Wedding Party

Ashley Benson

Honor Attendant

Ashley (Alex’s adoring little sister) lives in Sioux Falls with her unruly cat Ralph. She is a middle school special ed teacher and enjoys hiking, hanging out with friends and her boyfriend Matt, and watching Chopped. Ashley works hard to maintain her reputation as “the most willing to tell it like it is” and also pays for most of Alex’s streaming services. (Thanks, Ash.)

Sarah Coen-Frei

Honor Attendant

Sarah is Matthew’s younger sister and their first friend. Matthew’s mom Karla would say the two practically speak a different language while they are together. Sarah lives in Isanti, MN with her husband Ian and daughter Leonora.

Erica Jossund

Honor Attendant

Erica lives in Shoreview, MN and is a hospice social worker. She enjoys playing softball, is a passionate Moorhead Dairy Queen advocate, can often be found listening to true crime podcasts, and practically has the entire series of Gilmore Girls memorized. She and Alex met at Concordia, although exactly when they met depends on which one you ask.

Lucas Anvarinia

Attendant

Lucas and Matthew have been friends for a long time and grew up together in Grand Forks, ND. They graduated Red River high school and Bemidji State University together. Likely you could find them both getting up to some light mischief in their teens.

Amanda Bierma

Attendant

Alex and Amanda met when they were both camp counselors at Shetek. Amanda now lives in Tulsa, OK with her adorable dachshund Beans. She enjoys hiking, exploring nearby state parks, and watching Schitt’s Creek. She and Alex share a love of Lizzo, a strong dislike of Tuesdays, and (probably annoyingly) take great delight in their shared nickname “AB squared.”

Kelly Bergman

Attendant

Kelly and Matthew have been friends since they were flatmates during their Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) year in Edinburgh, Scotland. Kelly is now working on her Masters in Social Work at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, MN. Note: Edinburgh, Scotland is much nicer than Edinburg, ND.

Caitlin Sparer

Attendant

Caitlin became Alex’s first friend at Concordia when they lived across the hall from each other their freshman year. Caitlin now lives in Prescott, WI with her husband David, two dogs (Mocha and Max) and cat (Kenny). She works as a therapist in the Twin Cities and enjoys riding her horse Dreamer, baking, and starting big projects. Alex and Caitlin have a years-long tradition of catching up over pizza and wine, share fond memories of pretending to enjoy hiking when they both lived in Denver, and have a deep (and largely unspoken) bond over being deeply introverted.

Justin Daleiden

Attendant

friends of Matthew, Justin and Stash were also were YAGMs the same year as Matthew. Justin and Stash started dating after their YAGM year and will also be getting married in the fall. If you get a picture of them it likely has their very good dog Marty in it too

Jessica Christenson

Attendant

Jess and Alex met when they were both camp counselors at Shetek Lutheran Ministries but became even better friends during their time at Concordia College. They share a love of tie dye and Chacos, have plenty of Cobber spirit, and regularly bond over the ridiculous situations they seem to end up in. Jess lives in Minneapolis with her husband Eric and works as a Marketing Manager at 1517 Media/Augsburg Fortress. She enjoys video games, arts & crafts, and knickknacks.

Anastasia Osbeck

Attendant

Augustus Benson

Attendant

Gus (Alex’s younger brother) lives in Hurley where he farms with the Benson family. Gus is a proud Jackrabbit and loves fishing, farming, and hanging out with his friends and girlfriend Morgan. He is also the funniest GIF-sender Alex knows and can regularly be found spoiling the Benson dog, Bailey.

Leonora Coen-Frei

Flower Girl

Matthew’s niece and the best flower girl ever. She loves Bluey, Mickey Mouse, and her parents.

Maureen Wieland

Personal Attendant

Maureen currently lives in Joplin, MO but is moving to Alexandria, MN this summer where she will be assuming the role of Director of Communications & Marketing at Luther Crest Bible Camp. She loves cooking, photography, and spending time in nature. She has been Alex’s go-to travel buddy and was her college psychology research partner, Mick’s Office partner in crime, and fellow ukulele enthusiast.

Tyler Egge

Musician

Alex and Tyler became friends through Concordia and Shetek. He played the organ at Alex’s ordination and is back by popular demand! Tyler’s favorite things include iced lattes and IPAs, the North Shore of Lake Superior, and musical artists Florence + the Machine and Kate Bush

Rev. Elly McHan

Officiant

Elly was Alex’s campus pastor at Concordia and she has been an excellent friend and support throughout her time in seminary and beyond! Elly lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her family. She is well-known for doing big life things and then immediately hopping on a plane, walking around barefoot, and finding herself on crazy adventures. She is also an amazing musician! Fun fact: Erica (MOH) and Alex used to have this whole conspiracy theory about how Elly was secretly a duchess. We're still not totally convinced that she's not.