The Wedding Party

Since a very young age, Christian and I have been very close. Over the years, I have learned a lot from my brother - things I’ll remember forever. Things like, how to handle a bully at school, how to face adversity, or even things like when I should or shouldn’t tell mom and dad I failed a test at school. There isn’t much more I can ask out of a big brother. Although we may have fought from time to time, Christian has always been there for me. Just like the time the BB gun he was holding “accidently” went off and almost shot me, he was there to console me because I was scared. Christian and I have been through it all together. We have so many memories together - from driveway basketball, river trips, cabin trips, birthdays, holidays, and so many more. There are two memories I want to share about Christian that I feel show how good of a brother he is. The first is a time we were at my grandma’s house. My parents were inside and we were playing basketball in the driveway. He was beating me pretty good and telling me how bad I was. Some family friends showed up and their boys, both being my brother’s age, challenged us to a game. I was still steaming from getting beat so bad, but my brother told me they wanted to play us. Of course I said no. I didn’t want to play with him and said that he was just picking on me and those boys were way bigger than me. Christian, being the big brother he is, explained he was just trying to make me better and toughen me up and said if those boys get too physical, he’d take care of it. So we played and honestly, I don’t remember who won. I just remember I went from being mad at him to becoming a team and I knew he had my back. And yes, it did get a little physical, but nothing we couldn’t handle. The second memory I have, I’ve actually never told anyone and I wouldn’t be surprised if Christian doesn’t remember. When I was in 8th grade, Christian was away at college and I was home alone watching the NBA dunk contest. The phone rang and it was Christian calling. I figured he was calling to talk to my parents, but he was actually calling for me. He knew I’d be watching and wanted to know what I thought about the dunk contest and who I thought would win. I remember thinking, with all that he has going on, he remembered how much I liked basketball and how much I loved the dunk contest and he took the time to call me. Although it may sound as though it was just a phone call, it meant a lot more to me than that. Something I’ve never forgotten, nor ever will. I am honored to have Christian in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

I have been fortunate to know Brian almost my whole life. All through the years, Brian and I have been through so much together - Catholic school (1st-8th grade), high school, little league baseball, junior high basketball, Vans warped tour, softball, and many more. Brian has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know and no matter where I am, I know if I need him, he’ll be there. I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again - even though I’m taller than Brian, I've always looked up to him! I have so many great stories I can share, but one of my favorite stories is actually a recent one. Last summer, Brian and Cassie just happened to be in Las Vegas the same weekend Kelly and I were there and we met up for dinner and drinks. Brian wanted to take us to a certain bar, but ended up getting us lost, so we decided to just stop at the bar we happened to be standing in front of. To our surprise, the manager of this bar walks out and we all look at each other and it just happened to be our junior high basketball coach, Coach Jeff. Of course we start reminiscing and telling stories. Coach Jeff goes on to tell us as much as he enjoyed having us on the team, Brian used to drive him absolutely crazy. Apparently, Brian thought he was better suited to be the coach because during school, he used to draw up offensive plays, defensive schemes, and take them to practice and tell Coach Jeff this is what he should be doing and if he did it this way, we would win. When he told us this story, we couldn’t stop laughing. It was hilarious. Coach Jeff couldn’t believe a 6th grader was telling him how to do his job. I am honored to have Brian in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

I have been fortunate to have known Daniel all my life. Daniel and I grew up in South Ontario together since the day we were born. We have been through so much together - Catholic school (1st-8th grade), little league baseball, junior high basketball, junior high football, family vacations. One thing I love about Daniel is no matter how long it may have been since we last talked or hung out together, we always pick up right where we left off. Although Daniel and I often work opposite hours, I know if I need him, he will definitely be there for me. I have so many great memories of me and Daniel, I can’t just pick one, so instead I will share a collection of them and it is from our time at St. Margaret Mary, when we played basketball together. Daniel, being a grade ahead of me, was already on varsity, but when I joined the team, we knew we had something special. We knew each other’s game so well. We always knew where we were going to be on the court. I remember so many times getting double teamed and having to look to pass and then, out of nowhere, here comes Daniel down the lane. I’d pass to him and he would end with the best finger role around, just like James Worthy (he was actually #42 just like Worthy). We had so many great battles on the court, but the best was against St. George. Daniel and I waited all year for a rematch after losing to them the year before. We practiced endlessly. We even went to basketball camp that summer to better ourselves. We eventually met St. George in the championships. Unfortunately we lost, but to this day, playing in that championship game with Daniel and battling together, after hours of practice, is one of my favorite games I have ever played in and I am happy to have shared that moment with Daniel. I am honored to have Daniel in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

