Wedding Party
Bouqet Bandits
Also known as the Bridesmaids/Men, organized vaguely in the order Courtney gave these to me.
Sean Flynn (Maid of Honor)
""
The instant Don proposed, I knew without hesitation who I wanted beside me on my wedding day. Sean, my cousin and best friend, has been a constant source of joy and adventure in my life. We've shared countless laughs and unforgettable moments, from late-night Dairy Queen runs to spontaneous road trips. Sean's friendship has meant the world to me, so it was with pure excitement that I asked him to be my Maid of Honor. Despite the available title of "Man of Honor," Sean proudly insisted on having the title as “Maid of Honor”, reflecting our unique bond and his irreplaceable role in my life.
"Scumbag Bottom Feeders!" - Sean Flynn (spoken when he's losing at Rummy)
Nathan & Jason Fox
"They're Brothers"
Nathan and Jason Fox were among the very first friends I made during my freshman year at college. These brothers swiftly became cherished companions, thanks to our shared love of all things geeky, coupled with their witty banter and unwavering commitment to fun. Their support saw me through many challenges, so when it came time to choose my bridal party, asking them to be Bridesmen was an obvious choice.
"We met when you started quoting the Bee movie in physics class. Lol never would have thought that like a decade later we'd be discussing my part in your wedding lol" - Nathan Fox
Sam Griebenow
"Flashy Shirt Enthusiast"
Sam and I became friends my freshman year of college. We happened to have the same English class together and quickly realized we both gravitated to the same friend group at Kishwaukee college. Over the years, Sam has proven to be one of the most loyal and considerate friends I’ve ever had and I couldn’t be happier to have him apart of my party.
"When we went over to Billy's house and played Halo for 6 hours. That night was so much fun! We played a bunch of zombies" - Sam Griebenow
Amber Brandenburg
"The Girl With No Nickname"
The first time that I ever saw Amber, she walked around the corner fully decked out in an amazing Elsa outfit from Frozen. Our mutual friend, Nathan, officially introduced us and Amber was amazing right away. She is very honest and direct and it is one of my absolute favorite things about her and what makes hanging out with her a wonderful highlight to any day. Her dedication and care to her friends left no room for debate including her in the party
Words go here maybe...
Travis & Sabreena Ball
"They're Married"
Travis was always one of my favorite cousins growing up. After I sustained an injury and had no way of making an income or paying medical bills, Travis and my Uncle Gerry allowed me to help out with light work at their woodworking business. During that time, I grew much closer to Travis, his beautiful wife Sabreena, and their lovely twin girls, Gracie and Ellie. Travis and Sabreena have been great sources of support during hard times, and I was happy to include both of them in the bridal party, as well as having Gracie and Ellie be our star flower girls.
" 'If you ain't first you're last!' - Ricky Bobby" - Travis Ball
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2 - Sabreena Ball
Heather Nelson
"Look at the doggies!"
Heather and I teamed up in late 2019, and over the years, she became more than just a coworker – she became a close friend. We connected over our shared love of animals and nerdy interests. Her big heart and understanding nature made her someone I could always count on. When I was worried about scaring off Don with my awkwardness, Heather was there to reassure me and offer support. Her kindness and encouragement were essential for the big day.
"Favorite memory(ies) would be at your birthday party, how happy you were and how much fun we had, and the fact I didn't take the price tags off your birthday present. If I had to pick a quote, it would be "I get bitey when I drink too much" - Heather Nelson
Daniel Kanczel
"He lives in Japan!"
Daniel and I connected through our mutual friendship with Jason Fox. Over the years, Daniel became an incredibly reliable and caring friend, always taking the time to check up on me. He became someone I could talk to regularly about anything and everything. Now living in Japan with his wife and adorable boys, Kenji and Taishi, I was delighted to ask Daniel to be a Bridesman and to have both Kenji and Taishi as the ring bearers.
おそらく彼は何か言いたいことがありますが、これは単なるプレースホルダーです。
The Groom's Men
Listed in alphabetical order by third letter of last name (after the best man, of course; naturally he gets top billing).
Bruce Hoover (Best Man)
"Warchief"
Bruce may be the groomsman I've known for the least amount of time (it's still the better part of a decade), but probably the one I've spent the MOST time with in recent years. Together we run Convention Foam Fighting which sees us travel all around North America on long road trips, so we have plenty of time to chat about... well, anything and everything. He is one of the most charismatic people I know; he brings the personality to our business (and the facial hair). Most importantly, though, he's responsible for Courtney and I meeting. Oh, and he knows his way around a meat smoker.
"Not available for comment."
Nikhil Bhatia
"The Congressman"
Though many of my friends and I grew up together, Nikhil and I "GREW UP" together. Though we'd been friends before, I think our bond grew strongest during those formative high school and college years. One of my favorite memories is of our "Ferris Bueller" day, where we took a day off school during our senior year of high school to take the train into Chicago to catch a Cubs game. Speaking of the Cubs, Nikhil is such a fan I remember once watching a game in his parents' basement, the Cubs lost, Nikhil grabbed a tiny souvenir plastic Cubs helmet, threw it across the basement, and said it would stay there until the next season opening day (and it did). I could probably write pages and pages here, but for the sake of brevity, I'll just say if you want to hear some stories, come find us together at the reception.
