Meet the Wedding Party

Jenni Belle grew up in Agency, MO, then moved to Columbia, MO,  where she studied magazine and news design journalism at Mizzou. She then worked for Westminster College for 6 years, and now is a freelance graphic designer. She likes all crafty hobbies, baking, games, card collecting, the outdoors, the color yellow, and doing things with Matt and her puppy, Tally Ho.

Matt grew up in Roseville, IL. He went to college at Monmouth College for physics and math, then gradate school at Mizzou for his masters and doctorate in physics. He is currently a machine learning engineer at Veterans United in Columbia, MO. Matt enjoys cooking, games, archery, programming, science, and astronomy.

David (or Reverend David in this case) is Jenni's brother and Matt's close friend. Matt and Jenni asked him to officiate the wedding since they knew he would be the perfect person to perform a good and personal ceremony. David currently works at Daniel Boone Regional Library and is talented in all things literary and writing.

Amy is Jenni's younger sister, so they met when she was born 10 years after her. She is also best science buddies with Matt and gets the honor of a hodgepodge of roles during the wedding! Amy is a freshman at Mizzou studying biology and astronomy.

Madison is one of Jenni's best friends, they met in college freshman year when they lived down the hall from each other in the College Ave. dorm. They bonded by always getting to class extra early and venting about their lives. They got each other through the many college tribulations and still are close friends. Madison lives in St. Louis, MO, working on a nursing degree (graduates in August!)

Mary is one of Jenni's best and oldest friends. They met in kindergarten and went to school together all through elementary, middle, and high school. Even though they went to different colleges they stayed close friends and saw each other whenever possible to still have their cozy friend times to bond over their not so guilty pleasure books and TV. Mary works as a legal assistant in St. Joseph, MO. 

Jenny is Matt’s older sister. Being born 6 years apart made them butt heads a lot as children, but in adulthood they’ve grown to be best friends. Matt was Jenny’s “Man of Honor” at her wedding and Jenny is Matt’s “Best Woman”. Jenny went to Monmouth College for Graphic Design & Communications. She is an artist and owns and operates a marketing firm myPocketMarketing with her husband, Dan, in Kalamazoo, MI. They both love the outdoors and camping.

Dan is Jenny’s (Matt’s sister) husband and close friend of Matt. Dan went to University of Illinois for undergrad and Western Michigan University for his MBA. He met Jenny while working together at a local radio station where she grew up. They moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan for work and ended up putting down roots there. Dan owns and operates a marketing firm myPocketMarketing with his wife, Jenny, and is a member of an improv comedy team, Blunder Bus in Kalamazoo, MI.

Leah is one of Jenni's closest friends from college. They met living across from each other in the College Ave. dorm since Leah had an open door policy for meeting new friends freshman year. Then they were roommates together sophomore year along with Jenni's old dog, Tuppence. Even though Leah transferred the next year they stayed in contact through phone, mail, and amazing visits through the years. Leah now lives in Washington D.C. working on her law degree (graduates in May!) 

Richard is one of Jenni's oldest friends from childhood. They met when David and Richard were in boy scouts together, they all went to college together (on different timelines), and now they all live in Columbia, MO, together. The board gaming never ends! Richard is currently working on his doctorate in electrical engineering (graduates soon!) and works for True/False Film Fest.

Mike is Matt’s younger brother. They were born so close together that people often thought they were twins. They used to do everything together on the farm, including chores, building random things, and chasing their sister with fistfuls of mud. He is an avid dog lover, especially his best friend Roscoe, a 14-year-old black lab. Mike works on his grandparents’ 141-year-old farm and helps run his parents’ farm in Roseville, IL. He is a proud 5th generation Anderson farmer and continues the other family business Anderson Custom Baling.

Jordan is one of Jenni's oldest friends from childhood. They met in kindergarten and went to school together all through elementary, middle, and high school. Jordan practically lived at Jenni's house growing up, staying there many weekends and even went on family trips. He is basically another brother so had to be in the bridal party! Jordan is currently working as a Revenue Cycle Trainer for Mosaic Hospital in St. Joseph, MO.

Matt and Milica met in grad school over 10 years ago. Even though they stopped sharing the office, they remained close friends. Whether they are talking about physics, python code or documentaries, they are there for each other. Matt taught Milica what "being blunt" is (English is her second language), and once you meet her, you'll see what he meant. After graduate school, they both found jobs at the same company. Milica is now a Principal Data Scientist with Matt at Veterans United in Columbia, MO.

