Wedding Party
Sam Sinel
Maid of Honor
Sam and I actually met the same day as Ryan and me, Induction Day 2019. We were pretty instant friends, it helps when you're the only two girls in the squad and are required to take a bathroom buddy at all times (wow USNA memories are so humbling when you look back on them). We became roommates sophomore year, survived weeks of quarantining with one another in a very small dorm room, and still managed to like each other at the end of it!
Paul Bishop
Best Man
Paul and I met in middle school and have been best friends ever since. We bonded over rock-paper-scissor tournaments, eating snacks loudly in AP Computer Science, Lebron James being the best basketball player ever, and other important topics. Some of our favorite hobbies include pickup basketball at the drill hall (making sure David Tydings and Johnny Dougherty are not on our team, of course), playing video games during a global pandemic, and walking a mile back to his house after a night out in College Park. Paul is an absolute stud and I’m only slightly nervous about the contents of his Best Man speech!
Mara Bartel
Bridesmaid
Mara and I met in human anatomy class, junior year at Stuttgart High School. We went to proms together, skied the alps, casual high school stuff and spent quite a few Christmas breaks together in Florida during college!
David Tydings
Groomsman
David and I met in the modern day Colosseum, aka the middle school basketball courts of southern Maryland. He played for Spring Ridge and I played for Leonardtown, schools that were bitter rivals. After we crushed them in the middle school championship game, David saw the light and joined forces with me at Leonardtown High, and the rest is history. A true competitor, David always knew how to get under my skin and was the only person I have seriously considered fist fighting at a basketball practice. What more could you ask for in a friend??
Caroline Stefans
Bridesmaid
Caroline and I were both originally in 1st Company, and moved to 13th Company together in the shuffle. We were an unstoppable force at mando meals, bringing the life of the party especially on "hot take Tuesdays." She was also my first salute!
Johnny Dougherty
Groomsman
Johnny and I met on the Saint Mary’s United Dynamo travel soccer team. We spent countless hours playing hotel tag during tournament weekends, forming an unbreakable bond. Although we had a bit of a rivalry while playing Xbox together during the summer of 2020, and harsh things were said over game chat. However, it was nothing that time and Bdubs wings couldn’t fix. When you talk to Johnny at the wedding, please send him your condolences for being a Penn State fan.
Elizabeth Arnold
Bridesmaid
Liz and I met in Mayport, FL on our youngster cruise. We bonded over painting the deck of the USS Farragut, appreciating a good local coffee shop, and became regulars at Vida Taco in Annapolis during our senior year at USNA.
Jay Hamil
Groomsman
Jay and I met during our Junior year when he was roommates with another one of my fearless groomsmen, Piotr Tarala. We hit it off and roomed together in Pensacola, where we bonded over our love of ordering out, riding electric scooters home from bars and playing golf poorly. A Georgia boy through and through, his beloved Bulldogs are always on his mind. Make sure he stays away from David Tydings (our resident Bama fan) at the wedding to prevent a physical altercation, although bringing up their shared hatred for Tennessee fans would probably diffuse the situation.
Hannah Ladd
Bridesmaid
Hannah and I also met in Mayport, FL on the same youngster cruise. We both became Marines and swapping horror stories on Sundays while in Quantico, VA was one of the only reasons I survived. Hannah and I are both out in Japan now, and she even hosted me for Thanksgiving!
Piotr Tarala
Groomsman
Piotr and I also met on I-day in 2019 and were later roommates. One of our favorite quarantined-in-one-room pastimes was me imitating Piotr’s professors during live lectures and him trying not to break as he asked them questions. We have been known to belt out Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me during the Christmas season, as well as any song from any High School Musical soundtrack. Piotr is a force to be reckoned with on the dance floor, so come prepared or else him and his "Tummy Ache Survivor" shirt will leave you in the dust…
Natalie Markoff
Bridesmaid
Natalie and I also met on that summer cruise (if you couldn't already tell, it was a very foundational event for me). We spent the next two years at USNA doing Taco Tuesdays in downtown Annapolis, helping her plan her wedding in the Nimitz library, and then went to The Basic School together in Quantico.
Ben Gormley
Groomsman
Ben and I met on I-day in 2019 and were in the same plebe summer squad, which meant we ate every meal together. Let's just say that the two of us did some absolute damage to those Academy family-style meals. We later became roommates and the only thing that ever truly tested the strength of our friendship was Ben turning on his coffee maker at 0530 every morning while I tried to sleep in until 5 minutes before formation. When you see him at the wedding, buy him a Yuengling (he loves a good PA beer) and question his decision to willingly choose a job where he has to sleep in the dirt for weeks at a time.