Wedding Party

Jordan & I have known each other since Pre-k. You might get different answers if you ask us both when we became best friends, but I say 5th grade. From St. Matthew, to Mount Carmel, to LSU--she's been there through it all. My original roomie & plus one before Jay came along. From sleepovers, to game days, to late night study sessions, to road trips with bungee jumping and sketchy motels, some of my favorite memories ever include her. She's been there for every milestone and every relationship. She was the first person I told about Jay. She's the Christina to my Meredith, the Rachel to my Monica. She's the friend that I will laugh with till my stomach hurts, that makes me snort or do those silent laughs while you're trying to catch your breath. She's also the one who I can be real with. I gossip to her, I vent to her, I cry to her. She's a lifelong friend that hasn't been scared away even after seeing all my not-so-good qualities. I'm spoiled to have a friend like her and I don't know what I ever did to earn her as my best friend. Not everyone finds themself a person. and she's my person.

There's a big difference between being roommates growing up together and being roommates in college. I don't know if Kelcey was as excited to live with her little sister again for her senior year, but I look back so thankful that we got that time together. I'm thankful that my first year at LSU was so largely impacted by Kelc. If it wasn't for her, I don't know how I would have figured anything out. I probably wouldn't have pushed myself very far out of my comfort zone either. From binge watching Grey's Anatomy for hours on end, to staying up until 2am practicing for Step Show (because I needed ALL the extra practice I could get), to getting to watch me drink too much alcohol for the first time, we got to become better friends, not just sisters. Now in this next stage of life, I've gotten to bug her with a million questions about how to plan a wedding. I truly don't know how I would be figuring anything out right now without her willingness to help me, even in the midst of her planning her own big day. I am so excited to stand next to her on her big day and then to be able to have her return the favor for mine.

Being the oldest sister, Kaylyn had the fun job of paving the way for Kelcey and I. I imagine that has some sense of freedom to it, but also had to have been stressful going in blindly to everything. If it wasn't for Kay, I may not have gone to Mount Carmel. It if wasn't for Kay, I wouldn't have joined CYO and found my sense of faith. found my sense of leadership. If it wasn't for Kay, I probably wouldn't have done cross country, or swim team. (Some of my favorite memories with Kaylyn happened at 5am on the way to Mount Carmel swim practice, singing as loud as we can just to try to keep ourselves awake.) I certainly wouldn't have been crazy enough to do half marathons and a triathlon. Kaylyn has encouraged me to challenge myself not just physically, but mentally. She has determination, work ethic, and grit that is to be admired. She is all the things that oldest siblings tend to be. she's a leader, she's protective. She looks out for you like a big sister should. I plan to continue fulfilling my job as annoying little sister in hopes that she continues fulfilling hers as a role model.

Rossana & I met in graduate school at LSUHSC. I knew I wanted to be friends with her before we even met because of course I looked everyone up on social media before classes started. I think one of the first things I said to her was something along the lines of "So you're the one who has traveled the world, right?" from there it was a pretty seamless friendship. She's one of those core friends that everyones hopes to find in their life. I am constantly in awe of her. She is the definition of a breath of fresh air. She is genuine, caring, intelligent, kind-hearted, joyful, and dependable. Despite being 500+ miles away from one another, I never have to wonder if she'll be there for me when I need her. When my thoughts are jumbled or I'm feeling anxious, I call Rossana, because somehow she just knows how to put whatever you're feeling into words. I am so privileged to be able to call her one of my best friends and to have her stand by my side on our most special day. Te Amo, Ro!

Jenna and I met at SMA CYO's Labor of Love circa 2012. CYO is one of those things that I never expected I'd be involved in, but once I was, there was no pulling me away. Jenna very well might be to blame for that. She became my partner in crime through all the things. She impacted my high school career in more ways than she’ll ever realize. It’s always been the joke that she was the youngest. We give her a hard time for it still. But truth is she was the role model for me. She encouraged me to grow in my faith, pushed me into leadership roles, and helped build my confidence to do things that I look back on now and have no idea how an introvert like myself did. We’ve grown a lot from the little nerdy freshman and sophomore high schoolers. We’ve been through a lot together. 27 hour train rides, recurrent volleyball / cabbage ball loses, glamping, and trying not to break down driving 100 on Earhart expressway singing Anna Sun in my old green Honda Civic. City park, PJs, and Ro-bears were second homes. Paint fights, coffee dates, faithful Fridays and bible studies were weekly occurrences. I'm thankful for a friendship like hers and am so excited for this cotton headed ninny muffin & wolf pack member to stand by my side on our wedding day.

I’m closer in age to Camille than I am with Jay. That, along with us both being the youngest sibling of three, I think is what has made our friendship so seamless. From the start, it was so easy to get along with Camille. She's welcoming, kind, and full of light. She's also incredibly talented--A star tennis play, jewelry maker, and business owner--what can't she do?
One of the bonuses of being with Jay is the addition of another sister. I love wine + board game nights and doing puzzles with her during the holidays. I love hiking in Georgia and white water rafting in Lake Tahoe. Mostly, I just love the fact that Camille is now a forever part of my family. and thanks to her, Jay and I have our engagement on video, which I'm forever thankful for. I'm so excited for her to not only stand by my side on my big day, but to get a front row seat of her oldest brother on his big day.