Jenni's mom, Dedra (Brown), is originally from Carthage, MO, but grew up all over the U.S. and world moving around in a military family. When she grew up, she graduated from Mizzou and Angelo State University with a degree in math and computer science and worked for AT&T. After meeting, falling in love, and marrying Wayne, she became a mom, and owner of Piper's Springers and Heart and Hand Quilting.  Jenni's dad, Wayne, grew up in Florida, always with his heart set on becoming a pilot. He had a long career in the military, starting with ROTC, attended University of Florida for computer engineering, then flight school, Air Force, and Air Guard. Now Wayne is still flying as a test pilot with Garmin and also still flying for fun on the side in his homebuilt Long-EZ airplane.

Jan (Goudschaal) and Jim are Matt’s parents. They knew quickly (5 months!) after meeting that they wanted to be married. They had their first child a year after their wedding. Jan has a wide experience in her career. She was an EMT, police radio dispatcher, apple orchard picker, data analyst at an eyeglass billing company, and a school bus driver for 30 years. She also volunteered at school, 4H, and boy scouts & girl scouts. She loves to cook and craft (especially crochet) and is an avid dog lover. Jim worked at a pottery factory for 30 years and then was elected Township Road Commissioner for 20 years. He loves restoring antique tractors, especially Minneapolis Moline tractors, smoking meats, and fishing. Jim is a proud 4th generation Anderson farmer working on his 141-year-old farm. He also started the second family business Anderson Custom Baling in the early 1970’s with his brother and parents. Jim’s youngest son Mike is continuing the long tradition of family farming and bailing hay. Jim is also a lifelong Mason.

Jenni's Nonna, Donna (McBride), grew up in Carthage, MO. Jenni's Poppop, David, grew up in Sarcoxie, MO, but really all over the U.S. and Canada. David and Donna met in high school and married soon after when they both went to college at Mizzou. Donna became a teacher and David had a career in the Air Force, including serving in Vietnam as an F4 pilot. They moved all around the world in the military with their family until David retired and started a second career in financial planning. They both are now retired and live with their two puppies in Kansas City, KS where David enjoys hunting and running his dogs and Donna enjoys cooking (which always turns out amazing) and quilting.

Bob and Peggy (Horton) Sundell are Matt’s maternal grandparents. Peggy grew up in Abingdon, IL. She was a secretary, a clothing model, and worked in a flower shop. Bob grew up in Galesburg, IL. He worked as a salesman, sales manager, and an auxiliary deputy for Knox county. Peggy had three children when she met Bob at the county fair while he was working security and she was working in a booth. They married in 1972 and Bob adopted Matt’s mom and her siblings. Peggy enjoyed reading cookbooks, collecting Beanie Babies, fishing, metal detecting, rock hunting, and going to auctions. Bob enjoys fishing tournaments, vacationing on the lake with his friends, metal detecting, scuba diving, and agate hunting. Peggy will be joining us in spirit.​

Jenni's Grandma, Jean (Kaskey), grew up in Sugar Notch, PA. Jenni's Granddad, Allyn, grew up all over in a military family. Both Jean and Allyn were in the army in WWII, Jean as a nurse. Later Allyn worked for University of Florida as a math professor and NASA as a mathematician/aerospace engineer. Jean and Allyn successfully raised six children! Jenni remembers Granddad as a lover of dad jokes and ice cream (their fridge was always stocked with many flavors!) and Grandma Jean as a very talented knitter and one of the most caring and sweetest people on Earth. They both lived happily in retirement in Satellite Beach, FL, for many years and their beach house is still one of Jenni's favorite places to visit. They will be joining us in spirit.

Matt’s Grandpa Kenny Anderson grew up in Roseville, IL, and proudly served in the Navy during WWII on a sub hunter in the Philippine Islands. Upon returning home, he dedicated himself to the family farm, a tradition spanning 141 years and five generations. Matt’s Grandma Mary (Dallefeld), originally from Ellisville, IL, was his steadfast partner, managing the farm's bookkeeping and working alongside him in the fields of the farm. Their paths first crossed when Mary worked as a switchboard operator. Together, they raised three children on the farm and were blessed with eight grandchildren. Later, in the early 1970’s, they started a second family business with their two sons called Anderson Custom Baling. Kenny was also a talented woodworker, carving detailed working models of tractors, and Mary was a passionate gardener. They will be joining us in spirit.

Tally Ho is our four-year-old English Springer Spaniel. Jenni adopted her in 2021, and as soon as she met Matt, she quickly became a daddy's girl. She is an agility dog and an extreme socialite. She is very much our baby and very very spoiled! Alas, Tally will not be joining us at the wedding since she would be too much "help," but we had to include her in our family! If you would like to give any of "our" wedding gifts specifically to her, we won't blame you and we will all appreciate it, especially her!