important, Troy says, is that Morgan, Zoey’s Lab/mix, also approves of Matt. All joking aside, Troy is pleased to support them in their new life together.
Charles Peake
Father of the Groom
Charles is Matt's Father. He was always excited and hopeful on the rare occasions that Matt began spending time with a particular girl in a manner that qualified as dating. Knowing that companionship, especially between a man and woman, is of the highest order of happiness people can share in life, Charles was always looking forward to the day when Matt would find his Lady. Now that the day has come, he is very pleased. Over the course of a week in Cancun, on a family vacation, Charles got to know Zoey a bit and see her interaction with Matt. He noticed how at ease and loving they are with each other. To him it became clear that another wedding would soon be in the works.