Chelsea & Robert
Wedding Party
Megan Van Name
Matron of Honor
“I met Chelsea in 5th grade, and there was no one cooler than her - she was athletic, smart, beautiful, and funny, and I was always jealous of her perfectly curled hair with matching beaded socks. I’m endlessly grateful that she’s my sister-in-law and best friend. As the first survivor of Van Name boot camp, I’m excited to welcome Robert to the club!”
Shelley Dietz
Bridesmaid
Shelley is Robert’s sister and has enjoyed getting to know Chelsea. She can’t wait to watch what their life together has in store for them in the years to come!
Claire Peters
Bridesmaid
“I’m Claire and I am Chelsea’s cousin. Since we were kids, we have always been close. Whether we were spending holidays at Grams, making up dances in the living room, or dressing in matching outfits thanks to our moms, we always had the most fun spending time together. In 2018, we took a trip to the Netherlands and Belgium to celebrate our Van Name roots! I’m very excited to be a part of Chel and Robert’s special day!”
Heather Gordon
Bridesmaid
Although she’s never made the official Van Name holiday card, Heather is the fourth, Brunette, child in the Van Name family. Chelsea, Heather, and the Skorniakoff girls grew up dancing together, and Heather spent much of her teenage years babysitting her siblings, the Van Name kids. In their adult life, Chelsea has become one of Heather’s closest friends, sharing wisdom and laughter at every turn. She knows that Chelsea will bring these strengths to a long and happy marriage with Robert.
Amanda Skorniakoff
Bridesmaid
“I met Chelsea in elementary school and we became instant friends that we now call family. Every childhood memory I have has my sister, Chelsea and her family in it. The three of us turn to each other for everything and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Welcome to the family Robert!”
Sasha Skorniakoff
Bridesmaid
“My 20 year friendship with Chelsea is one of the most treasured relationships in my life. She has seamlessly become a sister to Amanda and I, and has been a part of our most favorite memories (which now include Robert)! Her compassion for others, strong sense of self, and quick wit will continue to enrich my life until we are old and grey! Congratulations Chelsea and Robert! I can’t wait to be your biggest cheerleader throughout life!”
Ashlyne Cramer
Bridesmaid
Ashlyne is Chelsea’s second cousin and has known Chelsea all 13 years of her life. One of her favorite memories with Chelsea was when they rode the Autopia Cars in Disneyland when she was 5 years old. She loves Chelsea a ton and wants to follow in her footsteps and teach elementary school someday!
Alyssa Lorenz
Bridesmaid
“I met Chelsea through mutual friends in Denver and since that day, we have grown our friendship through weekly happy hours and the occasional pickle ball training session (let’s be real, I mostly observe). Chelsea is a loyal friend and for the people that get the pleasure of being close to her, know that her steady support and genuine, caring attitude make life more enjoyable.”
Krystyna Holland
Bridesmaid
Krystyna and Chelsea’s friendship started when Krystyna immediately put her foot in her mouth upon meeting. Pre-COVID their friendship involved day long brunches and late nights dancing, including the night Chelsea and Robert met.
Princess Harper
Flower Girl
Harper loves Auntie Chelly and her prince, Uncle Robert. From FaceTime chats, to Disneyland days, park adventures and swimming in Titi’s pool, Harper lights up whenever she gets to spend time with Chelly. Seriously. She may be Harper’s favorite person.
Clifford Sanden
Best Man
Montana, Abu Dhabi, Austin, China, Chile, and West Texas are just some of the geographies that Robert and Cliff have visited together since meeting freshman year at Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Cliff buying Robert’s 2001 Ford Crown Victoria that had a small amount of superficial flood damage in 2014 was akin to a blood bond. Or a questionable purchase, but that’s neither here nor there. The important thing is that if he and Robert have an opportunity to meet up, Cliff will put in the mileage and time to get to Robert’s location. Robert has always enjoyed Cliff’s musings and support during his time as a bachelor BC (Before Chelsea) and looks forward to his continued friendship as a married man!
Dan Dietz
Groomsman
When Robert was watching his sister and Dan play on the same intramural basketball team in Austin back in 2014, he had no idea that his sister’s teammate would become his brother-in-law 5 years later. Since then, Robert has enjoyed his company on the golf course (W-L record between them isn’t important), on ski trips in Colorado, and during family visits to Houston. Dan also has been very lucky in the card game known as Monopoly Deal as he’s caught a hot streak while playing Robert this past year. Robert looks forward to the probability curve shifting back in his favor during the coming years.
Tim Van Name
Groomsman
Chelsea’s older brother Tim makes videos of family ski and lake trips look like they’re directed by Michael Bay. He’s always capturing the most impressive moves of others while holding it down on the snow/wake board himself. He knows that the key to enhancing video of Robert getting inches off of the ground on skis is to put the video in slow motion! Tim is the master chef/mixologist on Van Name family trips, and Robert has no complaints about sampling these skills more often now that Tim is now in Denver!
David Van Name
Groomsman
David was the first of Chelsea’s brothers that Robert was able to meet. Robert enjoyed spending time with David on summer trips to his bachelor pad in Santa Clarita and on other Van Name family trips. The two showed they worked well as a team on trips to Lake Norman, NC as David took hours of online classes to get a boating license and captained the boat all day, every day, while Robert performed regular temperature checks of the drinks in the cooler via the tasting method. Due to their combined efforts, multiple trips to the lake were successfully executed. Robert is excited to see what other family events can be put together now that David is joining him and Chelsea in Colorado!
Jarrod Sparks
Groomsman
Jarrod has been Robert’s partner in crime since freshman year at Colorado School of Mines. As classmates, they MC’d the opening of the new Petroleum Engineering building, Marquez Hall (it’s pronounced Marcus). As colleagues, they hosted an annual roast at their employer’s Christmas party for three years straight. Anything you say or do will likely be used against you when these two are around. While they’re not joking around, they can be found shredding the gnar on their annual trip to Wolf Creek or potentially sampling a stogie on the golf course.
Eli Montoya
Groomsman
Eli was a sophomore at Colorado School of Mines when he took Reservoir Rock Properties, a class for which Robert was a TA. Eli diligently came to Robert’s office hours to quench his thirst for knowledge and interest in Robert’s take on other life happenings. While they only knew each other in Golden for a semester, they really grew their friendship as both found themselves residents of Midland, TX. It was soon clear that the West Texas social scene wasn’t big enough for these two young professionals and cities such as Austin, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Chicago weren’t ready when this duo came to town. Robert has continued to pass along knowledge to his former student and provided counsel on the purchase of Eli’s Corvette citing the Finance 101 adage “You gotta spend money to make money”!
Jackson Cramer
Usher
Jackson is Chelsea's second-cousin. He is a master athlete, board gamer, and ping pong champion. He loves his family, and he is the best at getting us all to laugh. He'll be the one escorting "old people" to their seats, and entertaining us all as the night goes on.