Wedding Party
Matron of Honor: Sara Jurgens (Friend of the Bride) - Sara and I
have been playing sports together since elemetary school - back in the day of
Blitz and the Hoopsters! Sara and I have had many memorable times together
including the times she came to visit at Simpson and our recent trip to Jamaica.
She has been my main confidant over the years and I've been lucky to have her as
a friend. We have many things in common - primarily being only, spoiled
children. "I said don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is
gonna be alright!"
Bridesmaid: Jessica Carson (Sister of the Groom) -
Jessica and I met shortly after Nolan and I
started dating and she has been a good resource in learning the family
happenings. Jessica has achieved so much in the short time that I have
known her and continues to work hard to accomplish her goals. Jessica
lives in Ottumwa, Iowa, teaches high school PE, was recently announced the
Varsity Volleyball coach, and is an assistant soccer and basketball coach, among
many other things.
Bridesmaid: Amy Castle (Friend of the Bride) -
Amy and I were roommates for the majority of our
college life. She was one of my first friends at Simpson - where we met
during two-a-days of soccer freshman year. We learned our way around the
campus together - primarily at night. Amy is always happy and full of
energy and is really fun to be around. She has been a great friend over
the years. Amy lives in Kansas City with her husband - Adam and son - Wes.
Gage loves Wes, by the way.
Bridesmaid: Megan Frehse (Friend of the Bride and Groom) -
Megan helped introduce me to the Newton way of
life. We always have fun together - whether we are bowling, beating Nolan
and Gerrett and Sequence, or watching a movie. Megan is one of the most
kind and generous people that I have ever known. Megan and her husband
Gerrett have been great friends to us. Their daughter, Morgan, will be
breaking hearts someday - so watch out!
Bridesmaid: Ashley Hill (Friend of the Bride) - Ashley and I
lived together throughout our Simpson College careers. Ashley was a member
of the Simpson Women's Golf Team and always showed me up at the driving range.
We have had many good memories, a combination of roommates and have shared a
pizza or two over the years. Ashley has always been a good friend whose
future will be filled with success. Ashley is and accountant and lives in
Norwalk, IA with her boyfriend Aaron.
Best Man: Brant Chambers (Friend of the Groom) - Brant is a
friend of mine from college, we met when we first started playing football at
Simpson. The rest is history - we lived together for 3.5 years of college, then
stayed close after college until he got tired of me and decided to get a job in
Denver, CO. He recently moved back to Des Moines, IA to study Physical
Therapy.
Groomsman: Toby Aton (Friend of the Groom) - Toby and I also
played college football at Simpson together, I was a "translator" to and for
Toby. I also helped him adjust to living in small town Iowa.
Toby is from Kansas City, KS and now lives in Kansas City, MO. No matter what
he tells you, he doesn't live in KC,K anymore, it's KC,MO. We've had the
pleasure of going to visit Toby a couple times and he was instrumental in
helping me setup a surpise trip for Amy to Kansas City for our 3 year dating
anniversary.
Groomsman: Bart Elliott (Friend of the Groom) - Bart and I also
played football together at Simpson, among other things like basketball,
softball, volleyball - not to mention carrying on the 6 year tradition of IM
Champs in Whiffle Ball. He also introduced me to a game called "low ball,"
and claims he has more home runs than me in slow pitch softball. (He claims
that because he does) Bart was recently named the Head
Football Coach at Wayne of Corydon, and also coaches basketball & track, teaches
high school PE, and resides with his soon to be wife, Amy Day, in Indianola, IA.
Groomsman: Gerrett Frehse (Friend of the Bride and Groom) -
Gerrett was a fellow Maytag Repair Man. We worked together on the Helpdesk. I actually met Gerrett's sister during college, but didn't
know they were related until after Gerrett and I had known each other for a
little while. He and I have dominated the Newton area soccer fields and
even took our specialties to the Iowa Games where we have come back with
numerous medals. We also beat the highschoolers in dodgeball. He
even lets me beat him once in a while at ping pong. Gerrett and his lovely
wife Megan (also "performing" in the wedding) reside in Newton with the cutest
daughter, named Morgan, and Kobe, their mini yorkie - which we traveled all over
the state of Iowa to find.
Groomsman: Nick Kuennen (Friend of the Groom) - Nick was also a
Maytag Repairman. He lived with me for awhile in Newton and has taught me
everything there is to know about riding RAGBRAI, throwing Halloween parties,
and dancing at Miss Kitty's. He is also a good softball player and ball
dodger, but not very good at NCAA Football on the PS2. Sadly, Nick
graduated from the "school over east" and lives and works in Pella, IA.