William and I met in the 4th grade when he and his family moved onto the same street I was living. What most people don’t know is that William and I did not get along when we first met. William moved in across the street from our friend Adam and they were friends from school. I lived three houses down from Adam and although we didn’t go to school together, I considered him my friend. So William and I basically fought for Adam’s friendship because we both thought we were entitled to it (Adam, on the other hand, just sat back and loved us fighting over him lol). Eventually, William and I not only became friends, but great friends - a friendship I will cherish forever. William is one of the hardest working men I’ve ever met and a true family man. One thing I admire about William is his devotion to his family and faith. William and I have so many great memories together from our camping trips, playing basketball and football on the street, little league baseball, and even buying our condos together in the same community. We have done a lot. One of my favorite stories of William is a recent one and it describes the type of man William is. One Friday, I was at work and Kelly was working at my house and Kelly called me terrified because there was two-foot flying beetle in the house that was going to attack her. Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave work, so I called William knowing he probably just got off work, hoping he would he would answer. Luckily, he did and he said he had just got done with work and was at the gym and was going to go to sleep afterwards. After I explained to him Kelly was being attacked by a two-foot flying beetle in my house, it was William to the rescue. As William puts it, he walked in the house to find Kelly about 40 feet away hiding in the corner holding a shoe in one hand, her phone in the other, and was staring at the insect. He calmly asked where this giant beetle was, calmed her down, walked over, caught it without a problem, set it free, and saved Kelly’s life. That is the kind of man William is and I am forever grateful to him for him saving Kelly’s life. I am honored to have William in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

Adam and I grew up on the same street together in South Ontario and since a young age, have been great friends. Adam and I have been through a lot together - little league baseball, playing sports in the street, family vacations, and hospital rooms when he decided to spray me in the face with a fire extinguisher, lol. Adam and I have had so many great memories growing up and over the years, we have laughed for hours reminiscing over all the things we’ve done and been through. One of my favorite stories with Adam is when we were in little league playing against each other. Although we played together after school all the time, we never played on the same little league team, which we always wanted to do. So Adam, being a terrific pitcher, was pitching against my team when we were in the majors. In all our years playing little league, we had never faced each other till now. We were so excited, and of course talking crap to each other leading up to that game, and the day finally came. With our parents sitting together in the stands watching, I came up to the plate ready to swing. I gave Adam a nod, basically saying, "Let’s do this," and he returned the nod as well. As Adam goes into his wind up, I am eager to go yard, ready for his pitch, but to my surprise, Adam throws it right at me and hits me in the head, lol. As I walk to first he says sorry, which of course I said no problem and we both had a good laugh, but I was ready to get back up there and hit again. Unfortunately, I would never get the chance to hit one of Adam’s pitches because he continued to accidently hit me the next two times I came to bat, lol. To this day, it is one of my favorite childhood stories to tell. We always laugh so hard when we talk about it. I am honored to have Adam in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

