Wedding Party
Adrienne Cohen
Bride
Adrienne and I first met through our mutual friends and co-residents Ben and Marie. Apparently Adrienne somehow found my sunken, sleep-deprived eyes and smelly scrubs appealing, because she started asking me to get coffee during our night shifts together. I was completely confused because 1. I hate coffee and 2. who drinks coffee at 2 AM? Special thanks to my friend Kylie Miller, who rolled her eyes and set me straight. These days I spend my time keeping Adrienne "in a constant state of stress" (her words). I've found that you have to find that sweet spot where she's somewhat annoyed but mostly amused, which most easily achieved when she's losing at some game.
Jonathan Yin
Groom
Jon and I met at our co-residents Ben and Marie's house. They had had a few get-togethers, and Jon finally dragged his butt out of the hospital to come to one. He was still in his scrubs, but he looked handsome enough to me. I tried (not very successfully) to flirt with him by asking him to get coffee while he was on nights and I was on 24-hour call, but this failed miserably due to his obliviousness. I finally roped him in with cat pictures, so I credit Torrigan with getting us together. Now, he spends his time poking me in the ribs and finding other ways to push my buttons, but at least he puts the sheets on correctly! And I guess being my rock and putting up with my shenanigans counts for something too...
Lindsay Skipper
Maid of Honor
Lindsay is my one and only older sister, and we have known each other my entire life (shocking, I know). After recovering from our sibling rivalry, and after her ears recovered from my early years of violin-practicing, she has become my go-to for advice of all kinds. Meanwhile, I have become her go-to when she thinks she has meningitis.
Daniel Lian
Best Man
Daniel and I have known each other since we were 6. Our dads went to college together and we became college roommates our freshman year. We had to take apart and reassemble our first futon at least 6 times before we put it together right. It was not a great start for me as an engineering student. Dan was a business major so I guess he can hire people to put together future futons. We remained roommates for the rest of our 4 years at U of M and never bought another futon again...
Anjali Desai
Officiant/Bridesmaid
Anjali and I met through Jon, when he was her senior resident on floors. The first time we all got together, we clicked immediately. She shares my love of traveling, cooking, eating, and sitting on the couch. She and her husband Carl became an integral part of our lives in residency, and our clandestine COVID hangouts (aka our "COVID affair") were the highlight of my quarantine.
Carl Bohm
Groomsman
I met Carl through his wife, Anjali, who was one of my co-residents. Carl was an ER resident at the time who loved to experiment in mixology on the side. He has mastered the making of ice cubes that are clear as air, with beautiful flowers suspended in the center. Anjali now complains the flowers she gets from him are actually for his ice cubes and not for her. I think Carl's drinks helped get us through the rough parts of the COVID pandemic. If you ever sit down in the company of this man and his bar set, be prepared to lose your faculties shortly thereafter. Although, he will offer to administer some IV fluids for you afterwards.
Emily Bax-VanderLaan
Bridesmaid
I met Emily and her husband Aaron in the summer of 2010, when we were all camp counselors/lifeguards at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. We stayed in touch sporadically while I was in college, but we reconnected when I was in Indianapolis for medical school. The two of them became a huge part of my life. I credit Emily with my lack of self-control when it comes to crafting, since she was the one who taught me how to knit and sew. She calls me a crazy person now for sewing my own wedding dress, but I blame her!
Victor Gu
Groomsman
Victor was THE first friend I made after moving to the United States from China at the age of 5 years old. I could barely speak English and to this day remember asking him to ask the teacher for some colored pencils so I could finish whatever assignment we had. His family never lived more than a 15 minute drive from us throughout all of grade school so yah, we hung out a lot. Whenever our parents had potluck parties we would go upstairs in my room, or downstairs in his basement to play video games. A LOT of video games were played through the years. Victor also eventually joined the house of goofballs (with Daniel, Dan, and myself) in college at U of M. He's 2 years younger than us, so joined 2 years later. Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you, he has a lot to say if you get to know him.
Ninah Clegg-Johnson
Bridesmaid
Ninah and I met during med school orientation. We always sat in the same seats, 1 row and a few seats apart, during lecture, and probably spent more time texting a running commentary than taking notes on some days... When we found out we both matched in Peoria, her in Med-Peds and myself in Peds, I was so excited to have someone else I knew going into residency. Her support and baked goods definitely helped me through some of the rougher months!
David Styren
Groomsman
David and I met when we were assigned to be roommates in medical school. This man arrived without any of his luggage and had to borrow my spare bedsheets. I remember becoming quite alarmed during the first lecture when the professor said we were already behind if we didn't have all the bones and muscles of the back memorized (I didn't even know their names). Fortunately, David didn't know their names either; we have been supporting each other in our medical careers ever since. I'll never forgive him for the time he convinced our entire friend group to auction ourselves off at the Valentine day auction for charity, then backed out last minute himself (yes, the rest of us still had to go through with it). Most awkward 10 minutes of my life. Thanks a lot, David.
Jessica Yin
Bridesmaid
Jessica is Jon's younger sister, so I had the pleasure of finally meeting her in December of 2017. She is an extraordinarily talented artist and a brilliant computer scientist. I think sometimes she makes Jon wish that he had stayed in engineering. She likes to play board games which tells me she'll fit right in with my family and me!
Daniel Zhao
Groomsman
Dan and I actually first saw each other at weekly Chinese school when we were in grade school, but didn't get to know each other until we sat at the same table in Calculus at U of M. We always compared answers on our homework to make sure we did it right. If there was a discrepancy, I would go through my work to try to find the mistake, whereas he would just do the entire problem over again. I think not even he could read his own handwriting. We both aspired to get buff in college, but no matter how much we lifted at the gym, we couldn't live up to Daniel Lian, who could bench press so much that the bar would bend from all the weight. Daniel (Lian) and I moved into an apartment our sophomore year where Dan (Zhao) joined us.