Janaye is Lauren's cousin, but after a monumental girls trip to Mexico back in 2011, they became as close as sisters - bonding over both of their mother's crazy shenanigans throughout the trip. After living together Lauren's final year at Iowa State, there was no turning back; holidays and family gatherings were then filled with endless inside jokes, southern accents and a slightly questionable second language used when playing (and winning against) their Grandma Judy and Lauren's Mom, Darla, every time in hand and foot.

Katey and Lauren have known each other since their first day of kindergarten when their older siblings forced them to sit with each other in the front of the school bus. It didn't take long for them to become best friends and inseparable. There are very few of Lauren's childhood memories without Katey in them: dance recitals, summertime pool parties, playing McDonalds drive-thru, 4-H, homemade music videos, tent sleepovers with hours of Dream Phone, county fairs, and so much more. Katey will always be Lauren's answer to the security question, 'Who was your childhood best friend?'.

Hannah and Lauren met their freshman year at Iowa State where they both lived in the same residence hall. Lauren always thought Hannah was far too cool for her because she had a BlackBerry, but turns out Lauren having a digital camera and being willing to watch hours and hours of Ghost Adventures sealed their friendship! Hannah very quickly became one of Lauren's most favorite people and after many memory filled years, Hannah and Lauren navigated the online dating world together with countless hours spent swapping all the crazy stories it brought, ending in both of them meeting their own Dustin!

Thanks to Hannah, Nicole and Lauren met during their freshman year at ISU. The three of them decided they would live together the following year, which created more memories than any of them could have imagined. Dumpster diving, living room sleepovers, rodeos, bike rides, and countless late night drives around Ames in Nicole's Blazer. But what really solidified their friendship was belting out Reba and Ronnie Dunn on a late night drive all the way back to Ames from Kansas City after a concert at Arrowhead. Just about all of Lauren's college memories have Hannah and Nicole in them - and boy are there a lot of them!

Blake and Dustin met back in 5th grade when they played on the same traveling basketball team Blake's dad coached. They went on to play multiple sports together in middle school and high school. After high school, they both went to NIACC, where Dustin played basketball and Blake ran track and cross country. After their two years at NIACC, they both decided to transfer to Iowa State where they lived together and Dustin became the honorary third wheel for all of Blake's first dates.

Reece was one of Dustin's first childhood friends after they met in preschool; traveling basketball, baseball, track, and football filled their childhoods. After both finished school at junior college, they transferred to ISU and got the gang back together and lived with Blake. There are so many memories from those years, but none that can be shared without causing extreme embarrassment to one of the three guys. Believe it or not, the three lived at the same apartment complex Lauren was the property manager at, making it highly probable their paths crossed over their years there!

After Dustin moved to Maquoketa for work after graduating from Iowa State, he met Jake by joining a men's basketball league a friend of a friend invited him to play in. Basketball league turned into Jake asking Dustin to join their softball league and the two continued to get to know each other after countless beer filled nights. We can thank Jake's wife, Brittany, for supplying the photos Dustin used in his online dating profile, without those, Lauren would have probably only had high school pictures to see! Jake and Brittany also lent a hand to make Dustin and Lauren's engagement happen last fall!

Dustin met Nate the same night as Jake, while playing in the men's basketball league in Maquoketa. After that, Dustin officially became part of the friend group as their seventh wheel. They could always be found in the beer barn at the Jackson County Fair, Rustic Days sand volleyball tournament in Lost Nation, on vacations and any and every LoCash concert in the area. Dustin also takes credit for Nate and his wife, Caitlin's, relationship, since he was along for their first date.