Kelsey & Doug
Wedding Party
Emily Shirk
Maid of Honor
Emily is Kelsey's younger sister and has known the couple since Kelsey brought Doug to Emily's high school graduation party in 2015 (this was the first time Doug met Kelsey's family!). She helps keep Kelsey grounded and shares her sense of humor, which sometimes only sisters would understand!
Carmella Schumacher
Bridesmaid
Carmella and Kelsey met in PA school and have been close since! They have shared in many adventures together including trips to Cozumel, Las Vegas, and Pensacola, but some of their best memories are from their time together in Roanoke where they survived pathophysiology while also surviving St. Patty's Day celebrations.
Anna Morris
Bridesmaid
Anna and Kelsey also met in PA school and share countless memories from Roanoke and beyond! When not studying at Panera or Mill Mountain Coffee on the weekends, Anna and Kelsey could often be found having fun downtown bar-hopping between Cornerstone and Fork in the Market (the Fork-to-Fork cab was their preferred mode of transportation). Your best bet on finding them though was grabbing a slice of Benny's pizza- yum!
Amanda Brown
Bridesmaid
Amanda and Kelsey met as hallmates in their freshman year dorm, Slusher Tower, at Virginia Tech. They kept each other laughing as they navigated college life together and could often be found on Friday nights at Sharkey's drinking Long Island iced teas or tripping and falling in snow on the drillfield. They share a love for animals and once got jumped by a friendly squirrel on campus.
Courtney Arendsen
Bridesmaid
Kelsey has known Courtney the longest out of her friends- they met in third grade and have been close since! They have starred together in music videos and help keep Starbucks in business. Kelsey actually met Doug through Courtney at a trivia night at O'Connor Brewing Co.! Both Kelsey and Courtney love playing board games and have logged countless hours of Settlers of Catan and Clue over the years.
Emily Edgerton
Bridesmaid
Kelsey and Emily have known each other since being on the same class team in 6th grade- the Spirit Cats! They shared numerous morning singalongs in Emily's car on the way to school at Grassfield High where Emily taught Kelsey to appreciate musical theater. The two were often spotted eating ice cream outside at Bruster's or at Greenbriar Mall scouring the FYE store for new movies or CDs.
Gregory R. Hamlin
Best Man
This was going to be much sweeter and nicer, but these descriptions have an 800-character limit, which is just a real downer. Greg and Doug attended all 12 years of grade school together, becoming friends after a fateful, involuntary class switch in 6th Grade. Doug was the Best Man in Greg's wedding and is Godfather to Greg's 2nd child, two of the greatest interpersonal honors of Doug's life so far. Greg is a native of Virginia Beach. Criminally under-recruited in basketball out of high school, Greg chose to play basketball at Division III Emory and Henry College in Abingdon, VA. He didn't play for the school team, but he played there a lot. His greatest achievement there was winning the love of his wife, Zaneta, while they were both students there. They have 2 children together. Adorable.
Joseph P. Vitola
Groomsman
What can Doug say about his friendship with Joe Vitola that hasn't been said about Afghanistan: a multi-decade commitment with no satisfactory exit strategy in sight. Joe and Doug became friends in high school, thanks in part to having about 5 classes together sophomore year. Joe and Doug's early and mid-20s were almost in parallel: mediocre decisions culminating in survival. He went to Iraq three times between 2004 and 2008. Doug joined Joe's National Guard unit after Doug graduated from VMI in 2006, and the two were deployed together to Iraq in 2007-2008. They then went on to live together, with a "variety" of roommates, at the Oceanfront for a year and a half. Joe now lives in Chesterfield, VA with his wife, Liz, and their two daughters. He likes cars. And his family. And vidyea games.
Joseph K. Zyra
Groomsman
Joey and Doug met as so many people do: they are very close to the same place in the alphabet. During the summer program before starting at VMI, rooms were done alphabetically. So Ziegenfuss and Zyra went together like cake and more cake. Joey and Doug were roommates for 3 of their 4 years at VMI, and the fact that Joey continued to live with Doug without murdering him is a testament to his character, if not his taste and good judgement. Through Joey, Doug met the rest of the Zyra family, many of whom are elsewhere on this list or will be at the wedding! Joey went into law enforcement after VMI, first working in Northern Virginia and then back in Hampton Roads. He got married to Susan, his OMG College Sweetheart, and they have two daughters. They live in Chesapeake.
Frank M. Reed III
Groomsman
Frank and Doug go back to middle school in Virginia Beach. Frank had just come to the school as a new student, and Doug was lucky enough to greet the new guy. A key factor in their friendship is their birthdays: born only a week apart and younger than most in their grade, the two played together on a handful of youth soccer teams. They continued on through high school together. After high school, Frank attended the United States Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut and has embarked on a successful career with that organization which has taken him to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Michigan, Alaska, and finally back here to Hampton Roads. Whether biking, board gaming, sports-ing, having lunch, or whatever, Frank has been a regular compadre for a weekend or duty posting at a time.
Andrew E. Zyra
Groomsman
The next Zyra in line is Andy. Doug and Andy would have known each other as Doug and Joey went through VMI, but for some reason Andy also chose to go to VMI (I don't know why any of us go there, nobody does). Doug was lucky enough to mentor Andy during his first year at VMI, known as Andy's Rat year, but time spent together since then has blurred those lines considerably. Andy commissioned into the US Army after VMI and went overseas a couple of times. He has since settled in Hawaii for the last bunch of years, accumulating education and exploring the Pacific. A lot of people don't know this, but Andy is also way into surfing. Virginia only gets to see him once or twice a year, but it's always fun to catch up and catch him up on what's changed and hasn't changed around here.
Christopher D. Zyra
Groomsman
If you're wondering why you'll be sitting around in late June, all dressed up, Chris is the guy to blame! Chris invited Doug along to trivia when Doug met Kelsey so direct all comments and complaints to Chris, address and contact info available upon request. After having seen the mistakes of his older brothers, Joey and Andy, Chris decided to...also attend VMI. Chris and Doug were not contemporaries at the school, but they have developed a nice friendship based on playing (organized and semi-disorganized) soccer, working for the Zyras' family business, and being very/excessively polite. After graduating VMI, Chris has been involved in the biomedical field, and recently started Physician Assistant school at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He lives in Chesapeake.