Eldon & Anita
Wedding Party
Matthew Burke
Best Man
Matt and Eldon met in undergrad while pretending to be lawyers. The two have captained and coached Mock Trial Teams, shared an apartment, and accumulated many stories Matt will hopefully be omitting from his Best Man's Speech. Matt is an incredibly kind and loyal friend who is in no way responsible for his fiancé being cropped out of this photo. Matt went on to graduate from law school, clerk for an NC Supreme Court Justice, and is now practicing as an attorney in Raleigh, NC.
Meghana Shamsunder
Maid of Honor
Meghana and Anita met freshman year of college, but connected better during sophomore year when they both took public health classes together at UNC. By the time senior year came around, they spent all their time together and were unofficial roommates. Many nights were spent grabbing Wendy's fries at 1 AM, drinking tulsi tea, and "studying" public health things. Meghana is currently getting her PhD in Biostatistics at CUNY, while simultaneously working for Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital doing research.
Amanda MacCormac
Groomswoman
Amanda and Eldon first met through a mutual friend while helping Eldon use tie-wraps to hang decorations in his first college dorm-room. They share interests in personal development, philosophy, and education, and have kept in touch and confided in one another through countless chapters of each other's lives. Amanda earned a Masters from Wake Forest, taught Spanish, and is currently working on a PhD in Educational Psychology from NC State.
Amber Priester
Bridesmaid
Amber and Anita randomly met in a Wal-mart outside of Chapel Hill, right before they started medical school together. However, it wasn't until the end of their first year that they became close friends after eating queso at Taco Tuesday together. Since then, there have been many doggy dates, study sessions, and nail salon runs. Not to mention, all the cheese boards designs that they have made together! Amber is applying to Ob-Gyn and is potentially interested in pursuing a Maternal Fetal Medicine fellowship!
Elise Wilson
Groomswoman
Elise first encountered Eldon while he was overseeing her try-out for the Mock Trial team during her first year at UNC. After absolutely crushing her audition, Elise and Eldon became closer as friends and bonded over their obsession with outside-the-box case theories! During the pandemic, Elise has been a true hero for hosting a weekly virtual game night with Eldon and larger group of friends! Elise graduated from Emory Law School and is now practicing as an attorney in Georgia.
Bo Warren
Bridesman
Bo is one of Anita's longest friends! They met in high school at the School of Science and Math way back in 2010, when there was a miscommunication and Bo stood Anita up for a math project. They have been close friends ever since and have enjoyed talking about philosophy, watching United States of Tara, trying/cooking new food, being one with nature, and playing board games. Bo works for IBM as a Software Developer and also loves 3D printing!
Maura Drabik
Groomswoman
Maura and Eldon have collaborated on countless occasions while working at Cisco. Even though she has relocated to the bear-filled tundra of Wisconsin, Eldon and Maura still find time each month to catch-up, share career goals, and bond over their dogs. If Anita is mysteriously absent from the wedding, it's probably because Maura has lured the bride-to-be with promises of waterparks and adorable retriever puppies. Maura is currently a Data Scientist at Cisco with a passion for advocacy and public policy.
Mona Amin
Bridesmaid
Mona and Anita first met in 2014 through a mutual friend, little did they know that they would be roommates and close friends several years later! Anita and Eldon have loved living with Mona for three years - especially because of the late-night convos, joint meals, random boba tea runs, and dance parties. Mona has also been pivotal in forcing Anita to exercise consistently. Mona attends the Brody School of Medicine - stay tuned on what specialty she decides to pursue!
Neeraj Gandhi
Groomsman
Neeraj is Anita's younger brother and was the first one Eldon called to discuss a proposal, and Neeraj was the last one at the parking-deck helping layout the red carpet for when Anita arrived. Eldon and Neeraj have gotten to know one another through holidays in Wilmington and family gatherings in New Jersey and Florida. They've also bonded over a mutual love for basketball and computer science. Neeraj graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and is currently working as a Technical Scientist at Pfizer.
