Annie met her maid of honor, Maddie, when they were both budding baby naturalists in rural Georgia at their first grown up (ish!) job. They were roommates in a rustic 4H cabin where they taught the 5th graders of Georgia about snakes, lakes, and pioneers! They supported each other through the ups and downs of their early 20's as they both moved all over the country pursuing their careers in environmental education. The two famously went on a transformative desert road trip where they swore off men for the upcoming New Year. (Annie met Jacob 10 days later.) Maddie currently lives in Massachusetts and runs her own photography business. She has a scruffy little terrier named Bernard and her favorite soft serve is vanilla with rainbow sprinkles. 

Jacob met his best man, Dan, at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in their freshman O-Chem lab. When it was time to choose lab partners they made eye contact and the rest is history. Their lab partnership would soon prove to be very fruitful for both friendship and for learning; they went on to be roommates and also to pass all of their lab sections. Dan is a seasoned world traveller but he always makes time for his friends wherever he is. He can regularly be heard through the speakers of Jacob's computer as Stabby the rogue in their years-long pathfinder campaign.  Dan recently moved to Dallas to close the gap with partner Alice after two years of long distance! 

Kelsie and Annie met their freshman year at the University of Kentucky. They quickly became close friends due to their shared love of all things fandom and their very similar personalities. They went on to be roommates for their final three years of college. Kelsie is one of the first people Annie goes to with her mundane hot gossip and Kelsie is the first to share a deep dive rabbit hole story. Kelsie just moved back to Lexington and is 5 minutes up the road from the happy couple- something Annie is thrilled about! She has two cats named Mangosteen (pictured) and Honeydew. She is an academic advisor at UK and her favorite TV shows always involve pirates. 

John is Jacob's younger brother and growing up, they shared everything. Together with younger sister Janey, they were constantly outdoors in Florida and then later in Michigan. They both have a knack for percussion, arguing over who got to play the drums on their childhood Rockband set and marching alongside each other in the high school drum line.  John is an emergency room RN and lives in Michigan with his partner Nicole. Though they are no longer geographically close, they take any chance to visit each other they can. Jacob is so grateful to have John standing with him on his wedding day, especially because their relationship as brothers is one of the longest in his life. When John isn't being a "lifesaving badass" he loves to "bang some chains" on the disc golf course. 

Annie and Sarah met at a pre-orientation freshman honors college luau where Annie bombed twice trying to tell the same bad anti-joke to two different groups of people. She was trying her hardest to make friends through humor and somehow it worked because Sarah was in both groups wincing along! The two went on to share an apartment with Kelsie for three years. It was Sarah who first introduced Annie to the joys of camping and the two have had some memorable misadventures together since. Annie will forever be grateful for all of the times Sarah and her then brand-new boyfriend Alex let Annie third wheel on their dates while she went through a bad breakup. Sarah and Alex are now married with a maine coon named Leto and live in Washington, D.C. Sarah is an architect and loves all of the oddball candies that her friends won't eat.  

Jacob met Neil on the first day of his career when they were both hired as new engineers at Parker-Hanifin. Jacob must have made a good impression, because Neil invited him over for board games and they haven't stopped playing since! Neil has a huge heart for his friends and was the first person to make Lexington feel like home to Jacob. Before Jacob met Annie, Neil was his go to counterpart for fun partner halloween costumes. Neil lives in Lexington with partner Katie and their three kitties Rupolomew (Rupie), Max, and Cally. 

Hannah and Annie go way back to high school when they rode the bus home together and bonded over baby names and the ideal way to set up a new society on Mars. When Annie moved back to Lexington in 2019, Hannah was the first friend she called up! From Bachelor watch parties and romance novel discussions to heavy strategy board games and scientific debates, they are well matched friends. Annie feels so lucky to have a childhood friend to walk through the seasons of life with and to occasionally plot out a heist or two. Hannah and her partner Kevin are both biostatisticians who share a home and pups Zelma and Opal.  

Nolan and Jacob met as fraternity brothers in their professional chemistry fraternity, Alpha Chi Sigma, during their freshman year of college. Their friendship has evolved from slogging through thermodynamics homework together to geeking out over fantasy/sci-fi novels. They've stayed close since graduation, often visiting each other and exploring the local foodie scenes in their respective cities. They once dared each other to eat an entire birdseye chili each at a Thai restaurant and then suffered together while the rest of their friends laughed. Nolan lives in Nashville with his wife Lucy and two cats, Vector and Gru. Nolan and Lucy are expecting their first daughter any day now and the bride and groom could not be any more excited for them! 

Annie was so nervous to meet Nicola because she was the first friend of Jacob's that he introduced her to. Nicola and Annie quickly realized that they should be friends in their own right and started going to the climbing gym together sans Jacob! They love to plan outlandish brunch and dinner parties together and both share a real commitment to the bit. They also both love to knit together in between turns while playing board games. Nicola is a band and orchestra teacher and multi-talented musician who can also do a mean handstand.  She lives in Lexington with her partner Joey and their three dogs Jack, Noodles, and Argo. 

Jacob met Josh through Neil during his first year living in Lexington. Josh helped Jacob to see all that his new home had to offer. From hiking and camping in eastern Kentucky to sipping bourbon together in the woods, Josh has a way of getting Jacob out of his comfort zone. He and his wife Stephanie are an important part of Jacob's life and always know how to make him laugh.  When Josh isn't busy with his work for the National Guard, he does a mean Christopher Walken impression. Josh lives in Louisville with his wife Stephanie and their pup Mando. 

Jonathan is Annie's younger brother and the wedding officiant. Growing up, Annie and Jonathan were always building forts, running around outside, and playing on their Nintendo Gamecube. One summer during their childhood they shared a room and bunkbeds so they could wake up early and play hours of Animal Crossing before mom and dad could fuss at them to turn it off! During the pandemic, they both moved back in with their parents and the whole family was under one roof together for the first time since Annie left for college 7 years earlier.  It was during this time that the two siblings really bonded as adults and have enjoyed a close relationship ever since. Jonathan and his fiancé Kenzie live in Lexington with their two daughters and dog Levi. Annie and Jacob couldn't imagine anyone else marrying them!

Anna Karson is one of the bride and groom's much adored nieces! She will be handling all flower girl duties on The Big Day(tm). Anna Karson is the funniest 8 and a half year old you've ever met who loves playing outside and busting out some seriously silly dance moves. Her aunt Annie loves picking her up from school and turning her loose in the woods so they can play and explore together.  Her uncle Jacob loves to build lego sets with her and is always on the hunt for hands on science activities that they can do together.  Recently, the three all went blueberry picking together and at the end of the day Anna Karson had Jacob and Annie convinced that they needed to plant some blueberry bushes at their house! Anna Karson is the daughter of Jonathan and Kenzie and the proud new big sister of baby Lily Brooke.