Desiree & Charles
Wedding Party
Suzie Gross
Maid of Honor
Suzie is my partner in crime, adventure time, travel buddy! We connected quickly while I worked for U Pull & Pay and stayed incredibly close after I left! We've gotten tattoos together, cruised together, and worked together. She's my best friend who lives 85.4 miles away!
Chris Heltemes
Best Man
I’ve been with Charlie since he moved to Big Lake in the 4th grade. We would cross paths in school, but it wasn’t until the end of 8th grade that we really hit it off over shared love of music. From there we never looked back. I’ve leaned on him and his family in times when I was growing as a person. During those times we literally became family. I’ve been with him through serious, difficult moments, but also through all of his successes. Charlie has an unbelievable network of friends and mentors, many of whom I am lucky to know. All this over the past 26 years together. I’m so fortunate to share his story. It’s for no other reason I can think this honor of his ‘Best Man’ was asked of me. I can’t wait to meet you all in celebration for one of his most important life missions yet!
Angie Nettesheim
Bridesmaid
While we only met because our men were best friends, we've forged a friendship to last a lifetime! Angie is the only person who can get me to take photos and actually love them, and her nickname of 'Mama Ang' makes all the sense in the world because she is always prepared for anything. I miss her when she's gone, but I always love when she comes down for a visit!
Adam Johnsen
Groomsman
Charlie and Adam sign on to become sheep herder and camp tender, respectively, for a foreman, Joe Aguirre, whose livestock spend the summer on Brokeback Mountain. Adam has done this once before, but Charlie is new to the job. Aguirre instructs the herder to sleep with the sheep in a pup tent, armed but without a fire, to prevent coyotes from killing the animals. Adam and Charlie drink and talk in a bar, then head up the mountain and get to work. After Adam complains about the four-hour commute to get to the herd, the men switch roles: Charlie heads up the mountain while Adam prepares meals in the camp. When they are together, they talk, drink whiskey, and become friends.
Timmiri Ward
Bridesmaid
Timmiri and I have been friends since 9th grade, we met by chance, went to the same college by chance, but stayed close by choice. She's my concert attending, beach sitting, margarita making best friend! If only we didn't live 496 miles apart we'd have more happy hours!
Mark Werbowski
Groomsman
I’ve lived with Charlie in the past almost as long as I’ve lived with my wife. He will make you laugh; he makes you think, he makes you cry, and by god can he make you angry. But at the end of the day, he is one of the only people I know I can always count on in a moment’s notice. That’s one of the things that has always kept us together as friends – the fact that even though he will challenge you, he’ll be there for you. He’s passionate about those he cares about, and he’ll help them no matter the cost. Charles and I have been through a LOT in nearly 15 years of friendship, and I’m excited to see what the next 15 years bring with both him and Desiree. I am truly proud and happy to call him my friend.
Jessica Dayon
Bridesmaid
Jess aka Jday and I have been friends for over 15 years, she has always been a supportive and amazing individual in my life. Through the distance, she's been my constant, phone calls, facetimes, and texts have kept us just as close and always making time to see her when I'm in MN. Jday is a mere 724 miles away, but she's always been close in my heart.
Gerald Sornsen
Groomsman
Charlie and I met back in high school when they asked me to play bass guitar in their band Forgive or Forget. When I mentioned that I didn’t know how to play bass guitar they responded, “You’ll learn”. At the time Charlie worked at Pizza Factory–which is arguably the second best pizza place in town. After learning how to play bass and burning panties off of FoF fans at our shows, we graduated by burning the high school down. Somehow we managed to talk one of our teachers into letting us cook pizzas at school while playing Dance Dance Revolution. Naturally, we forgot about the pizzas, got our groove on, and set the fire alarm off, causing the entire school to evacuate. To this day, (DDR) is the only activity to my knowledge where Trevor Metzer is indeed not Charlie’s daddy.
Ryann Nowlan
Junior Bridesmaid
What better role could Ryann play in our wedding than a Junior Bridesmaid. Her relationship with Charlie has always been strong and they've grown stronger during our years outside of Minnesota. She's my favorite person and the light of my life. Ryann standing with me while I marry my best friend will be the highlight of our day!
Eric Champ
Groomsman
As we embarked upon our journey with Charlie, I realized a couple of truths that strengthened our friendship: 1: I am the more attractive friend, but only in the state of Kentucky and Ohio 2: I am the more talented artist and musician, in my house without Charlie 3: I am a better cook, but only when smoking pizza rolls I have many stories and anecdotes from bible study in AirBNB in front of a slot machine, golfing lessons at Top Golf, cabrewing, and enjoying the occasional cigar. I am horrible at reaching out to all in my life including my wife, but he finds a way to stay connected and every time we hang out it feels like we never put down the shot glasses. I consider him a great friend, brother and look forward to the memories in the years to come. Congratulations to you brother! Cheers!
Amy Michaels
Bridesmaid
My first photo with Amy was in the 6th grade lunchroom! We have been friends for over 20 years and she's always been my lets go out and see what happens person. We've had all the adventures, and all kinds of nights out as zombies. 70s, and musical artists. At 712 miles away, Amy is the closest to me from MN.
Dan Tasche
Groomsman
What can I say about Charlie that hasn’t already been said about Afghanistan. you had to be there I suppose. Like most war stories, they require a few cocktails to tell. I met Charlie in the twilight years of college. We were both upcoming leaders in the mobile industry, interested in gaming, partying, and else that peaked our interest that week. He has held many different titles; FFL Commissioner, party planner, band manager and guitarist for his band Small Town Stories. Out of all the titles he’s held over the years the most consistent one has been, Friend. The last decade, Charlie has been essential with keeping his friendships alive. People always say to me, "it’s so rare to have such old and close friends." Big reason for that has been you, Charlie. Here’s to you brother!
Brandi Stillings
Bridesmaid
I cannot wait to officially become sisters with Brandi! She's been in my life for over 6 six years and has been nothing but supportive of my relationship with Charlie! She's the sister I chose and she's always been my path into understanding the family. At 719 miles away she's always close to my heart.
Adam Khosravi
Groomsman
Charlie and I met as most young men do at Sprint, convincing people the Samsung Instinct was just as good as an iPhone. The initial impression was that he was kind-hearted, fun-loving, and very quick to make friends. He was more than a friend; he has also been a mentor. With no experience whatsoever he vouched for me and gave me an opportunity, something I did not take for granted. Charlie has always been there to offer sound advice as well, something that I always appreciated. He looks after people, expecting nothing in return. When Charlie met Desiree. my wife was thrilled he had found someone who made him happy. Desiree is an amazing woman, kind and caring. And we are thrilled that Charlie and Desire are making this commitment to each other. I am honored to be his groomsmen