Emily & Erik
August 9, 2025 • Howell, MI
85 Days To Go!
Emily & Erik
August 9, 2025 • Howell, MI
85 Days To Go!
Bridesmaids
Jackie - Matron of Honor
Every short girl needs a tall best friend! Jackie and Emily met in 7th grade and have been best friends since. Through middle school, high school, college, and after, they always stay in touch snapchatting each other through life's biggest events! When Jackie got engaged, she sent a snapchat to Emily announcing it (and then apparently forgot she did this), but Emily always remembered so when Erik proposed, Emily sent a snapchat with a funny filter on it to Jackie and Jackie said "he did not because you wouldn't use a filter like that for announcing that."
Brittany - Bridesmaid
Brittany and Emily met in middle school at a sleepover they were both invited to. They participated in plays and musicals together throughout high school, and made friendship bears when Emily went away to college. They have always stayed best friends regardless of distance, with Brittany eventually moving to NYC and Emily moving to Missouri. Their most memorable times together include The Script concert, waiting all night at the mall to meet Kelly Clarkson, and traveling 18 hours on a bus to New York to meet Adam Lambert.
Stephanie - Bridesmaid
Stephanie is Emily's oldest sister. Before Emily started dating Erik, she would go to the U of M/MSU games with Stephanie and wear MSU attire. She is sorry for her sudden change in team support. Emily's favorite memory with Stephanie is when she got backstage passes to meet the American Idol contestants and Stephanie didn't believe her. Lucky for Stephanie, there was an extra ticket and she got to go even though she was a non-believer.
Jen - Bridesmaid
Jennifer is Emily's older sister. Growing up, she was always very generous, from paying for Mother's or Father's Day dinners when Emily was in college, to giving her the minivan when Emily turned 16 so she had a car to drive. Emily's favorite memory with Jennifer is when they built a snowman and then put on skirts and t-shirts to go outside and take a picture with skirts on in the snow.
Tori - Bridesmaid
Tori and Emily met in Circle K when before traveling to Nashville together for the International Convention, Tori asked Emily if her car had air conditioning or "if she should strap an ice pack to her forehead for the road trip." Luckily, Emily's car had A/C and they have been friends since! Tori and Emily love talking on the phone for hours at a time and Tori accompanies Emily on many 9 hour road trips by calling to help pass the time.
Heidi - Bridesmaid
Heidi and Emily met in Circle K. They stayed in touch after CKI and their friendship has grown to doing daily New York Times Puzzles and watching TV shows together although they live states away. Emily got Heidi into watching Big Brother, and Heidi got Emily into watching Survivor, so you can catch them both saying "Ready? Go" over text message and watching together virtually on a weekly basis.
Kaitlyn - Bridesmaid
As Erik's younger sister, Kaitlyn and Emily met when Emily first visited Erik's hometown to meet his family. On their first long trip together, Emily told Kaitlyn "you will now find out how weird I am on this trip," but Kaitlyn assured her that she already knew.
Kelly - Flower Girl
What started out as a joke long before Emily and Erik got engaged has now become a reality. Kelly has been so supportive of Emily and Erik's relationship since they started dating, so she always said they were so cute and she wanted to be the flower girl at their wedding. Now it is a reality and no longer a joke!
Groomsmen
Best Man - Andrei
If you combine two boys, two beers, and two Buicks you've got the recipe for the friendship that carried Erik through medical school. No matter the ups and downs in their time at CMED, you could find Erik and Andrei together working hard and playing harder. If you ask Erik, the hardest part of graduating med school was having to move across the country from his best friend. By the time this wedding rolls around, it will have been a while since Erik and Andrei have gotten to see each other, so do Emily a favor and keep an eye on them during the reception so it doesn't get too crazy.
Spencer - Groomsman
Picture this, it's a month before residency, and Emily and Erik are making the trek to visit Missouri for the first time. Erik decides to reach out to Spencer and thought "let's see if this guy wants to meet up so we can see if he is as much of a square as he looks in the picture." Fast forward 4 years of residency and Spencer has been Erik's best buddy through it all. For Erik and Spencer, there's nothing that a couple of pints and 3 hours of cathartic venting can't fix and there's no one else that Erik would need to call to make that happen.
Ridge - Groomsman
Yes, before you ask, the Viking bearded man is Erik's younger brother, Ridge. For almost two full years from 94-96, Erik was having the best years of his life. Then Ridge, the only planned child, decided to come and take it away. However, about 18 years later there finally came the time in every big bro/little bro relationship, where Erik thought to himself "you know what...this kid ain't that bad." Ridge pulled a fast one on Erik and got married first, but in the same way Erik stood up for Ridge on his wedding day, there was never a doubt that Ridge would be there standing up with Erik on his day.
Ryan - Groomsman
Every man has that one friend from middle school who they decided was going to be their lifetime ride-or-die friend, and for Erik, that friend is Ryan. This friendship is a real classic. Erik and Ryan talk once every 6 months at most, and on the rare occasion that they are both back in Ohio at the same time, no matter how long it has been, they meet up and pick right back up where they left off. As further evidence of just how true this friendship is, the picture you see is the only picture Erik has of them together since 8th grade, almost 17 years ago. Now that's a real bromance.
Ring Bearers
Graham - Ring Bearer
Naturally, when Emily & Erik found out Kelly and Coty were having a boy they knew they wanted him to be their ring bearer. It was his fate before he had a say in it, but a few months ago they asked Graham if he wanted to be in their wedding, and luckily he agreed. Not sure what they would have done if he said no!
Braxton - Ring Bearer
They couldn't have just one ring bearer, they needed two! Emily & Erik also knew they wanted Braxton as their ring bearer from the minute they found out Jackie and Collin were also having a boy. They love going to Michigan to visit Braxton and his sister, and are honored to have him as part of their wedding!
Officiant - Lori
Emily met Lori at her first Circle K District Convention, and they became close over the years as Emily was on the Circle K District Board and Lori served as the Administrator. Emily will never forget asking Lori to stay on the board meeting after it was over so she could tell her about Erik for the first time. Lori met Erik about a month after him and Emily started dating, at a district Eliminate Ball, and has been so supportive of them ever since, constantly referring to them as "the cutest couple ever." Emily and Erik couldn't think of anyone more supportive, energetic, and well-spoken as Lori, and they knew she was the perfect fit to ask to perform their wedding ceremony. They are so grateful for Lori and honored that she will be officiating their ceremony.