Shirley & Kiernan
Wedding Party
Kiernan Bagge
Groom
Humongous nerd, passionate history teacher and fond of leaving plastic toy soldiers littered around the living room floor like a minefield for his precious fiancee to avoid - written by Shirley
Shirley Liao
Bride
Shirley is excited to have all these cool cats and kittens at her wedding and super appreciative of the love and support they have provided her. Written with more care and attention by Kiernan.
Heather Mattie
Maid of Honor
Shirley and Heather first met in the Harvard Biostatistics department, where they were both Ph.D students in different cohorts. However, they became really close when they moved in together and were roommates for two years. Heather loves to bake, watch true crime documentaries and geeks out teaching data science and mentoring students. She lives with her husband Ali in Malden, MA.
Sean Bagge
Best Man
Being the groom’s older brother, Sean has known Kiernan since before he could school people in history. Despite being very different people, Sean and Kiernan have shared interests in obscure history, dwarves in fantasy and pedantic arguments. Sean has enjoyed the yearly Comic Con trips with Kiernan and Shirley (even though he steals our spotlight). He is delighted that Shirley is joining the family and can’t wait for more adventures with them, especially if Kiernan goes as Swagdolf.
Natalie Miller
Bridesmaid
Hi, I’m Natalie. I had the pleasure of knowing Shirley since our very first day at Duke and I couldn’t have asked for a better roommate and friend throughout college and beyond. I am now living in the beautiful PNW. I am so excited to be part of Shirley and Kiernan’s wedding!
Joshua Bohannon
Groomsman
Joshua met Kiernan at Warhammer Brookline in a breakneck match of competitive war dollies. After losing the battle he won the war by gaining a fantastic friend. Josh and his wife Sarah have shared many happy memories with Kiernan and Shirley watching (and laughing) at D-Grade movies, journeying through dark lands in Dungeons and Dragons, and wandering through Salem on a Halloween pilgrimage. It has been a great honor having such great friends.
Nunu Wu
Bridesmaid
Hi everyone, my full name is Mengyou but I go by the nickname Nunu. I am the older and obviously better part of the dynamic twin-duo. I am currently training to become a pediatrician in Oakland and love all the fun that working with children bring! My two fondest memories of Shirley are 1) forcing her to hike through the woods in college and seeing her unintentionally uproot every single invasive tree she touched and 2) watching all the ridiculous but amazing movies together such as Austenland or What We Do in the Shadows.
Sue Buzzard
Groomswoman
Sue Buzzard is a teaching artist in Boston. When she met Kiernan through a mutual friend, the two exchanged nerdy banter about video games, and a bromance was born. Over the years Kiernan and Sue have bonded over a shared love of education, Hufflepuffs, trying to be good people, and making fun of bad movies. When Kiernan brought Shirley to a housewarming party, Sue knew instantly that Shirley was a keeper, bringing her best trash talk to the board games and dominating with her dry sarcasm. They’re both ambitious, committed, and passionate about puns. Sue is over the moon that Kiernan didn’t screw up and is so close to trapping Shirley in eternal commitment and Shirley are taking this next step together. Get ready to see Sue sob like a little baby at this wedding - her Bro is all grown up!
Yaya Wu
Bridesmaid
In all honesty, I do not know how to fly a helicopter. But the picture paints me as a cool person - a helicopter flying, able to run a 6 minute mile, triathlon nut type of person. I can't do any of those things. Instead, I am burgeoning crazy cat lady. Watching David Attenborough documentaries is life. And my favorite hobbies include reading in bed and then napping. When the weather is nice (which it usually is in California), I hike. When the weather is foggy (which it usually is in San Francisco), I cuddle my cats. I'm going to stop here, otherwise this will start sounding like a dating website.
Liz Li
Groomswoman
Kiernan and Liz met in true Brandeis fashion: awkwardly walking past each other multiple times a day without talking during orientation. He was the brave one to say “hi” first and these two opposites somehow managed to nurture a friendship based off mutual respect for a different kind of weird. She once saved him from certain death by bullying him into going dancing (ask about the castle ceiling cave-in) and in return he taught her how to be a better friend and enjoy life instead of focusing on pure discipline. There were definitely some late nights watching silly movies and musicals instead of studying, and a lot of Indian food was consumed post-dance. Liz is thrilled that Kiernan found the Voldemort to his Quirrell because she’s “been waiting all these years to dance again”.
Neesha Karanth
Bridesmaid
Neesha is Shirley's old roommate while they were both in Boston for grad school. She is the proud mother of two cats and works for the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Having seen their relationship grow from the beginning, she is looking forward to celebrating the start of Shirley and Kiernan's new life together.
Akshat Goyal
Groomsman
Akshat and Kiernan met many years ago as part of Northeastern University's Ballroom Dance Club. Over the years they've formed a strong relationship through their shared interests in dance, gaming, story telling, and nerd culture. Akshat is a data analyst working in web development and online media. In his spare time he enjoys photography, writing, and movies (both watching them and creating his own).
Kate Fridley
Bridesmaid
Kate and Shirley first bonded over their mutual fear of Ms. Sagmoen-Scales during freshman honors English class at Eastview High School (seriously, she made 95% of that symbolism bullshit up) and have been BFFs ever since. Even when they went their separate ways for college and work, they have always found time to meet up with Laura back in suburban Minnesota to watch bad good movies, discuss boys current geopolitical trends, and eat jello shots drink high-end virgin cocktails. Kate now works at a public opinion research firm in Washington, DC. She spends most of her spare time swing dancing, riding her bike, and cowering in the foreboding shadow of our nation's capital.
Zach Gagne
Groomsman
Zachary met Kiernan through a mutual love of all things nerdy. Our friendship grew over the past few years through our shared hobby of Warhammer. His interests include wine, terrible TV shows and board games.
Laura Holland
Bridesmaid
Laura and Shirley met as high school classmates at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, MN where both were raised. They became close friends during their Ceramics and Composition courses. Shirley, Kate, and Laura became a tight group of friends, supporting each other through the highs and lows of college, graduate school, and moving across the country. When they were in the same city, many adventures, movie nights, and deep talks were had. When Laura visited Shirley in Boston in July 2017, she saw immediately how well Kiernan and Shirley interact. It was clear that they were smitten, and complement each other perfectly! Laura is thrilled and honored to be one of Shirley’s bridesmaids. She looks forward to supporting Shirley and Kiernan as they make their vows to each other.
Avi and Haley Oller
Groomsman
Hello, we are Kiernan’s 2 for 1 special. We met Kiernan at a dinner party through some ballroom dancing friends and started out by critiquing his cooking. We’ve been great friends and have been sharing great food ever since. Avi is a mechanical engineer and Haley is a research scientist. We like bikes (motorized and pedaled), gaming (D&D, board, and video), and food (all). Fun Fact: Avi and Kiernan share a birthday.
Adina Geller
Bridesmaid
I am a college friend of Kiernan’s, current friend of both Shirley and him, and an artistic goofball. Whether painting, playing games, hanging out with friends, etc..., I loves seeing my friends happy! I can’t wait to celebrate their day!
Jonathan Widberg
Officiant
Jonathan met Kiernan in sophomore year of college, in the dingy halls of the Brandeis castle. Finding mutual interest in games and terrible puns, they naturally had to become friends. Through the years, Jonathan has had some truly good times with Kiernan and Shirley, late nights, good food, bad movies, and through it all, comradery. Jonathan couldn't be happier for Kiernan and Shirley.