Wedding Party
Catherine Liu
Bride
Kevin McCusker
Groom
Katherine Thomas
Matron of Honor
The K/Catherine's met in Governor's School in Virginia (a summer program for gifted and talented high school students) as random roommates. At the time, they were Kat & Cathy, respectively. They both hadn't dated anyone yet and were constantly talking about different boys they liked in camp. Katherine liked a tall white boy and Catherine, a short Asian one. Duh. They bonded over music, art, boys, humor, and life, and during that summer, they knew that they would become life long friends. Katherine went to Elon University, encouraged Catherine to go, and they became college roommates as well! She was the person Catherine went to for boy drama and advice, and the "what's it's like to kiss someone?" questions. Not all of them were that innocent. Katherine is an extremely talented pianist and singer... you can call her the Music Doctor as she received her PhD from UNC Greensboro!
Jeremy Smith
Best Man
Kevin first met Jeremy in his first ever grad school class back in 2012. Jeremy, being from Illinois and Kevin being from Wisconsin, they naturally had an immediate disdain for each other. This distain grew even greater as Kevin continually won bet after bet on Bears/Packers games. Finally, Jeremy submitted to defeat after years of humiliation and admitted Wisconsin is better. He has also gotten Kevin countless discounts by arbitrarily complaining about the country of origin of some beers. Jeremy was pivotal in Kevin's decision to join the Navy, introduced him to fine dining, and helped him define his sense of being better dressed than any of you peasants. Get a custom suit already.
Kristi Liu
Bridesmaid
Kristi is Catherine's sister, who, despite being 4 years apart, has been asked several times if they are twins (mostly by strangers). Kristi always answered, "Yes we are!" Their mom didn't help when she dressed them identically for many years, as that was the early 90s fashion. Catherine and Kristi can talk for hours and hours... mostly on the topic of ballet. They only stop when they realize they have to eat, pee, or sleep. They wouldn't even stop when Catherine had to poop, because as we all know, Catherine takes a lifetime to do so. She became a ballet dancer in Providence, RI until she realized that graphic design would be her new passionate art form. She got her masters at MICA and is now a designer at Johns Hopkins, where she has to figure out how to translate the long-winded jargon of nerdy scientists into digestible reading and visual material for the mass public. She currently lives in Baltimore with her cute dog, Kona, who has such big ears for her small face.
Christina Bailey
Groomswoman
Chris and Kevin met at Navy Officer Candidate School back in 2017, but did not interact much until Intelligence Officer School in Virginia Beach, VA. Immediately, Kevin and Chris knew they didnt like each other. Arguing during class, Chris would make passive aggressive remarks, Kevin would make active aggressive remarks, and they would get into petty arguments with each other. But then, over time, both realized that there was someone they hated even more than each other, the instructors of the intelligence course they were attending. So, over beers one night, they finally talked about how much they hated each other and they realized why. You see, Kevin and Chris are effectively the same person, which makes sense considering she is Irish/Italian from Staten Island whereas Kevin is Irish/Italian from New Jersey. Even God doesn't know which one is worse. Since that fateful day in October 2017, Kevin and Chris have bonded over their mutual love of "accidentally" committing War Crimes, hating the Navy, and jokes pertaining to killing themselves.
Ikumi Crocoll
Bridesmaid
Ikumi is Catherine's first friend, they met in preschool at 4 years old. They grew up trick-or-treating every year together and their favorite part of the night was always when Kristi, Ikumi, and Catherine would dump out their buckets in the middle of the living room to start their candy trading wars. When they were 5, they met a set of 6 year old twin boys in Kindergarten, and tried to date them. They both got rejected. Ikumi played the piano and sang in various choirs growing up. She was the biggest bookworm Catherine knew and when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said, "It has to be something with reading!" So, she went to Bowdoin College for English, got her Master of Science in Information at University of Michigan, and is now an Instruction and Engagement Librarian at William Andrews Clark Memorial Library at UCLA!
Colt Wettstein
Groomsman
Colt, who cannot grow a mustache and is therefore a disgrace to his status as a Naval Officer, is the most recent addition to Kevin's circle of frenemies. Perpetually smiling and positive, you may ask why Kevin and Colt are friends? Well, they aren't. Kevin secretly hates Colt, but don't tell Colt that. Kevin at no point depended on Colt's sound advice on what direction to take after the Navy and never wasted government resources by walking around at work to pass the time of their pointless existence. Colt and Kevin definitely never saran wrapped a Commander's desk or stuffed a giant inflatable duck into a Captain's tiny lesbian car. Kevin also never went to Colt, or his wife Courtney, on how to go about duping Catherine into liking him or accepting his awesome mustache. In the end, Colt is just here because Kevin needed a fourth groomsman, and doesn't have any other people he likes more than Colt. While that may be a low bar, Colt should still be honored.
Melissa Greco Liu
Bridesmaid
Melissa is Catherine's maternal cousin, but met Catherine's paternal uncle at a family reunion at a young age, and they married years later. So, Catherine is related to Melissa in two ways! She is the big sister Catherine never had, always down to hang out, play games, give advice, and be a shoulder to cry on. About 10 years apart, they went to a concert where the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block collaborated. The 34 year old screamed WAYYYYY more than the 24 year old. A former modern dancer, she showed Catherine the ropes, got Catherine her first paid performance gig, and danced professionally together during Catherine's first year out of college. 15 years later, in the summer of 2025, Catherine had the privilege again of dancing professionally with Melissa in Kyoto, Japan. This time, they got to experience it with her oldest daughter, Catherine's first cousin, Penelope. It was the absolute best. Melissa got her Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and Dr. Liu (who is also married to a Dr. Liu), is now a mother of three!
Nick Schons
Groomsman
Ya knowwwwwww, it once took Nick six months and countless walks to the Pentagon Best Buy to decide to NOT buy the iPhone 6. You see, Nick, Jeremy, and Kevin all worked together for about a year at Kevin's first ever "adult" job in the Pentagon. Hailing from Iowa, Nick and Kevin automatically bonded over their love of chewing tobacco and hating Jeremy for being from Illinois. Nick, who has an MBA from National American University, was also an instrumental part in a very formative point in Kevin's life and was another key inspiration for joining the Navy, a love of off roading, and the knowledge that Nick will be there for his friends anytime, no questions asked. However, unlike Nick, Kevin does not shop at TJ Maxx for suits.