About 5 — Rattray Soiree

Lauren Hedrick

Bridesmaid: Lauren is Rachel’s “elementary-school-arch-nemesis-turned-best-friend.” The two met in third grade when Rachel first moved to the South from New York, and after a few short years of believing that there can only be one short, brunette girl in the friend group, they realized the world had room for the both of them and became besties for life. Since those childhood years, they have made memories all over, from visiting each other in the Carolinas to ending up at the same Uni on the other side of the world together.

“Hi, I’m Lauren! I grew up with Rachel in WIlmington and later graduated from the University of South Carolina with both my Bachelors's and master’s degrees.

I now live with my boyfriend and our wonderfully fluffy black cat, Sage, in Raleigh, NC. I work in mergers and acquisitions consulting helping private equity firms buy companies.

I love to travel, read, and garden during my free time. On the weekends, you can usually find me at a wine night with the girls!”

From the couple:

Lauren is Rachel’s equally-tiny, partner in crime from early on. She is always looking for the next adventure to embark on and loves to live in the moment. Spending time with Lauren is pretty much guaranteed to always be eventful, an absolute blast, and an even better story.

We love that no matter where Lauren finds herself, be it a $5-per-night hostel in a foreign country, or at home with new neighbors moving in next door, she will inevitably make new friends wherever she goes. Possibly the most wonderful part of her friend-making habit is that she never lets friendships fade away.

Rachel moved away from Wilmington just before their freshman year of high school. She feared that she wouldn’t find new friends in her new home and that she would lose the friendships she had with those in Wilmington. But Lauren made it a point to call Rachel nearly every single day for the first year after school to catch Rachel up on all the drama she missed and to hear about how Rachel was adjusting in her new city, Lauren drove two hours to see Rachel the week after Lauren got her driver’s license. She never let the friendship fade.

Ultimately, there are hundreds of reasons to love Lauren for all that she is. Rachel will always feel unfathomably grateful for Lauren and her friendship..

Tell us about meeting Graham!

“I don’t actually remember the first time I met Graham. But my parents met him before I did! My mom used to have Rachel and our friend Joe over for birthday dinners while they were at UNCW and it was either at a birthday o some other occasion Rachel was with my parents and brought Graham along. I remember my mom calling me and telling me about the new boy Rachel brought around and being jealous she met him before I did!”

What is one of your favorite memories with Rachel?

“Rachel and I used to ride our bikes for hours around the neighborhood growing up. We used to talk about how someday we would travel the world and go on bike rides. And then in 2016 we studied abroad together in Newcastle, Australia, and took a trip from Perth to Margaret River and made a stop in Rottenest Island (home of the happiest animals on earth - the quokka) and we rode our bikes around the island the entire day - something like 35k - and we laughed at the end of the day waiting for the ferry home about how we used to talk about doing this when we were little and now we fulfilled that dream!”

How would you describe Graham and Rachel’s relationship?

“They’re both fun and don’t take themselves too seriously. They know how to make any situation fun and make others around them laugh and have a good time.”

Get to know Lauren H. even better:

Lauren’s personal V.I.P.:

While we consider Lauren a “V.I.P.” in our lives, her boyfriend, Dan Davis, is the V.I.P. of hers!

Lauren’s interests and passions:

“I love to travel. I can’t say no to a trip. I will always be the first one to book a flight when friends or family want to travel. I also love to work in the garden - veggie and flowers - my boyfriend has a green thumb and it’s rubbed off on me since I’ve had a yard to play with!”

Fun facts about Lauren:

1) “Rachel and I were sworn enemies when we first met - I would have never thought I’d be standing by her on her wedding day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

2) “I love solo travel. I backpacked solo though 12 countries in Southeast Asia for 6 months after finishing grad school.”

3) “If I could have any job in the world I would be a scuba diving instructor in Indonesia.”