Wedding Party
Kira Schott Varady
Maid of Honor
Our first meeting was unconventional to say the least- I was Kira’s Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) instructor in 2016, and I greeted her by screaming “Drop and give me 20!” Thankfully, like any great romantic comedy, Kira’s (not-so-great) first impression of me fell to the wayside as we became sorority sisters in Kappa Alpha Theta, played lacrosse together, and brunched regularly at the Friendly Toast. Kira is genuinely one of the kindest, goofiest, and thoughtful people I know. We have shared many fond memories including seeing Celine Dion in concert, exploring both coasts, and eating lots of great food. I am so excited that I get to share this beautiful day with my beautiful friend!
Ellen Zhang
Bridesmaid
Ellen and I have been best friends since before I can remember. All of my earliest and best childhood memories have been with Ellen, from family beach vacations, Thursday night Ping Pong, and playing “school” (and accidentally learning our times tables) to Ellen teaching me how to ride a bike and the two of us choreographing dances to the Backstreet Boys. When we were growing up, we were attached at the hip and often confused for twins. Though we are not twins by blood, we are twin souls. It is so wonderful to live out our wedding dreams, and you’ll recognize her by her award-winning dimples!
Victoria McCrave
Bridesmaid
Victoria and I met at the start of our freshman year at our Navy ROTC training in Newport, Rhode Island. We were roommates, otherwise called “hootchmates,” during this mini bootcamp. We quickly became close, realizing that we had grown up close to each other, were both nerdy athletes, and were dedicated to serving our country. We then came back to Boston to start a very different bootcamp- MIT. Throughout our college years, we spent countless hours working together on problem sets, studying, and goofing off around campus, Boston, and underway on a battleship on one of our summer ROTC trainings. Since we graduated, life has taken us in very different directions with Victoria being stationed in Japan as a Growler fighter jet Naval Flight Officer (think Goose from Top Gun) and now back to Maryland as a Navy Test Pilot (think Tom Cruise in the most recent Top Gun) while I have yet to have a real job. Despite this, we have stayed close, and I am so happy that our decade-plus long friendship continues on strong!
Amy Taylor
Bridesmaid
Victoria introduced Amy and I in the winter of our freshman year. We both were pre-med student-athletes (she rowed crew while I played lacrosse), and we ended up taking most of the same classes together. Despite being studious, we were still clowns together even prompting one of our world-renowned professors to make fun of us. Since then, we have been doing a long-distance friendship while Amy is a Hematology and Oncology fellow at the University of Wisconsin. Amy is one of the funniest and smartest people I know, and despite her jokes, she cares deeply and fiercely about her friends, family, loved ones, and patients in a way that I aspire to. I cannot wait for you all to meet my fiery and funny friend!
Becca Gaffney
Bridesmaid
In our last year of medical school, Becca and I met at a barbecue and quickly bonded over our shared love of bacon. From there, we became best friends, and thankfully we both (couples) matched at Harvard for residency, she in Dermatology and Medicine and me in Orthopedic Surgery. Becca has become an honorary member of the Ortho program as her husband is also an Ortho resident and much of her life consists of us talking about work. We have shared many memories from weekly family dinners (mostly due to my lack of cooking prowess) to lounging along the Charles River with Winnie, her cute dog. It was an honor to be by her side on her wedding day, and I’m thrilled that she will be doing the same on mine!
Amy Steele
Bridesmaid
Amy and I met when we matched at Harvard for our Orthopedic Surgery residency. We became instant friends during orientation thanks to Night Shift Brewery’s Boomsauce double IPA. Since then, we have continued to explore Boston’s beers, but now we do a run beforehand to justify the hydration. It has been amazing to have such a close friend who understands the highs and lows of residency, and I have loved that despite our stressful work, we continue to embrace our silly and weird selves. I cannot wait for more trips to Martha’s Vineyard, runs with Mac (Amy’s sweet Golden Retriever), and all the laughs and memories in the years to come.
Laura Brown
Bridesmaid
Laura is my future sister-in-law. She is the adventurous spirit that I wish I could be. If she is not in the hospital working as a Respiratory Therapist, she is off climbing a mountain, kayaking/canoeing down a river, or exploring the wondrous outdoors with her boyfriend Liam and their incredibly adorable Aussie Dutch. Laura is sweet and full of optimism, and I am excited for us to become sisters.
Graeme Brown
Best Man
Graeme is my brother, and we go way back. We grew up together, sharing the same room for 18 years, and somehow lived to tell the tale. Growing up, we did everything together. We went to the same schools, had a lot of the same friends, golfed at the same courses, played the same piano songs, went on all the same canoe trips and family ski trips. We played on all the same hockey teams from the time we where little tykes in the backyard rink to D partners in high school for the Port Perry Predators. If you ask, I'm sure he'll tell you who was the better player... he knows. We also played on the same rugby and football teams in high school, winning a few championships along the way. When our paths diverted moving out of the house, we put together a tradition of yearly football or ski trips and try to hangout whenever we can. Graeme is a stand up guy, always the life of the party, incredibly passionate about the things he loves and has a heart of gold. As we plan our big day, could think of no better person to be by my side.