Randy and I met when I moved home from college and at this time, he had already been dating my sister, Michelle, for about a year. I had heard good things about Randy, but of course being the protective brother I am, I wanted to meet him for myself. Michelle invited me to join them at Zendejas in Ontario for drinks on a Friday night. Not knowing much about Randy, I didn’t know what to expect. As I showed up, Michelle introduced me. I ordered a beer and we sat there drinking our beers and getting to know each other. We had a lot of similar interests like the river and sports. We became friends right away. One of the things I liked about Randy right away was that he told me about his daughters and how he was raising them by himself and from that moment, I knew Michelle was with a good guy. Randy and I have had a lot of laughs and great times, but one of my favorite memories isn’t one of his. One day, Michelle was watching the girls and Zach (our nephew) and they had to go to another party that afternoon. So I randomly decided to start a club that day and told the kids it’s going to be the best club ever and we are going to have so much fun, but in order to be part of the club, each of them had to complete a task. Each of their tasks were different and needed to be completed by the following morning. Hailee was in charge of bringing me a piece of cake from the party they were going to; Zach had to bring me the sports page from the newspaper; and Kassidy had to bring me a cheeseburger first thing in the morning. Well, I didn’t really think the kids would remember any of this, but come to find out they were stressing about it all day at the party that they really didn’t enjoy themselves. The next morning when they woke up, Zach was ready with the sports page, Hailee had her piece of cake for me, but Kassidy still needed my cheeseburger. She wakes up Randy at 7am crying to him that she is going to be the only one kicked out of the club because she didn’t complete her task and he has no idea what she is talking about, so he wakes up Michelle trying to figure out what’s going on. By this time, Randy is annoyed and mad that he is being woken up so early on a Sunday after working on Saturday to get me a cheeseburger because I will kick his daughter out of a club I just made up the day before. So I am sitting at the table having a cup of coffee at my parent's house when the door flies open. The kids come running in the house telling me they completed their task and there is Randy, looking so angry with what I started, it was awesome. That is by far one of my favorite memories. Thanks again for that cheeseburger, Randy. You’re the best. I am honored to have Randy in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

*On May 28, 2017, Randy was found unresponsive and unexpectedly passed away. Randy was a great man and will be deeply missed. As we are saddened by his passing, we reflect on the great memories we have of him. I will never forget the moment we shared together the night I proposed to Kelly. He hugged us, told us congratulations, how happy and proud he was of us, and that he loved us both. We will all miss Randy so very much and we know he will be present in spirit, right there with us, on our wedding day. RIP Randy. I love and miss you Brother!

I met Doug when I went to college in Spokane, Washington. Doug and I actually grew up about 20 minutes from each other, but didn’t know each other. When we met, we instantly became great friends and we're known as the “Cali Boys” on the football team. We became such good friends so fast. Some of the other players on the team assumed we had known each other for years. For those who don’t know, Doug was a stud football player and he was also our captain (I know he’s going to hate me for adding that part lol). But Doug wasn’t our captain just because of his play on the field, but also because of who he was off the field - a great man. Since knowing Doug, we have had so many great laughs and made so many great memories, from snowboarding trips, spring breaks, college parties, endless hours of playing poker, and of course, our college football games. When people ask how we met, it is so easy to say we met in college, but the story of how we actually met is hilarious and one of my favorites. When I went to college, my parents and my sister flew me up to drop me off. It was our first time to Spokane, so we wanted to explore and we eventually found a creek and decided to walk around. It was a quiet area. People were fishing and we were just enjoying the moment. Suddenly, my sister screamed and then my mom screamed and my dad turned to them and asked what was wrong and they said they saw a mouse the size of King Kong (of course they were exaggerating lol), but my dad and I never saw it. As this happened, there just happened to be a father and son fishing in the water and my dad said sorry to them for being loud, and that dad said, "Don't worry about it. We don’t care. We aren’t from here. We are from Southern California and are just fishing for the day." Well, it turned out that was Doug and Ed (his dad) and that’s where we met and have been great friends ever since. And, just so you know, that mouse my sister said was the size of King Kong has never been caught, so be careful if you're ever in Spokane. I am honored to have Captain Doug in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

