Carly & Luca
Wedding Party
Cameron Dowiak
Maid of Honor
Cameron is the bride's older sister by four years. And though they are genetically the most similar person to each other in this world, personality-wise they could not be more different. While Carly enjoys Florida coasts with poolside margaritas, Cameron prefers pitching tents on mountain tops with reheated MREs. She lives in Alaska where she works as a physican, thrives on double shots of espresso, and spends her free time mountain biking the Alaskan Range. Cameron has a habit of dragging Carly on hikes, trails, and cross country ski trips far outside her comfort zone, and though Carly always claims to hate them, she secretly loves every minute—especially the dark chocolate bars they always share at the summit. Carly's favorite thing to do with her sister is explore small towns together, expecially when it involves early morning jogs to local coffee shops (Cameron: espresso, Carly: sweet latte, of course) Cameron is quick to love and slow to judge. She's not just Carly's Maid of Honor, she's her best friend, her adventure buddy, and someone she knows would move mountains for her (or at least make her climb one). She can't imagine this day without Cameron by her side.
Colleen Kinney
Bridesmaid
Colleen has known Carly longer than anyone not related to her. Their friendship began over 23 years ago when she was Carly's first friend, first play date, first sleep over, and first person to say "yes" to any and all of Carly's wild ideas (a pattern that still persists). They grew up together spending summers on double dates with their dads at the golf course, Carly and Colleen as dedicated cart drivers/caddys--Mark and Joe as golfers hopelessly chasing two girls speeding off into the sunset with their clubs. In fact, the majority of Carly's favorite childhood memories have Colleen in them somewhere: Trick-or-treating, haybale jumping, playing sports, baking Christmas cookies (peep the photo), sled riding...you name it, Colleen was there. Though life has taken them through different schools, states, and continents (Colleen studied abroad in Europe for almost a year), their friendship has never waivered. Colleen is the definition of "only a phone call away" and a living testament that some friendships are built to last.
Morgan Owens
Bridesmaid
Carly and Morgan first met playing high school volleyball; Morgan was a freshman and Carly was a junior. While they were always friendly, it wasn't untill college that their friendship really took off. Somehow, they ended up being two of the few people from West Virginia to go to Pitt, and from then on the bond was sealed. Carly even took Morgan to her first college party...on the day she moved into her freshman dorm. A core memory, obviously. Morgan is the kind of friend that SHOWS UP. She surprised Carly at her first marathon by coordinating with her dad (who Morgan had never met!) at 6am to bike around Pittsburgh together for five hours to cheer Carly on. That's just the type of friend Morgan is: always lifting up those around her. Morgan is finishing up her final year at Pitt where she will graduate as a chemical engineer. Like Carly, she enjoys the challenge of persuing a STEM degree and the two of them even share a fondness of organic chemistry. Carly says she always leaves time with Morgan feeling more confident, more grounded, and more grateful. Their friendship is rooted in joy, loyalty, and years of showing up for each other—exactly the kind of energy Carly wants surrounding her on her wedding day.
Victoria Chiusano
Bridesmaid
Victoria and Carly met on day one of sophomore year Pitt Cheer preseason camp when they realized they were neighbors. From that point on, they were basically a package deal. They walked 30 minutes to and from practice together every day, pregamed weekends at each other’s places, and eventually moved in with three other friends for senior year. It was an unwritten rule that if Vic was around, Carly wasn't too far behind. Their friendship has always been a mix of sisterhood, sarcasm, and surviving the chaos of being STEM majors, cheerleaders, and part-time workers throughout college. Their favorite memories came from traveling across the country together for cheer trips & getaways. A stand out is Victoria's 21st birthday weekend in Nashville where they both clocked 6 hours a day inside Kid Rock's Honkytonk. Vic and Carly are extremely alike: coffee conesuirs, science lovers, and die-hard Nickelback defenders. They were each other’s rock in college, always there when school, cheer, or life got overwhelming. Carly says Victoria was the hardest goodbye she had to make after college graduation and she’s beyond grateful to have her here for one of the best days of her life.