Evan Brown
Groomsman
Evan is my youngest brother and we grew up together. We share a love of sports and the outdoors, especially skiing, hockey, rugby, golfing and canoe trips. Very quickly, it went from me teaching Evan stuff to him making me feel old when he schools me in things now. I still remember when I could pick him up and chuck him in the water at the cottage but these days are over and now he's muscling me, blowing by me on the moguls and out-driving me on the golf course. Evan and I seem to have the same taste in board games, movies and TV shows and we are fellow bookworms growing up. Evan is much more handy than me and I am always impressed with his latest woodworking creation. Despite what you may think we you see his epic beard, he's always been the most organized, neat and tidy and even though he's the youngest always gives me things to aspire to and look up to as well. Whether it's west coast road trips to California or east coast ski adventures, it's always a blast hanging with Evan.
Keith Mewis
Groomsman
Keith and I met in Vancouver and did grad school together at UBC and some of my best memories from my time there are with him around. When you want to find someone who embodies the "west-coast lifestyle" look no further than Keith. He was one of the first people I met when I arrived, and before I knew it we were huckin' cliffs, slappin' pucks and chuckin' dodgeballs weekly together. Well, in reality, Keith was the one huckin' cliffs and doing wild stuff on skis, while I just tried to keep up. Keith always seemed to be my neighbor and always brought the party with him wherever he went from organizing beer miles to camping trips in the middle of nowhere. I always admired Keith's endless energy, with the ability to juggle work, fun and family life. If you see someone on the dance floor wearing some outrageously loud clothing that's likely Keith. Now that we're on opposite coasts, with late night board game sessions in the rear-view, I still know I always have a friend who I can count on no matter what.
Craig Kerr
Groomsman
Craig and I both are small town Ontario boys, and we also both majored in Microbiology at Guelph University before moving out to Vancouver, where we became good friends in grad school. Aside from following a very similar academic track, we had a lot of the same interests outside those late nights in the lab, including playing on the same hockey, and dodgeball teams as well as skiing as much as possible- I've never seen someone pick up skiing so fast. Craig and I are both truly science nerds at heart but share a love for the outdoors, and there have been a ton of memorable trips and nights spent in "tent city." I've been lucky enough to experience some of Craig's hidden talents including rock and roll karaoke, Darby's beer competitions, cooking skills and now hiking with his young kid on his back. Even now being on separate coasts, whenever I need advice for anything I know I can always count on Craig to share some wisdom, always with a little bit of well placed sarcasm.
Kory Zayne
Groomsman
Kory and I met in high school back in Port Perry, where we both took the same gifty classes, nerded out in the library and shared a love for biology. Outside of class, Kory's basement was my second home, with many an epic poker game or Halo battle. That was back when I could school him in basketball, however 15 years on that's a different story now. It worked out that we both ended up at the University of Guelph in biology majors, where we took a lot of the same classes and hung out all the time. There are too many stories to tell and some of the best memories I have at Guelph are with Kory. Kory is super well traveled, was glad I could join him for a bit on his yearlong worldwide adventure. When he's not traveling, his place has always been the central gathering spot for the Port Perry crew. I admire his passion for life long learning, always willing to try new stuff and is one of those guys who can be friends and strike up a conversation with anyone. While we live in different cities now, we share a lot of the same interests and if I'm ever in Toronto for more than a few hours I'll always stop at Kory's place.
Daniel Cohn
Groomsman
Dan and I have known each other since we were little grad 3 kids playing wall ball and doing kinderski in Port Perry, Ontario. But we really bonded over sporting exploits, especially basketball, when our 8th grade small town team almost won the Ontario championship. In high school, we took our talents to the rugby pitch together, while also nerding out over biology classes. Just not being able to get enough, Dan and I also went to the University of Guelph together where we went from late night South residence gatherings, to living together as well for the final years of school. After moving out west, every time we hang out it's like no time as passed, even as our hangouts turn to play dates that now involve tiny basketball nets with his 2 young, super cute kids. Dan is super smart and was always that guy that was annoyingly good at everything he did, especially when it came to random challenges, feats of strength and business startup ideas.
Erik Nielson
Groomsman
Erik also hails from Ontario, and while we missed each other at Guelph, we both moved to Vancouver at the same time, where he worked in the lab beside me. I will always remember how excited I was that first day in grad school to see another Erik from Guelph right next door, and he seemed pretty cool. Needless to say we became quick friends, bonding over MSL coffee room chats, dodgeball antics, hiking, skiing and Seattle trips. Erik has a quick wit and always knew how to find humour in any situation. From my fellow D partner in Breadwings hockey, to singing buddy in karaoke, I couldn't have imagined what grad school would have been in those early years without Erik always being there. I always admired Erik's passion for the things he loves, and never afraid to speak up and say what's on his mind. Even now being so far apart, it's great to know I got another Erik in my corner who's got my back.