Someday I hope he grows out of it. FTD!
Flower Girl: Elizabeth Brackett (Cousin of the Groom) -
Elizabeth is the chairman of the Amy LeBlanc Fan Club. Elizabeth and her
sisters started the ALFC in 2007 (obviously I'm making all this up, you can tell
because the numbers have no correlation to anything) with a 3 person vote to
approve that I could date Amy. It passed 2-1, but they won't tell me who
didn't approve. Just kidding, they have been cousins of mine since they
were born and it's always been great to have them around.
Ring Bearer: Tanner Fenton (Cousin of the Groom) - The Tan-Man
is the quarterback for the Titans and was gracious enough to be willing to take a break from
his pre-season training regimen to join us for the wedding. He is also the
choreographer for the reception based on his performance of Soulja Boy's Crank
Dat.
Usher: Mark Jurgens (Friend of the Bride) - I got the pleasure
of meeting Mark though his wife, Amy's Matron of Honor, Sara Jurgens. Poor Mark
is a Royals fan, and coincidentally didn't mention it to anybody until this year.
You will probably recognize him at the wedding because he'll have a mini tv
watching the Oakland series. On a side note, don't ask Mark to be your
partner in Catch Phrase! Mark and Sara are new homeowners and reside with
their dog in Omaha, NE.
Usher: Berto Maia (Friend of the Groom) - Berto works with me at
the Burlington Capital Group. He moved here from Boston a few years ago
and is a big New England area sports fan. Which has worked in his favor
the last couple years. He also plays softball with me, though he doesn't
own his own glove and uses a golf glove to bat. But I figured out
why he doesn't need the golf glove from golfing with him last summer.
Berto has done a great job of introducing me to the Omaha area. We've even
caught an Omaha Royals game over our lunch break.
Ceremony Reader: Lisa LeBlanc (Cousin of the Bride) -
Lisa is one of my cousins from my dad’s side of
the family. I will never forget time we went sledding out our
grandparent’s and came within inches of taking out (or being taken out) by a
large tree. I think that was the end of our sledding adventure on that
particular occasion. Lisa lives in Florida with her boyfriend, Nick.
Ceremony Reader: Laura Zucchelli (Cousin of the Bride) -
Laura is another cousin from my dad’s side of the
family. Laura and I, and our families visited Disney World when we were
kids, and we had graduate class together a few years ago, among other countless
family adventures. Laura lives in Omaha with her husband, John.
Ceremony Reader: Jill LeBlanc (Cousin of the Bride) -
Jill is a fellow cousin and Lisa’s sister.
We have heard plenty of stories about our dad’s (who are twins) and their
siblings in their youth. The stories often seem far-fetched, but I’m
afraid many are accurate! Jill, herself, always has a funny story to tell.
Lisa currently resides in Omaha.
Vocalist: Tyler Hughes (Friend of the Groom) - Tyler also works
with me at the Burlington Capital Group. He works in a different area, but
it didn't take him long to make me a target for his excruciating gym workouts.
Three times a week we were running stairs, doing box jumps, one legged squats, you
name it. He's also gotten me into playing basketball out here and has
similar music interests as I do. Tyler leads the music ministry at the
Omaha Bible Church and is very talented. I talked him into singing a
favorite song of ours, Amy and I, that is. Tyler and his wife Rebecca have
4 children and recently moved to Elkhorn, NE. It has been really fun getting to
know their family over the past couple years.
Personal Attendant: Allanah Fenton (Cousin of the Groom) -
Allanah is the new owner of a very sharp 2000 Mitsubishi Galant that must've
been very well cared for by it's previous owner. She also recently
graduated from high school and is going to college in the fall. Allanah
helped to inspire my webpage designing with a page I made for her in probably
2000. I'm trying to find it. She has also been a member of the
family since she was born.
Guestbook Attendant: Madison Brackett (Cousin of the Groom) -
Madison is the oldest member of the ALFC and is probably the one that voted
against her. Just kidding, she is a great kid and quite the texter.
She can type T9 at 60 words per minute, but has recently moved on to a qwerty
keyboard and hasn't been re-timed yet. Madison will be attending West
Des Moines Valley (in a couple years) and she lives in West Des Moines
with the rest of the members of the ALFC.
Guestbook Attendant: Allison Brackett (Cousin of the Groom) -
Allie is another cousin of mine and the 3rd and final member of the ALFC.
Thank god there are only three - Amy's head is too big as it is. Allie is a
master of many webkinz and is my shopping buddy. I never thought there
were so many different flavors of lip gloss in the kids section at Younkers.
Allie also lives in West Des Moines with the Brackett's and will some day have
to attend Valley.
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