Ryan & Rachel
Wedding Party
Christine Riechers
Matron of Honor
Christine aka Rubio is the type of friend who will hop in a car overnight in Sacramento and road trip with Rachel all the way to LA just to see the Lakers play. Christine is also the friend who will get lost with you on your way back from said game. Christine is Rachel's sorority sister, roommate, travel companion, and co-lover of tall German men. Without Christine's co-doctor skills this engagement may have never happened. The original engagement plan turned into a night of Christine and Rachel working together to remove sea urchin needles from Ryan's foot.
Zach Kieffer
Best Man
Ryan and Zach have been close friends since freshman year at Mizzou. It wasn't long until they were living together with friends at the Reserve 433. Roommate, basketball teammate, travel buddy, and Chinese takeout connoisseur, Zach has been around for most of Ryan's major life events. Regardless of place of address, Ryan and Zach have found ways to climb mountains in Peru, celebrate birthdays in Istanbul, and toast to a new year in Bali. Even when life throws a curve-ball and you end up oversharing in a hotel/bar/gym/squash court, Zach has proven to be a friend you can count on.
Shereen Manesh
Maid of Honor
When Rachel first saw Shereen in the OC she was intimidated by her and thought she looked mean. This couldn't be further from the truth! Shereen is one of Rachel's closest friend, confidant, and the only girl she could ever call Wifey. They love to travel, tell "that's what she said" jokes, spill red wine on white couches, and continue the fight of cats vs. dogs.
Christopher Heggemann
Best Man
Christopher is Ryan's brother and therefore spent the majority of Ryan's childhood as his nemesis. Battling over video game rights or who gets to chat on MSN messenger was a constant source of annoyance for our parents. Sometimes an older brother doesn't get appreciated like he should until the younger brother matures, and this is a perfect example. Christopher's has acted as a trial run of decision making for Ryan, and without his bold step out of the country, Ryan may have never left.
Nicole Hollister
Bridesmaid
Rachel and Nicole arrived at Vanden High as two girls fresh off the boat from the far east. They bonded over being the newbies, and started doing everything together. Seriously, everything down to getting their wisdom teeth taken out at the same time. With puffy cheeks and a system full of pain pills their friendship was set for life. Rachel and Nicole enjoy not making decisions and laughing at almost every single thing when they're together.
Philip Aiello
Groomsman
Ryan knew Phil was bound to be a close friend when he was caught chowing down on a burrito during the first group toast delivered in Albania. Since then they have spent hours debating the decision making of the Buffalo Bills, hand crafting shelves in the ACD basement, and designing the perfect educational system. While those two debates may never end, Ryan and Phil have solved a plethora of puzzles and riddles together.
Carey Carpenter
Bridesmaid
Rachel and Carey became friends during their post college single days, and Rachel immediately became the star of many of Carey's Vine ideas. Carey helped break Rachel out of her shell by showing her how to be spontaneous and ignore the haters. Rachel and Carey have successfully spent 3 weeks in a car named Sheila and successfully didn't kill each other. Rachel also learned that Carey doesn't share food.
Anthony Yau
Groomsman
Ryan met Anthony while teaching in South Korea, and they instantly bonded over their similarities. Both have great hair, speak with charming accents, and love eating Korean BBQ. Anthony helped drag a sickly version of Ryan through the Amazon...even if it was Anthony's fault that they were there in the first place.
Courtney Kennedy
Bridesmaid
Courtney was not impressed with Rachel when they were both in college, but when they hit each other up in LA Courtney was immediately drafted with the title of Rachel's loudest friend. They became excellent roommates and Rachel spent the next 2 years dodging yoga classes Courtney tried to drag her to and planning out a life of crime while binge watching Breaking Bad. Froyo + EDM + Goofy Dancing was the recipe for this friendship.
Christopher Schultz
Groomsman
Ryan grew up with Chris and spent countless hours on the pond fishing or in Chris' basement doing nothing. Ryan and Chris lived together in St. Louis after Ryan returned from South Korea, and Chris was there when Ryan came home after meeting Rachel. Chris is the first person Ryan told about Rachel.
Kat Quevedo
Bridesmaid
Brought together by the US Military, Kat was the perfect friend for Rachel after she introduced her to the Filipino Party life (food, family, and karaoke). Each of their houses became second homes for the other, and Rachel always loved Kat's affinity for island music. Equal in their status of Disney princesses and tequila drinkers, Kat and Rachel keep moving away from each other but always find a way back to each other.
Andrew Sayles
Groomsman
Ryan taught with Andy in Albania and has been on many adventures around the world with him. The perfect example of their friendship is a cup of red coffee at 4am while watching NCAA basketball on 3 TVs in his Albanian penthouse. Special talents of Andy's that Ryan appreciates: following logical processes to decide which NFL team to replace the Redskins with, being beatable in the classic game Risk, and an appreciation of re-gifted grills that cost $5 three years ago.
Maggie Wilson
Bridesmaid
Have you ever spent 7 hours at a restaurant in Albania drinking wine and talking about every topic known to man? Maggie and Rachel have...every week for almost a year. Maggie may know more about Rachel than even Ryan. Maggie spent many a night talking Rachel into dressing up in fun costumes and helped revolutionize Rachel's insta-caption game. Maggie brought out the younger side of Rachel and Rachel returned the favor by being Maggie's first Asian friend.
Asa Gray
Groomsman
From the moment Asa waved at Ryan in church when they were in the second grade they were friends. Asa is Ryan's oldest friend and the definition of the friend you introduce to a new group and have them instantly like him more than you. Ryan and Asa worked their first job together: washing cars at 3am discussing potential radio show characters and sneaking away for Mcdonald's.
Sara Mattina
Bridesmaid
In normal circumstances its not likely that Sara and Rachel find each other, but in the mountains and beaches of Albania, Sara and Rachel found the commonalities in their differences. Inaugural members of the commune, these two rock a mean tea drinking, rug choosing, and domino slinging game. Sara's enthusiasm for life brought out the best in Rachel on a myriad of adventures around the world.
Chan Woo Crane
Groomsman
Chan Woo is Rachel's younger brother. Ryan has seen a lot of Chan Woo over the last 4 years, and they bonded over their shared experience running Cross Country in high school. Since then they have studied math together, been to a Chiefs game, gone on a road trip to Colorado, and shared many jokes at Rachel's expense.