Rachel & Christian
Wedding Party
Hannah Bushner
Maid of Honor
Rachel met and became best friends with Hannah on the very first day of college at Cornell and it has been love ever since. They have not only lived together in multiple cities, but have galivanted across the globe together. Hannah now lives in Philadelphia and has recently completed a Masters program in Couples Therapy.
Amanda Marks
Bridesmaid
Sister of the Bride! Coolest of the Marks children. Rachel forced her to star in so many home musical performances growing up that she moved across the Atlantic to escape. JK. But actually. Currently living and working in Garmisch, Germany! Both Rachel and Chris have been lucky enough to go on incredible adventures with Amanda showing them the ropes in Europe.
Morgan Pocock
Bridesmaid
Morgan, AKA "Panch", AKA "Panchita", has been amazingly close to Rachel since Middle School where they decided to be friends forever. Roommates during the early portion of dating for Chris and Rachel, Morgan was the voice of reason that told Rachel not to cancel their first date. We wouldn't be here if not for her! Currently living in Fort Worth, TX and working at a pay-what-you-can, non-profit Restaurant called Taste!
Kelly Reger
Bridesmaid
Rachel and Kelly met in Medical School at the University of Minnesota and quickly became great friends. They lived as roommates (along with Morgan) and their home felt like Christmas all year round. Currently Kelly is a Pediatric Resident at Yale University living in New Haven Connecticut.
Nicole Philipps
Bridesmaid
Rachel and Nicole also met in Medical School at the University of Minnesota. They both matched into the same Internal Medicine & Pediatrics Residency program (also at the UofM) where they help each other survive residency through romance book recs and vent sessions.
Rachel Solorio
Bridesmaid
Met in elementary school in their 3rd grade class and become the Rachel^2 unit. They were known to get special library privileges that they utilized together daily. Currently Rachel S. works and lives in Sacramento in the Geographical Information Systems space.
Karina Smiley
Bridesmaid
Karina and Rachel also met in elementary school playing softball. They were an inseparable duo through high school and little IB diplomates. Karina currently lives in Cincinnati where she is a Pediatric Resident at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Hazel Marks
Flower Girl
Niece of the Bride! Rachel's older Brother Adam and his wife Mary have two children, Hazel (3 years ) and Archie (18 months). Hazel knows more about marine life than anyone you know and loves singing and dancing.
Anders Halvorsen
Best Man
Brother of the Groom! At only 23 months apart Ders and Chris have been very close their entire lives. They grew up playing all sorts of sports together, which continues to this day! A love for good competition fuels them when they go head-to-head, more often they team-up and take on others together. Through everything they always have each others backs. Ders lives in Corcoran with his wife Mackenzie and two children, Daniel John (4 years old) and Evelyn (2 years old) and works in software sales.
Tony Clemons
Groomsman
Chris and Tony met and became friends at the University of Minnesota where Tony was a manager on the basketball team. From early mornings to donuts in airports, a love for the Gophers brought them together, and they have only grown closer in the years since college. Post-college Tony was a good landlord to Chris, and lately have been mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and adventure seeking. Good vibes! Tony lives in Plymouth with his wife Maura and their new daughter Eily (9 mos.) and works for Mortenson as an estimator.
Elliott Eliason
Groomsman
The Big Cat! Elliott and Chris met while both in their 1st years at the University of Minnesota while playing on the basketball team. Friendship was quickly forged and has continued to this day! From the cornfields of Nebraska to the tents of Oktoberfest, Elliott is always up for a big adventure! Elliott currently lives in Denver with his wife Cassie and works in software sales.
Oto Osenieks
Groomsman
Oto and Chris also met in their 1st year at the University of Minnesota while on the basketball team and were roommates in college. Friendship was guaranteed as Chris served as the impromptu interpreter between Oto and the team since English was Oto's 3rd language. Oto would say he is the party starter! Be careful if he starts singing "Let's go to the bar" or offers you a Latvian shot! Originally from Latvia, Oto now calls Denver home with his wife Laura and children Rein (6 yrs.) and Rowen (4 yrs.) and works in Freight / Logistics.
Mike Bruesewitz
Groomsman
Chris and Mike met on their U16 summer basketball team, became close friends and high school teammates. As a Litchfield native Mike moved to the big city of West St. Paul and the two of them had an amazing couple years at Two Rivers High School. Mike has played basketball all over the world and Chris visited him in several different locations. He currently resides in Puerto Rico where he plays for Los Osos de Manati.
Andre Hollins
Groomsman
Met at the University of Minnesota where they were basketball teammates. Continued to grow their friendship after college and have been getting pretty deep into pickleball recently. Andre lives in Minneapolis with his Fiance Rachel and works in Finance at General Mills.
Cole Olstad
Groomsman
Cole and Chris met during the final-final year of hoops for Chris at Concordia St. Paul. They quickly hit it off as friends and became roommates after college and played Men's League basketball together. Cole works as an accountant for Xcel Energy and lives in Rochester with his fiancé Carlie. The two of them are to be married just a couple of weeks after Chris and Rachel!
Babak Tabesh
Usher
Babak and Chris met at the University of Minnesota studying Biomedical Engineering when during a Thermodynamics class Chris got called-out by the professor for falling asleep (in the front row no less). Immediately following the conclusion of the class, after Chris apologized to the professor, Babak invited him to study with him since he was so impressed by the move to sleep in class! They remain very close friends and enjoy camping and traveling to the mountains together! Babak lives in California with his girlfriend Lola where he works in the Healthcare Data space.
Adam Fitzgerald
Usher
Adam and Chris met at the University of Minnesota where they both studied Biomedical Engineering together. Adam was always incredibly helpful throughout College since Chris sharing notes for classes Chris would miss while traveling and keeping him and Babak on-task while studying. Adam lives in Minneapolis with his wife Meghan where he works for Medtronic. Adam and Chris continue to go on camping and skiing adventures as well as bike together frequently.
DJ and Evelyn
Flower Children
Christian (and soon to be Rachel's) niece and nephew! Anders and Mackenzie's children. DJ (4 years) is very much into Spiderman, Cars, Trucks, and staying up late. Evelyn / EV (2 years) brings joy everywhere she goes and is showing early signs of being a sporty girl.