The Wedding Party
Marlina Davidson - Matron of Honor
Marlina and I met while at college, although in different sororities we rushed at the same time and had mutual friends. We didn’t start to really hang out though until my sophomore year. Since then we’ve continued to grow closer and I can always count on her. We have many similar interests and thoughts about life, and I often find that she can understand me when no one else does. I’m very thankful to have her as a best friend. She is currently teaching in the Communications Department at UNO and was just married on June 23rd.
Alyssa Stieren - Matron of Honor
Alyssa and I also met at college, we were both Sigma Kappa’s and ended up living together my sophomore year. We didn’t know much about each other before that year but I must say she’s the best roommate I’ve ever had. We ended up living together for three years and grew to be the best of friends. Alyssa can always brighten my day and make me laugh and I don’t think we’ve ever gone out and not had fun. She’s one of the smartest people I know and I can always count on her to listen. She is currently working at KPMG as a Senior Associate.
Megan Burns - Maid of Honor
Megan of course is my younger and only sister. Growing up you’d most likely find us either fighting or laughing about something. Usually within the same hour! But even with our many snips at each other, we manage to get along for the most part and can enjoy hanging out together. She moved to Omaha after graduating from the University of Iowa in May 2006 and currently works for the Muscular Dystrophy Association as their Health Care Service Coordinator.
Carrie Buckley - Bridesmaid
Carrie is another good friend of mine, although we met while attending Northwest, we didn’t become close friends until more recently. She is one of the strongest people I know, she amazes me all the time in what she can accomplish. She’s also a lot of fun to be around, which is great because with her husband and Justin being good friends we often end up at the same events. Carrie works for Harrah’s Casino in their HR Department.
Justin’s Attendants:
Ryan McAleer - Best Man
Ryan is my older brother. He is probably as good of a brother as anyone could ask for. He has always been there for me when I needed him. Our days growing up were filled with playing out in the yard with various action figures (GI Joe, Star Wars, He-Man and Transformers), riding bikes off sweet jumps and of course sports. He’ll probably say that I was the nicer brother though, considering he never would have beaten me if I hadn’t let him. Ryan currently works at PayPal as a Resolutions Services Agent.
John Sadlemyer - Groomsman
Sadle has been one of my best friends ever since our freshman year at Ralston. Over the next four years it seemed like we did everything together, played baseball, worked at the same places, and hung out with the same great friends. All I can remember from that time is a lot of laughter. John and I have remained close friends ever since. John still lives in Omaha and works at Professional Research Consultants. Sadle is also in band, The John Henry Band, and they play at local venues almost every weekend, but we still find time hang out whenever we can.
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Eric Holz -Groomsman
I have known Eric since elementary, although we didn’t become good friends until high school. Eric made many road trips during college to come see me down in Maryville. He became so well known down there that most people were surprised to find out that he didn’t actually go there. Eric is always good for a laugh and is one of the funniest people I know. He has been a great friend over the years, although he apparently doesn’t like to have his picture taken.
Matt Payne - Groomsman
I met Payne my sophomore year at Northwest when we had a class together. Back then we spent many days just hanging in Maryville creating ways to have fun (i.e. pop-on-top, plastering campus with smiley face stickers from Wal-Mart, or doing the worm on the floor of the Outback). We continue to have good times in Omaha where Matt lives with his wife Mikala. Matt is currently working at PayPal.
Mike Welch - Groomsman
Mike is one of the biggest kids I know and is always looking to have a good time. He also went to Northwest and we lived together my first senior year when we spent entirely way too much time playing video games, eating ketchup only sandwiches and playing beer die. Mike is currently living is Kansas City with his fiance, Emily and coming soon their daughter.
Matt Burns - Usher
Matt is my older brother, although only by 15 months, giving most people the first impression that we might be twins. Matt always a year ahead in school was able to look out for me, which mainly meant that I wasn’t allowed to date any of his friends! Matt spends a lot of his free time training for triathlons and most recently ran the Omaha half-marathon with me. He currently lives in Muscatine, Iowa where he works as a Product Development Engineer for The HON Company.
Brandon Buckley - Usher
Brandon happens to be a good friend of both Justin and mine from college. Justin and Brandon were both TKE’s down at Northwest. I met Brandon while hanging around the house and vividly remember Brandon’s assistance on my 21st birthday. Brandon and his wife Carrie live in Omaha and we often all hang out together. He works for Walgreens as a store manager, which can make getting together sometimes difficult with his ever-changing schedule.
Brandon Juon - Usher
And finally, last but definitely not the least, the other Brandon is also a good friend of Justin’s and mine from college. If you’ve read the “Our Story”, you’ll know that Brandon helped out in getting us together. I can’t exactly remember when I met Brandon, but ever since I went to Northwest I can always remember knowing him and we had lots of fun hanging out on the weekends when possible. Justin and Brandon were both TKE’s at Northwest and met through the fraternity. They both love the Cubs and like to discuss sports when together. Although Brandon only lives over in Council Bluffs, we don’t get to see him too often. He works full time at a bank as a commerical loan assistant, but is getting ready to open his own bar.