Lauren and Evan Malinowski

Tied the Knot: July 7, 2018

Lauren Malinowski, 28, grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and studied economics and French at Wake Forest University. Following graduation, she spent a year teaching in France, then chose to pursue medicine and returned to St. Louis to take classes while working as a lab tech. She is currently in her third year of medical school at KCU-Joplin, planning to pursue family medicine.

Evan Malinowski, 26, grew up in Olathe, Kansas. He attended Kansas State University, majoring in communication studies with an emphasis in organizational communications. In the past year, he transitioned from working in sales and serving as a volunteer for the fire department to working as a full time firefighter, and he is loving it. He enjoys rebuilding old trucks and doing all the laundry and cleaning around the house while Lauren studies. 

Lauren and Evan met through their parents. “We like to say that our marriage was arranged because we met through our parents, who went to college together,” she smiles. “When he moved to St. Louis, my dad offered to get lunch and advise him in his apartment search. Evan and I hit it off that first day and the relationship grew from there. After about ten months, he proposed at my family’s lake house.”

The blissful couple tied the knot July 7, 2018. Serving as Maid of Honor was Lauren’s sister, Hallie Hull; bridesmaids were Marisol Cuencas, Anne Marie Batzel, Katie Loock, Laurel McLaughlin, Stephanie Rhodes and Rachael Schmid. Best Man was Caleb Admundson; groomsmen were Luke Malinowski, Trenton Hull, Charles Coker, Chandler Riley and Hunter Sundermeyer.

“What we loved the most about our wedding was how much of it was crafted by our friends and family,” Lauren recalls. “My grandparents hosted our pool-party-BBQ rehearsal dinner thrown by my wonderful in-laws. My cousin, Pastor Michael Palmer, performed the ceremony; my brother and sister-in-law, Trenton and Marisol Hull, provided the ceremony music; our good family friends, Marilyn Disch and Terri Wynn, did all the flowers and arrangements along with some of my mom’s other best friends, Lisa Sharpe, Jill Crylen and Penny Glanville. Our sweet family friend, Sara Taylor Reed, did all of our engagement and wedding photos. 

“Evan’s parents, with help from his aunts and cousins, designed and built our arbor, wedding sign, table numbers and other décor. Evan’s best man, Caleb Amundson, designed our invitations, programs and name cards. Evan’s cousins, Kelley Alexander and Whitney Purcell, volunteered as our day-of coordinators and another cousin, Nicole Terrill, did my makeup. My bridesmaids also put in some manual labor setting up. It was truly a team effort.”

Lauren and Evan honeymooned in Paris and then traveled to the small town in France where she spent a year after college, Vannes, on the west coast of Brittany. “We met up with some of my old friends who let us borrow their old minivan to tour around the coast for surf lessons, hikes and lots of bike rides. Evan also mastered some French pastry-making skills and I taught him the art of the French picnic.”■