Noopur Doshi
Bridesmaid
Noopur and Anita met the day they moved into UNC through a mutual friend, when Noopur was expressing her love for Chipotle and Anita mistook her for saying that she was "cheap." Since then, Noopur has been a constant in Anita's life and they have spent many days listening to Bollywood Music together and eating at yummy restaurants. Noopur even walked all the way to Anita's dorm to kill a spider for her, which is a mark of true friendship, honestly. Noopur is a Family Medicine resident at UVA and enjoys the local vineyards.
Sahil Dayal
Groomsman
Eldon and Sahil met through medical school and have grown closer across the many game nights and weekend trips that they, Tyler, and Anita have done together. Sahil is the king of hobbies - including learning Chess, guitar and new languages. Sahil has even introduced Eldon to soccer, several card games, and the joys of colorful dress socks! Sahil is completing medical school alongside Anita and plans to train in Emergency Medicine.
Rafael Sanchez
Bridesman
Rafael met Anita in the Student Union as she was talking about how she was a "people person," albeit somewhat annoyed at the world because she had been woken up several times over the course of night as the RA on duty. They have had many long heart-to-hearts, late night study sessions, trips to Florida, and Maggianno runs. No matter how long it has been, they can always pick up where they've left off! Rafael is a pharmacist and is completing his residency at the University of Florida.
Scott Richardson
Groomsman
Scott is another medical student in Anita's class and is Eldon's go-to guy for wings and football! Scott shares Eldon and Anita's love for psychological thrillers, horror movies, and anything that offers a novel perspective. Scott is a fitness fanatic and a softy-at-heart - who volunteered to coach a local high school football team and recently adopted a new puppy. Scott is finishing his fourth year at Brody and is looking forward to matching for Residency!
Tyler Hinshaw
Bridesmaid
Tyler and Anita's friendship was born the first week of medical school when Tyler overheard Anita talking about The Bachelorette. After that, they spent day after day together memorizing the anatomy course pack, watching trash television with wine and cheese, playing board games, commiserating, and going on adventures. Tyler is applying into Internal Medicine and is interested in doing Hematology-Oncology!
Rocky
Pup Bearer
One evening, Eldon's mother called for the dogs and found a new 5-month-old stray among the pack. Eldon and Anita adopted Rocky from Eldon's parents a few years later, and now can't imagine their wedding, or their lives, without him! Rocky's passions include playing fetch, cuddling with his momma (Anita), and long naps in front of the space heater.
Oliver Allred
Flower Child
The son of Eldon's sister, Valerie Allred, and her husband Alex Allred - he is the cutest thing to happen to this family since his birth on October 15th, 2021.
Eldon Zacek Jr.
Father of the Groom
Eldon John Zacek Jr. is the son of Mary Bartles and the late Eldon John Zacek Sr. He currently runs his own business, Czech-Mate Enterprises, which provides software development and custom consulting solutions in the automotive industry. While he may have retired the racecar that he and the groom-to-be once brought up and down the south-east, he can still be found at road courses soaring at over 150mph in one of his two sportscars.
Rajesh Gandhi
Father of the Bride
Rajesh Gandhi is a proud parent of Anita and Neeraj. He immigrated from India to the United States in 1990 and later obtained a Master's of Science degree and Professional Engineering License in Mechanical Engineering. He has worked at IBM, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and now currently works for Corning in Wilmington, NC. In his spare time, he enjoys sports and also traveling around the world to countries like Iceland, Japan, South Korea, and Poland!
Sue Zacek
Mother of the Groom
Sue is the daughter of Kae Schmickley and the late Jim Schmickley. She is a veteran business analyst and program manager with experience in manufacturing, user testing and training, finance, risk management and fraud response at Procter & Gamble, A.G. Edwards, Wells Fargo, NTT Data and TIAA. She and Eldon Jr. are high school sweethearts whose lives have taken them from coast-to-coast, living in or visiting most of the states in the union. Sue loves to travel and plans to continue touring the country in the coming years, stopping for friends, family, and various vineyards.
Nipa Gandhi
Mother of the Bride
Nipa Gandhi is the daughter of Ashvin and Mahashveta Shah. She moved from India to the United States in her teens and since then has worked at IBM, Pfizer, and Quality Chemicals in Quality Assurance. She currently works for Alcami in Wilmington, NC. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing and sight-seeing while traveling to new countries and regions. She is also an excellent cook and can be found trying out new recipes!