Adam and I met in college. We both played football for Whitworth. Although Adam was a year ahead of me and played on the opposite side of the ball, we became great friends. During certain school breaks, Adam would take me down to Newport, Oregon, where he grew up and we'd spend time with his family and he'd show me around. When you meet Adam, you know you're meeting a very genuine and great person - someone whom I am honored to call my friend. Adam loves to tell the story of how we went to a local bar where everyone drinks IPA’s and local beers and I walked in and ordered a Bud Light (yes, I drank Bud Light back then) and how everyone stopped and stared at us, so he had to order for me. His response to them was that I was from So Cal and I didn’t know good beers - oh Adam. We have so many great memories from college and even after college when I moved to Oregon and lived with him, Crissa, and little Baxter. My absolute favorite story of me and Adam is when we had a radio show together our senior year called, “The Love Line.” I had already been in radio for a few years and I convinced Adam to take radio and join me on the air for a semester. Since it was during football season, Adam wasn’t sure if he had the time for it because he was already taking a full load. I went to the teacher, whom had been the teacher since I started radio, and explained to him that Adam and I wanted to take radio but had full loads and asked if it would be ok if we didn't come to class at all, but still turned in our final at the end of the semester and did our weekly radio show. The teacher agreed to those terms and that semester, we did our show. It was a great show. We would often have our friends on and Adam, being the R&B guy he is, would play all the love songs. Well, the end of the semester came and we received our grades and that was when I received a phone call from Adam. The teacher decided to give us F’s because we never came to class. Adam was pretty upset saying it was the first F he had ever received and that his parents were going to me mad, lol. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I could do. The teacher said he didn’t remember having that conversation with me, but he’s a liar. Adam, even though we both laugh at it now and it makes for a good story, I am sorry you got an F in radio, but we still had fun, lol. I am honored to have Adam in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

Ian and I met in college where we both played football together. Ian was a few years older than I was and during my freshman year and we didn’t know each other till after football season. Throughout my first couple of years in college, if you didn’t find me in the dorms, the library, or the gym, there was a good chance I was at Ian’s house (Doug and Adam would make me go lol). We had a lot of great memories hanging out at his house. BBQ’s on the deck, watching football, social gatherings, and even getting hypnotized. Ian and I got very close over the years and stayed in touch a lot. When I moved to Oregon for work, often you would find me at his house and we'd pick up right where we left off in college. BBQ’s every weekend, hanging out watching sports, playing with his kids - we did it all. I have shared a lot of great memories with Ian, but one will always stick out. When I was on my third year in Oregon for work and work was bad, I was getting depressed and thinking of moving home. Ian was there for me and helped get me through it and I am forever grateful. One of my favorite Ian stories is when we became instant friends. It was during January of my freshman year and we were taking a class together (during January, you take one class Mon – Thurs, 8 hours a day). After the first class that first week, he invited me to go back to his house with some of the other upperclassmen to have a few beers and watch The Simpsons. Little did I know we were going to be doing that every day that month, lol. It was a great time and we became great friends. Eventually, he would make me the bouncer at his parties and he loves to tell people how I would turn away seniors when they tried to come in without paying when I was just a freshman. I am honored to have Ian in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

I met Brian about a month and a half after meeting Kelly at her parent's house for a Christmas party. Within 3 minutes of meeting Brian, I knew he and I were going to get along great. Right when he got to the party, before even being introduced to him, he said to me and Kelly, “Hey, look what I brought for tonight. It’s a fart noise maker. Let’s have some fun.” Instantly, I knew we have the same type of humor. Then a few minutes, later Kelly was talking to her uncle about math and work and Brian walks up to her and says, “Ugh, why are you talking about math? You don’t see me walking around talking to people about their teeth do you?” (he's a dentist). It was hilarious. Prior to meeting Brian, Kelly told me how close the two of them are and how she hoped he and I would get along. After that night, I told her she has nothing worry about - we're going to get along just great. I have enjoyed getting to know Brian and his family and although we may not have a lot of stories to share now, I have no doubt we are going to have hundreds to share eventually. I am honored to have Brian in our wedding to celebrate this special day with us.

