Kars, squeaky, the middle askew. I have always been known as Karssen's sister. Clearly, I was not the coolest in high school. I have always looked up to Kars, as she seems to float through life without a care in the world. She convinced me to move to Calgary for almost 8 years, and over that time, we moved together, travelled together and stampeded a lot. As we have grown up, she is no longer the annoying little sister who reads my journal, she's one of my best friends, and I am so grateful for a sister like her.

Ma. Mama. Mum, Lois! I know this isn't the norm to have your mum as a bridesmaid, but mum, you are one of my best friends. I have put you through quite literal shit and also had the best times of my life with you. You care way too much, you try to please everyone and you do it all mostly with a smile on your face ;) You have qualities of an angel, haha. Thank you for always challenging my mind, supporting my tears and holding my hand when I needed you the most. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I love you dearly, mum. Thank you so much for being a bridesmaid and standing up there with me on my big day. xx

Cee, Wanzy, the littlest askew, the hard but so squishy little sis. People flock to Cee effortlessly. With her infectious sense of humour and laugh, she is the life of any gathering, always ready to get everyone up and to the beer pong table. Cee doesn't sweat the small stuff; teaching me daily the invaluable lesson of enjoying the moment. I am so happy she is beside me on my big day.

Sarah!! The newest edition to my bride tribe. I met Sarah at the F45 gym in Langford through another member when I should have known her as I was the coach at the time, but my name memorization is not at its finest. Since that moment, Sarah and I have been inseparable. As adults looking back, that might have seemed odd, but Sarah is like the sister I never knew I was missing. She quickly became such a huge role in my life. From working out and making kitchen soup dinners to solving the world's problems over a 6 pack of ciders, there has never been a dull moment. Brad and I have fully adopted her 2 gingy littles and am so grateful to have this wonderful family in our lives.

Sammy! Miss Van Den Bossche, Sammy and I met in Calgary in 2017. We met at a frat boys' Halloween party. She offered me a shot, and I was instantly in love. Since then, we have travelled the world, dated slumps, and found one, and it seems to be a seamless transition through our lives together. How amazing to have one of your besties relate to everything you are going through! Moving back to the island was hard for us, but we have made an effort to see each other at least twice a year in person and chat on the phone, not nearly enough, and that's my fault and ill blame it on work haha Sam is the most generous, caring, talented, sensitive, thoughtful woman I have ever met. She pushes me out of my own way and I will forever be grateful for our friendship.

Larraine, la la bird, sproutie. Larraine and I met in grade 7, and from there, we spent our days together; ooglling over boys, playing sports and figuring out lives challenges together. Larraine has always been such a pillar of strength and rationality in my life. If I ever need a straight-up, no-BS answer, I call Larraine. She's the most caring friend, mother, sister and daughter and has helped me through my sh** more times than I can remember. Everyone needs a Larraine in their lives and I couldn't be more grateful for her in mine.

Jess, Jessica, Payton—so many names for such a beautiful woman inside and out. When I say Jess and I have experienced life together, we have done a thing or two. From late-night clubbing to random adventures, moving away from home to moving back home, losing ourselves and finding us again, she is my rock. She never knew I needed her until we moved back home to the island. After being gone for years, we clicked right back to where we had left off. Jess holds a big piece of my heart, and I wouldn't be at this moment without her.

Adam Bowman, my little big bro. We grew up really close, but we are pretty opposite in most ways. Adam loved karate, video games, German metal music, board games, Weird Al Yankovic, and I played sports and liked shooting kids in the face with nerf darts. We stuck together in life, renting houses together, camping together, and partying together. He's always been there for me, and he's always given me great advice. It's fun as hell to scare him, especially in the shower. I can still beat him up too, even though he has a 3rd degree black belt. One of my favorite memories with my bro is when I buried the ice at his bachelor party, and him hitting #7 on the death wheel "slurp it down".

Mr. Paul Bowman is my dear ol Dad. Growing up, we went camping lots, made me cry during math homework, tricked me into eating soap, broke a few wooden spoons (I deserved it), he introduced me to baseball, and was my baseball coach. As we got older, he has always been the first person I call when I'm sad, mad, happy or can't figure out something. He' never not been there. He (and mom) have been my biggest support system. I love to go watch the Jays, grab a bite, or work on a project with him. He still doesn't let me use power tools though, but I think that's because I don't know the names of screw drivers. Some of my fondest memories are going to Seattle to watch the Jays, playing Ukrainian Horseshoes, and and playing poker with his poker buddies.

Jermaine Pedro, but people call him "Jerm". I moved to Central Saanich after grade 5, and moved in across the street to what would be my longest standing friend. He taught me how to roller blade with one blade on, he taught me about Michael Jackson, tried to get me to like soccer, but I only like getting red cards. We burned wrestlers, fought in mud pits, drank clear Pepsi moonshine, and biked all over town. Growing older, we had a roady to Merritt, and partied at Stockton. Now, we go camping every year and hangout with my god daughters. One of my favorite memories with Jerm is when we escaped getting our asses kicked when visiting his sister, Delia.

Steve Cowie, but we all know him as "Cowie". He and I have been friends since middle school, playing bump at Bayside, using me as a tennis partner, but I was shit at tennis, so he rifled balls at me all day at centennial park. As we grew up, we golfed, played baseball, soccer, squash, slo-pitch, poker nights, traveled to Central America, and one of my favorite times is when we demolished people at beer darts.

Steve Laing, known as "Laing". We met in the summer before grade 6, playing baseball together. In the early years we had sleepovers filled with tinfoil wrapped gumballs, boxed chips, waffles with ice cream, super Nintendo, and sleeping on his trampoline. In the later years, we bought alcohol illegally in Bowser, camped all over, and traveled to Central America for 3 months. One of my favorite memories is our Kelowna trip!

Adam Hanson, but everyone calls him "Horse". We met thanks to my dear friend Tania. We had a rocky start when I accidentally called Tania a bad name when we first met. I also made fun of him to Tania when she asked for my opinion. So, I'm very lucky no one listened to me! I met a new lifelong friend. We get to do what we love together all year, play ball. We got a little gay on salt spring, I still hate the Yankees after taking him to New York, and I think my Longhorns average is probably higher then his. But he can definitely hit a baseball or golf ball way farther then me. One of my favorite memories is the walk off chest bump from Kamloops.

Jonny Peltier and I have been friends since we met on the HMCS Vancouver. We did a lot of dumb things, but survived the military shenanigan's and moved on to other things. We've played a ton of ball together, played dodgeball, we have our monthly dinners, and my favorite times are when we hit the dirt road to go hunting. But never forget the baileys, or he might wake up grumpy. One of my favorite memories with Jonny is spending time after a Vernon Ball tournament at his Loon Lake cabins.