I call her my baby. Man, you all don't even know how grateful and blessed I am to have this woman in my life. God bless her heart and her parents for bringing her to me. C-C is always there for me whether I am down or up. She always stands by my side and will cotinue to lift me up no matter what. I will always run to her when things are bad. If needed, she'll cry with me. When you have something special, you have to hold on to it. I will never let her go because she is something special to my heart. As long as there is life with her there will always be better days to come. I will always love this woman, I cannot wait to call her my wife and then to see her be a mother to our children.

Oh where to begin with this girl? I have know Jackie for about 10 years now. We met in the 6th grade and at first we didn't even like each other. So much for that, we have been the best of friends ever since. Jackie and I have been through so much, and she has always been there for me. We may not see each other very much now a days, but that has never changed how our friendship has been. We could not talk for over a month and then meet up and be exactly how we were in the 6th grade! She is one of my goofiest friends, and has always been able to make me smile! I couldn't imagine my wedding with out her, especially since I had told her back in the 6th grade that she would be my maid of honor whenever I got married.

Alyssa has known me ever since about the 4th grade. We have see each other grow up & become these amazing "adults," lol! It was in high school that we became closer. It was when the stress of school got to us that we could always make light of things. She is one goofy girl & always had high spirits in life! When I started to think of people that I would want standing next to me, while I became a wife, I couldn't have thought of anyone better. I'm very excited to have her share in the festivities!

I met Hannah during my year in college for medical assisting. I always seem to find the friends that will enlighten my day. It always helped getting through those boring days at school when someone was there to make you laugh over nothing. We now both have jobs at different locations, and we continue to ease the sometimes boringness or stresses of work by e-mailing eachother constantly. When we're together, there's never a dull moment, one of us is usually acting a fool, lol.

Kali & I grew up within 10 miles of eachother after her family moved up to MN from Iowa when she was little. Our two families were always meeting up, and the two of us became very close. During my high school years, her family moved to the Duluth area and it tore us apart. We still are very close, but we both miss always being together. She just graduated high school and I'm so proud of who she has become! I knew for the longest time that I wanted her to be in my wedding party! She's a perfect fit to the group!

Obviously I've known Chantell my entire life! I'm excited that she's going to take a part in my wedding. She'll be getting married in 2009 to her fiance Josh. Growing up and being so close in age, we didn't always have the greatest moments. Now that we're older, our lack of age difference has brought us closer. We're going through the same things and it's made our relationship grow to a new level! I love my sisters (all 4 of them) and my brother to death! She is one of 5 siblings, with my brother being the oldest!

Carianne's Words: I can't describe all the things that Malaika brings to my heart. She calls me C-C, and everytime I see her she makes me smile. There is so much of daddy in her, and it makes me love her even more. I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful step-daughter. She's going to be the cutest flower girl, and a great addition to our family!

Daddy's Words: First of all, I would like to thank God for giving me Malaika. I wasn't ready for her, but she was brought to me anyways. Everything happens for a reason and so here she is in our lives. I love my daughter and I always will. I hope that as she grows up she'll continue to show her love to me and "C-C." She is a very bright girl and loves people. She's super tall and defiantly will out grow me. She'll be the cutest flower girl in history. If you don't believe it, come find out. I'm so happy that she will see me get married!

It might sound weird, but I call her my mother. I do because when I needed a mom, she was there to help. She did everything that a maturnal mother would do. In 2003, I didn't have a place to stay, she took me in and then called me son. She encouraged me to finish high school and to pursue college. Even though college didn't work out for me at the time, I appreciate her pushing me forward. She's a very, very caring and loving woman. She treats me as an equal "child" and never looked down on me. To this day she still helps me out. She is very funny, and would call me a her black sheep because I would make this noise when they asked me what a black sheep sounds like. I will always love her and appreciate everything she has done for me. I pray God will continue to bless her! I am proud that she'll be with me on my special day!