Annie and I have been best friends since we were 3 years old. We met on the swing sets and Annie didn’t know how to swing herself, so I helped push her and we’ve been friends ever since. What’s interesting is most of our lives, we’ve lived far apart. When we were 8 years old, Annie moved away to Moorpark (about 2 hours from where I lived at the time). Then, she went to college in San Luis Obispo (4 ½ hours away) and she now lives in Reno (8 hours away), but that didn’t stop us! One of my favorite stories about Annie was back when we were in college. She came down to visit one time and my roommate and I had some people over and we played Truth or Dare. Now keep in mind, at this point Annie and I had been living apart for years and years, so every time she picked truth, I was shocked by her answer lol. Friend: "Do you have a boyfriend?" Annie: "Yes." Me: "You do??" One after the other I was shocked by her answers lol. My friends started to ask me, "Are you sure she's your best friend?" Lol apparently I needed to call her more! Even though we've lived so far apart for most of our lives, we have been best friends this entire time and would drop everything at the drop of a hat for one another. I am so blessed to have her in my life and am honored to have her as my Matron of Honor.

Alison and I met in sorority. We both rushed at the same time (along with Debbie) and became instant friends. One thing I love about her is that she always seems to be in a good mood and is always so happy-go-lucky. Her positivity is so contagious and it makes her a joy to be around. She is currently working in Washington DC, so we don’t get as much time together as I would like, but we’ve made an effort to stay connected and get together whenever she comes to visit (and it’s always a great time). I admire her for pursuing her goals and making such an effort to move away to reach them, but I am secretly hoping she moves back lol. There are plenty of jobs in California! In all seriousness, though, I am very happy for her and love watching her winter snow videos on Facebook (because it really is a big deal to see snow falling where you live when you’ve lived in California you’re whole life lol) and I am so happy to have her as one of my bridesmaids.

Claudia is my little sister in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. We met when she was 12 and have been paired up for almost 6 years now. Joining this program was the best decision I ever made in my life. When I joined, I was hoping to help a child in need and become a mentor to them, but I never knew that it would affect me, too. Claudia is one of the kindest people I know. She has the biggest heart and has always put others first. Always. When we first met, we were on our way to one of our outings and out of nowhere, she said, "If I had a million dollars, I would give $100 a week to everyone in my family because they don't have a lot of money," and I stared at her. I could not believe what she said. Keep in mind that she was about 12 at that time. I don't know about you, but I never thought about anyone else when I was 12. I know - that's totally selfish and apparently I was! She definitely put me to shame and from that day forward, I started looking at myself in the mirror, but apparently not enough. For example, one of my favorite stories with her was when we went to a Pet Expo in Orange County. She was probably around 14 at that time. I will never forget we were walking in and the topic came up about what we'd do if we won the lottery (apparently we talk about money a lot lol). Word of advice - never answer that question first lol. Unfortunately for me, no one ever gave me that advice, so I went first. I don't know what you would say, but I thought about it and said, "I'd probably pay off my debt. Maybe buy a house and a new car. How about you?" I bet you can guess what she said lol. She looked up at me and without hesitation, she said, "I would build a hospital in Mexico." o_O I looked down and shook my head because once again she had completely put me to shame lol. What is wrong with me! I thought what I said was a standard answer! Not to her. She has always been like that from the very beginning and always will be. Since then, we've gone volunteering together, I've participated in fundraising events for the program, I've spoken at a recruitment event and on a panel and this is just the beginning. She has made such an impact on my life and I am so blessed to have her in my life and as one of my bridesmaids.

Debbie and I also met in sorority. What I love about her is her bubbly personality. When you are around her, you are constantly laughing and smiling. Ever since I met Bryan, Debbie and I have gotten a lot closer since they live somewhat close together, so that was another blessing about meeting Bryan! I could not image my life without Debbie and she was one of the first people I called after Bryan and I got engaged. What’s funny is that I don’t think Debbie and I realized how much we have in common until recently. We were at my parent’s house one day and my dad started talking to her about where she grew up and what she did in high school and we found out with were both in band! That’s right - we were both “band geeks” and proud of it! Everyone knows I love math and wave that around proudly, so throwing the band in the mix is nothing lol. At the end of the day, I knew I needed Debbie up there with me as I say my vows to Bryan and start our life together and I know Debbie will be with us to the end.

