Of Maids and Men: The Wedding Party
Ethan's Men
Caity's Ladies:
Monica Manrique//maid of honor
Monica and I met through our involvement in Cru at UCLA and we’ve been roommates for 2 years. Monica has a beautiful heart and a gentle spirit. All of us in our apartment jokingly tell her that she is the best roommate to have when we are sad because she is always ready to share a box of tissues or offer some ice cream and she is literally the best listener. She is seriously the best at genuinely caring for her friends. Moni has also been to Haiti 3 times with me and has truly shared in my heart for that place. Moni and I can frequently be found tagging each other in instagram photos of dogs, sharing pizza from 800 degrees and watching Parks and Rec until our stomachs hurt from laughter.
Kelsey Crowe
Kelsey and I met through UCLA Cru and led a Freshman Bible study together during our Junior year of college. Every time Kels and I catch up, I come away feeling so encouraged and usually with my face hurting from laughter! She has a passion for making people feel valuable and loved… and she is so gifted in this! Kelsey now lives and works for EV Free in Fullerton, CA, but we still have random late night catch-up sessions at a Panera halfway between us. We love handwritten notes, the dollar section at Target, homemade baked goods and laughing!
Kiersten Hansen
Kiersten and I have been friends since 4th grade! After going to different schools for several years, we ended up at the same high school and spent many afternoons jumping on her trampoline or traipsing around her backyard barefoot. After graduating we travelled to Uganda and Sudan together. You know what they say… nothing grows a friendship like not taking a shower for 5 days or having the a village leader offer 10 goats for you both to be his wives. Although we attended different colleges, we ended up in the same career path, now both working as nurses. I was able to be in Kiersten’s wedding almost a year ago, and I can’t wait to share my day with her!
Carrie Williams
Carrie and I were best friends throughout college and met through Cru at UCLA. We spent 3 out of 4 years at UCLA as roommates and also spent 4 years together in a Cru Bible Study. Throughout our time at UCLA, we could often be found at Bcaf grabbing tea lattes and hanging out with friends or being introverted together and binge-watching Netflix before bed. Carrie always has great suggestions for TV series’ if you’re looking for any. Carrie is now married and living in Tennessee also working as a nurse. We often exchange gross work stories or help each other cope with nurse lyfe.
Lauren Turner
Lauren and I are cousins and spent many summer vacations in Philadelphia and Ocean City, NJ together! Whether we were building slip n’ slides down the huge hill in the backyard or making forts in my grandparents’ basement, we always had so much fun together! We made music videos to Backstreet Boys songs, had wiffle ball games in the backyard, shot off rockets, and played endless rounds of flashlight tag. Those summers with all our cousins were some of my best childhood memories! Lauren is now also a nurse, working at a Children’s hospital in Philadelphia. I am overjoyed to have her fly out to California to be my bridesmaid!
Jessica Connors
Jessica and I met through Cru at UCLA and were in a Bible study together for several years! Jess has been an amazing friend and a huge support to my walk with Christ. We’ve enjoyed double dates together, mostly laughing over how similar Ethan and Alex are while they talk about sports the whole time. Jess spent last year in grad school and is now out there killing it as an engineer in downtown LA. She is also one of the few girls who will enjoy a beer with me and this has only strengthened our friendship!
Eugenia Padilla
Eugenia and I met at a UCLA Cru Fall Retreat our Freshman year of college. Our friendship has grown through mutual love of ‘true-story’ inspirational movies (i.e. Argo, The Imitation Game, Apollo 13), sarcastic humor, and an appreciation for competition. Eug is very intentional with her time with friends and genuinely enjoys getting to know people better. If you’re ever looking for someone to take broomball way too seriously, look no further.
Caroline Paulson
Caroline and I will soon be sisters-in-law! Caroline is essentially the most gifted social media user I know. If it wasn’t snap chatted by Caroline, did it really happen? But seriously, Caroline is super fun to be around and is a really hard worker! She’s currently studying education at LMU and will make a phenomenal teacher! Can’t wait to be family with her!