"Damn you people! Go back to your shanties!"
Benjamin Krawczyk
"The Nuke"
Ben is another friend I've had for over thirty years. We grew up next door to each other, spent summers battling with squirt guns, winters sledding and throwing snowballs, riding bikes all over town, and even getting into some dumb situations for fun (convertible top down in January, what could go wrong?). When I think back on my childhood, that "home before the streetlights turn on" style of of freedom, I'm almost certainly thinking back on my friendship with Ben.
Note: I've never actually called Ben "The Nuke". It's a reference to his Navy career, not the movie 'Bull Durham', just so we're clear.
"Did I ever tell you about the time Brasky took me out to go get a drink with him? We go off looking for a bar and we can't find one. Finally Brasky takes me to a vacant lot and says, 'Here we are.' We sat there for a year and a half and sure enough someone constructs a bar around us. The day they opened we ordered a shot, drank it, and then burned the place to the ground. Brasky yelled over the roar of the flames, 'Always leave things the way you found 'em!"
J. Micah Eubanks
"Inebriatto"
That is not a picture of Micah. That's a picture of a bottle of ketchup (or "catsup", if you're so inclined). I am not, in fact, friends with a bottle of ketchup. Rather, this image represents a special bond that Micah and I share that stemmed from one of the most intense "Yes, and..." improv gags I've ever experienced, where Micah and I argued ad-absurdum for several minutes about the proper placement of a bottle of ketchup in a condiment caddy (as one does), continuing this tongue-in-cheek inanity to see who would break character first. I offered to concede my position of "put the bottle upright" if Micah agreed to be a Groom's Man. The ketchup picture is my concession.
"I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to Morganville which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel. And in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them. "Give me five bees for a quarter," you’d say. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah! The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt which was the style at the time. They didn’t have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones."
Jon Chemers
"The Wheelman"
Jon is a bad influence on me, but in a good way. He's big on encouraging others to get out and enjoy life a little. He, like me, is an automotive and motorcycle enthusiast (it's partially his fault I got into riding a motorcycle, so you can address that with him, Mom). As a fellow business owner, Jon and I often get to talk shop about running a small business, both the great freedom it provides and the added stress that comes from being responsible for EVERYTHING. More than a friend, him and his wife are also some of my best customers and helped me get a LOT of practice with my vinyl cutter.
He's probably said something before.
Scott Sieradzki
"Hot Pants"
Scott is one of the nicest people I know. He will frequently put others before himself. The man appreciates style without being pretentious about it and rocks the hell out of a tailored suit. I can't count the number of hours Scott and I have spent just sitting around deep in conversation. He's both artistic and techy, so naturally we're never short on things to talk about. Scott and I also probably share the most inside jokes (guava jelly).
"Yeah, right, and Grizzly Adams had a beard!"
Tyler Cosich
"The Director"
Whereas Bruce might be the groomsman that I've known for the least amount of time, Tyler my take the crown of groomsman I've know the longest. It has been easily over 30 years. We spent so much time together growing up that his parents would sometimes refer to me as their fifth son. In addition to being like a brother to me, Tyler was also my creative partner. We would invent needlessly complex board and table-top games with paper, plastic army men, Micro Machine toys, and anything else we had at hand, but what we were most known for among our friends and family was our aspirations of being filmmakers. We'd spend hours planning out film scenes, developing our own techniques for special effects, and even teaching ourselves post-production editing techniques. Sure, we bored our friends with take after take of scenes for our movies, but WE enjoyed it! I'm not sure how many of our old clips still exist, but rest assured if they turn up I'll make sure they get posted somewhere.
“A guy knows he’s in love when he loses interest in his car for a couple of days.” — Tim Allen
Dan Lawrence
"Lt. Dan"
Dan is the happy guy of the bunch. He's always grateful to have people around, and cares most that everyone's having a good time. He's also one of the most appreciative people I know and has a gift for making you feel like even your smallest accomplishments are the coolest thing in the world (probably what makes him such a great family man). At parties, you can usually find Dan and I running the grill as a team, flinging burgers and hotdogs around to the guests and then making ourselves an extra special burger once everyone else has been fed. Oh, and as for the nickname, yes, it's a reference to Forrest Gump. It was a one-off comment by our friend Ryan and it just stuck for years.
"Sometimes I'll start a sentence, and I don't even know where it's going. I just hope I find it along the way."-Michael Scott
Andrew Brescia
"The Gentleman"
Book-ending this motley crew is Andrew, or Andy B as he's called by nobody (no, seriously, don't call him this). Andrew is the newest friend on this list, but we quickly and easily became friends when we met, and if you ask him about his interests you'll quickly understand why. We have a very similar taste in music, he's a car guy, and appreciates the aesthetic of Steampunk. He's also a big Doctor Who fan, an interest he shares with Courtney (which I have taken to as well). He's the stoic of the group, soft-spoken yet deliberate. Also, if there's a pun to be made, he's the first one to make it.
"VERY available for comment."