Jenn is going to be one of my new sister-in-laws and I could not be more excited! One of my favorite stories about Jenn is when I first met her, Christian, and Kalei (Ke'ala was still on the way). Jenn was about 7 or 8 months pregnant at the time and Bryan and I went to meet them and his parents for dinner before going to Kalei's Christmas show. Although I tried to rush home from work that day, Bryan and I knew we were going to be late and we told them. By the time we made it to the restaurant, everyone had already finished and were ready to head out soon, but since Bryan picked me up right when I got home from work, I hadn't eaten yet and I was starving. I looked around at everyone's empty plates and thought aww man we are definitely not going to have time to order because it will take too long and they are ready to go, but I am so hungry. Just then, Bryan's mom offered her plate to everyone saying that she was full and wanted to see if anyone wanted to finish it. I looked at it and said, "I'll take it!" Everyone burst into laugher and Jenn said, "I like this girl!" I knew I was going to make everyone laugh because no one usually accepts those offers (especially someone who is meeting people for the first time lol), but I was hungry! That made a lasting first impression and we laugh about it to this day lol. I don't know what it is about Bryan's family, but I have been comfortable with everyone from the start, including Jenn. We clicked right away. She is so easy to talk to and I quickly became so comfortable around her. She is always so welcoming when we are over at her and Christian’s house and they have raised the most respectful and beautiful kids and that just makes me want to be around them even more. When Bryan and I got engaged, I had always heard that you’re not only marrying him, but you’re marrying his family as well and I cannot tell you how happy I am to have Jenn as part of my family now. She is already starting to feel like a sister to me and that feeling is growing more and more each day. Bryan has always spoken so highly of her from day one and I can see why. I am happy to have her as one of my bridesmaids, but even more happy to have her as part of my family now.

Jen is another fellow sorority sister! Jen is one of my favorite people to be around. Every time I am with her, I am always cracking up. I swear that we were separated at birth sometimes because we are so similar. We both love food (and are not afraid to be the first one to grab a plate lol). We both love Jack and Coke and Dos Equis. And we both love Britney Spears lol. My other favorite thing about her is how much she loves popcorn lol. It is so random, but when I would invite her over and ask what snacks she wants, she’d always ask, “Do you have any popcorn?” Even recently, we went out in L.A. and when we got back, she threw a bag in the microwave and we spent the night watching *NSYNC and Britney Spears videos lol. I always love hanging out with her and we always have the best time. I am so excited to have her as one of my bridesmaids and can’t wait till we hang out again.

This beautiful girl is my future niece! Kassidy is Bryan's niece and you will often hear him refer to her as Rawr or her refer to him as Uncle Rawr. Strange? Yes, lol, but it comes with a story. When Bryan first met Kassidy, she was very young and when he walked into the room, she didn't know who he was and so she growled at him and said, "Rawr!" He in turn looked at her confused and growled back lol. And the nicknames began! One of my favorite things about Kassidy is how sweet she is and how much we have in common. I feel like we both have very similar personalities and interests and we're both very picky eaters lol. It was only a matter of time before we became close friends and I am excited to grow even closer together as time goes on. One of my other favorite things about Kassidy is how close she is to Bryan. He adores her, along with all his other nieces and nephew, and that made me want to get to know her even more. I am so excited to be her future Aunt!

Michelle is another future sister-in-law! For those of you who don’t know her, Michelle is Bryan’s sister. One thing I love about Michelle is that she loves to have fun. Whether it is watching a football game, going to the river, or just going out for drinks, if there is a fun time going on, you know she’ll be there! One of my favorite things about Michelle is how much she loves her step-daughters. She told me one time how she gets jealous when they’ll text her husband, Randy, instead of her and when he is away from his phone, she’ll look at her phone waiting for them to text her instead. While it was such a simple story that she may not have even remembered telling me, that always stuck with me and I smiled when she said that. She is so family-oriented (along with everyone else in their family) and I am happy to be included in on that now. After Bryan and I got engaged, we went back to her house and I remember looking around at all the pictures around their house and saying, “This is all mine now,” (meaning that they are all my family now). As much as I can’t wait to call Bryan my husband, I am also just as excited to call his family my own.

Raquel is one of my sisters-in-law and she has been in my life all the way back to when I was in middle school. So she has seen me through my awkward hair stages, when I went in and out of braces, and was there cheering me on when I was in Colorguard. I never had a sister growing up and Raquel was the first one to come in to my life and I remember always looking up to her. When I was a kid, I remember she came to babysit me one time (that’s how long she’s known me lol) and I was SO excited. I remember even being sad it was going to be over before it even started lol. She was always so fun to be around and when she got married to my brother, I was so excited because now I knew she got to stay in my life forever. One of my favorite stories about Raquel is when she and my brother were first dating. My oldest brother and I are 10 years apart, so we didn’t hang out too much as I was growing up because we really didn’t have anything in common. When Raquel came along, though, he invited me to go with them to the zoo. You can only imagine how excited I was. Not only did I get to hang out with Raquel, but this was the first time my brother ever invited me to do anything (not as bad as it sounds lol). Come to find out years later that he was using me to win over Raquel lol. He wanted to impress her and also wanted to use my parent’s car lol. As butthurt as I was when I found out, apparently his plan worked! And I’m glad it did because I love having Raquel as a sister-in-law and now one of my bridesmaids!

Blake is my nephew and is twins with Avery. One thing I love about Blake is that he reminds me so much of myself where he loves math and science (science not so much for myself, but anyone who knows me knows how much I love math lol). He loves robotics and I can tell he’s going to be a master Engineer one day. He also loves comic books (and their movies) and I think we all know I am obsessed with the movies, too, lol. I am also happy to see how well he gets along with Bryan. When Bryan was telling him and the rest of their family that he was going to propose to me, he said, “Can I call you my uncle now?” Lol I thought that was so awesome. Yes, Bryan is absolutely going to be his uncle along with my niece and other nephews and I am so happy our family is expanding (and it sounds like Blake is also!).

Avery is my niece and also our dancer in the family! She has been dancing ever since she was a little kid and at her first performance, she was probably around 4 years old, I remember she looked around until she saw her dad (my brother) and then burst into tears lol. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen lol. Ever since then, dancing has become her passion and she is doing amazing! Now, she is competing and her team just went to Las Vegas for the National Championships and blew the competition out of the water! One thing about Avery is that she is the sweetest thing in the world. Whenever I am around her, I am always happy. She is never in a bad mood and is always so happy and bubbly without a care in the world and that feeling is so contagious. When Bryan and I first got engaged, she smiled shyly at me and said, “I could always be a junior bridesmaid,” and that was the best idea I’d ever heard.

My goddaughter, Kalei, is one of the sweetest young ladies and such a joy to be around. I love her so much. When Kalei was born, I was just getting ready to move to Oregon for work and I was so afraid she wasn’t going to know who I was and wouldn't remember me each time I came home. To my surprise, she knew exactly who I was and always remembered me because my sister-in-law, Jenn, was always showing her pictures of me - not letting her forget who I was. Some of my favorite moments with Kalei is when I would FaceTime her from Oregon and instead of talking, all we would do is make funny faces and funny noises to each other, causing us to laugh so much. My sister-in-law summed it up perfectly one time and said, “That’s just how they communicate.” We are excited to have Kalei be part of our special day.

My goddaughter, Ke’ala, is our most recent addition to the Bonté family. We all knew she was going to be special when she broke the Bonté record for biggest Bonté baby born - 10 lbs (nice work, Jenn). Ke’ala is such a beautiful baby and makes everyone smile the minute they meet her. We have enjoyed watching her go from being a baby just lying there, to crawling and now to walking, and soon she will be saying our names. We love her so much. We are excited to have Ke’ala be part of our special day.

I can’t say enough about how great my parents are and how much they mean to me. No matter where I have been in my life, my parents have always been there no matter what and have supported me. I will never forget when I first told them about Kelly. Let's start with my dad. When I first told my dad about Kelly, it was actually the day before our first date. It was a Thursday and I told my dad I met a girl and she seems really awesome and I will be taking her out the next night on Friday. For those of you who know my dad, you won’t be surprised to learn that his first response was, “But USC has a football game tomorrow night. I can’t believe you’re going to miss the game for a girl you haven’t met yet.” Even though he couldn’t believe I was going to miss a USC game, he wanted to know all about her. On my way to meet Kelly, he text me the score of the game, but eventually realized that since I didn’t text back, the date must be going well. When he eventually met Kelly, he loved her immediately. So much, in fact, that he asks me regularly when she is coming to visit for he can stock up on cookies for her. I first told my mom about Kelly after our first date and when I went to tell her about Kelly, she knew something was up. My mom kept smiling at me and looked at me like she knew I had something important to tell her and when I said I have to tell you something, she said, “You met someone didn’t you?” Of course I said yes and couldn’t stop smiling. For those of you who know my mom, you know what the first questions were that she asked me. She asked, “Is she Catholic? Does she want to get married and does she want children?” Once I said yes to all, with a big smile on my face, my mom got really excited and wanted to know ALL about her. She loved Kelly immediately and couldn’t wait to meet her! My parents are extremely excited for me and Kelly and they have been so supportive in every way and we cannot thank them enough. I have personally enjoyed watching them get to know Kelly and Kelly’s family. From the moment everyone met, our families have gotten along so well. We are looking forward to bringing our families closer together and making memories to share. Thank you for always being there for me, mom and dad. You both made me the man I am today. I will never forget all the sacrifices you made for me and for always pushing me to do my very best. I pray one day I can be as good of a parent that you both have been. When people tell me how good of a guy I am, the first thing I tell them is, "It’s the way I was raised. My parents deserve all the credit." I love you both so much and I am honored to have you both be part of our special day.

My parents have been so helpful and supportive throughout this whole engagement and we couldn’t be more thankful. They let me move back home, so we could save money, and my mom has also been helping us with things like our registry and much more. They had to get used to my kitties coming with me, but I think we’ve all become one big happy family lol. Best of all, they absolutely adore Bryan. My mom had even wanted us to get engaged sooner than we did! That is definitely a good sign! One of my favorite stories of them and Bryan was when he went to ask for their blessing about asking me to marry him. I obviously found out about this after the fact, but when Bryan text my dad asking if he could have dinner with him and my mom without me, my dad didn't respond. After some time went by with no response, Bryan started to get nervous thinking my dad was upset with him for some reason and text him again asking if a different day worked better. Still no response. The next day came and Bryan was starting to run out of time as the big day was coming up and he still hadn't heard from my dad. Turned out, my dad was sick in bed and he eventually replied to let Bryan know that. That being said, Bryan still needed to meet with them to get their blessing before the big day came. Little did he know, my mom saw the text Bryan had sent to my dad and she looked at my dad and said, "You need to get better NOW! You know what this is about!" LOL! So in came the troops and my mom and my brother worked non-stop to get my dad better lol. Medicine after medicine. Rest. Drinking lots of fluids. You name it. Finally, they were able to schedule a dinner and Bryan was able to ask them. Even though I wasn't there, that's still my favorite story lol.

Msgr. Michael is my aunt’s brother-in-law, so he is basically my uncle and we definitely consider him to be part of the family. When Bryan and I got engaged, there was no doubt in our mind that we were going to want him to celebrate our wedding. Having someone from the family perform the ceremony for us is such a blessing and is so much more personal and we are so happy to have him share our special day with us. He is such a good man and is so fun to be around as he cracks jokes with my dad. We know our wedding will be even more wonderful with him up on the altar with us and we wouldn’t have it any other way.