Sophie & Jeremiah
Wedding Party
Jeremy Fuzy
Groom
Jeremy met Sophie on a trip to New Orleans with Stan Maxson shortly after finishing college while she was doing hurricane rebuild work for the Episcopal Diocese and living in a house with David Maxson. Jeremy recently finished up his doctorate from the Missouri School of Journalism and works as an editor covering religion, politics, and culture. He celebrated graduation by canoeing across the state of Missouri and also enjoys cycling around KC, hunting for pawpaws, and cooking delicious meals for/with Sophie.
Sophie Day
Bride
Sophie Day met Jeremy during her year in New Orleans. She told her roommate that she thought he was cute but that she would never be in Missouri, so there was no point in pursuing anything. Fast forward a decade and change and now she is marrying Jeremy and living in Missouri. Sophie has her Masters in Social Work and is a Capital Mitigation Specialist with the Federal Public Defender. She is a runner who recently hiked her first trail marathon. Nothing makes her happier than fall weather and cozying up with a warm blanket and a spooky movie.
Tim Mayberry
Groomsman
Tim met Jeremy in middle school while attending the same school and church. They grew up together playing paintball and airsoft, starting off as friends and ending up as enemies. Tim loves going the extra mile to do things that would always make Jeremy laugh, which coined the term "Timtation." Even though Jeremy is marrying Sophie, Tim will always be Jeremy's first true love. Tim met Sophie while visiting Jeremy in Chicago. The friendship started over egg nog milkshakes mixed with maple Crown Royal and cigars in a blizzard. Tim enjoys hiking, petting every dog he gets the opportunity to, beers on any body of water, and lives in Rhode Island with his wife Shaina and dog Pepper.
David Maxson
Groomsman
Y’all know David from the shoutout in the Save-the-Date — he’s the reason Sophie and Jeremy met each other down in New Orleans. David has no memory of meeting Jeremy: he was just kinda there one day standing next to his brother Stan at Drury University in the fall of 2007. Nevertheless, they are now inseparable friends. Sophie and David share a love of New Orleans. He’ll never forget scream-singing karaoke at Kajun’s with Sophie. Like Jeremy, David met his spouse in NOLA, but David did it first. David now lives in Memphis with his wife Amanda and his daughter Susan.
Stan Maxson
Groomsman
Stan is Jeremy’s “older brother.” They met at Drury University in 2007 where they trained together in racquetball, Karate, and the humanities. Both are yellow belts, but Jeremy has never beaten Stan in racquetball. Stan met Sophie on a trip to New Orleans with Jeremy shortly after finishing college while she was doing hurricane rebuild work for the Episcopal Diocese and living in a house with David Maxson. The night after Stan met Sophie, he wore her cowboy boots at Bourbon Heat on Bourbon Street — Best Friends. Stan now lives in St. Louis with his wife Ann and his son Lenny.
Eli O'Sullivan Kurtz
Groomsman
Eli met Jeremy in college philosophy classes, but they've haunted each other's steps across Springfield, Chicago, and Kansas City. Eli recently ate his first pawpaws thanks to Jeremy's hunting prowess (they were delicious). Jeremy and Sophie have combined forces with Eli and his wife Keely many times, gallivanting around breweries, board games, campgrounds, and anything spooky enough to shake a stick at. When Eli's not connecting KC-area urban farms to people in need of good food, he's probably drawing fantasy maps or publishing nerdy games.
Andrew Kunze
Groomsman
Andrew first soul-bonded with Jeremy at a party in Chicago in the fall of 2012. Jeremy asked, “What kind of music do you like?” Andrew replied, “I like Sufjan Stevens… and Kanye West.” “We’re gonna be friends,” Jeremy decided aloud. And so they were, even as they suffered through their respective graduate programs at the University of Chicago. Andrew completed his Ph.D. in the anthropology of religion, studying and publishing on contemporary Hinduism. He currently teaches at the University of Chicago with his wife, Dr. Savi, who teaches classes on Human Rights.
John Sianghio
Groomsman
John and Jeremy met at UChicago Divinity School. Their friendship grew through mutual coercion. John made Jeremy hold a baby for the first time (Marcus). Jeremy made John spend more than one night camping recreationally. Jeremy also introduced John to Sophie who John would not only trust with his life, but more importantly trusted with Marcus’s life as she was Marcus’s first non-blood related babysitter. John does not say “non-family" because, as a caterpillar transforms into a beautiful butterfly, John realized Jeremy and Sophie were not simply friends, they were family. John never left the Divinity School. He sits in a depressing windowless office in the basement as the juniorest of junior faculty.
Seth Patterson
Groomsman
The first time Seth remembers looking into Jeremy's excited eyes is when Jeremy passed Seth a bottle of brandy in a classroom at the University of Chicago Divinity School. This moment of community building brought them together to a friendship resembling an older (and so much wiser) brother and younger (cooler and more interesting) brother. Sophie then made the relationship bountiful and lifegiving in new and important ways. Seth loves them both very much. He is a theatre artist and UCC clergy person in Minneapolis. Nora and Nery help make Seth's life whole in ways that are indescribable.
Ryan Fordice
Groomsman
Ryan met Jeremy and in turn Sophie while surviving the MDiv program at the University of Chicago. Ryan recently completed a residency in healthcare chaplaincy, and now works as Chaplain and Spiritual Counselor for a hospice company. A proud native of Iowa and resident of Chicago, he enjoys making music, reading history, watching football and fútbol, collecting Midwest identity paraphernalia, and eating and drinking his way through his vast and Windy City.
Hannah Day
Maid of Honor
Hannah Day met Sophie in 1993 when she broke into her home and kidnapped her family. 29 years later and Hannah has been fully integrated as a member of the family. (Hannah is Sophie’s little sister and best friend). Since then Hannah is told she has met Jeremy several times however she is not able to place him. Currently living in Chicago and working as an ER social worker, Hannah hopes to make a move to New Orleans soon. Hannah enjoys downtime with her cats, Tom and Hanks, and despite a demanding social life, recently watched Law & Order: SVU in its entirety in a period of time that could be described as concerning.
Ryan Day
Man of Honor
Ryan Day met Sophie virtually immediately after entering this world. As the big sister, Sophie was always there to lead Ryan on a righteous path, and little brother Ryan did his best to cause mischief and mayhem whenever he got the chance. The two siblings, along with even littler sister Hannah, were inseparable. Even when they all left home for college, they followed Sophie's lead and settled together again in Florida. Although everyone has found their own homes around the country, whenever the three shall meet, it's like no time has passed at all.
Lauren White
Bridal Party
Lauren White was lucky enough to meet Sophie pretty much right away when she started her freshman year at college at the University of Tampa. Lauren quickly started spending time with Sophie’s brother Ryan and as a result time with Soph! Between spending time at the beach, crowd surfing at concerts and trips to New Orleans it was (and still is) always a fun adventure with Sophie! Sophie is always down for a game night and as a result has introduced Lauren to some of her favorite games; specifically Mysterium which Lauren has introduced to every single person that comes to her apartment. Lauren is living and teaching in NYC with Ryan which lucky for me means all the fun adventures with Soph will continue forever!!
Tim English
Bridal Party
Tim English is Sophie's stepbrother. He has fond memories of playing Titanic and collecting Beanie Babies with Sophie while growing up together. Tim currently lives in Newark, DE with his wife Kristen and approximately 25 koi and goldfish. He works at the Winterthur Museum (Wilmington, DE), where he manages their K-12 field trip programs. In his free time, he enjoys going to concerts, watching sports, and spending time outdoors. He wishes Sophie and Jeremy a great marriage together!
Matt English
Bridal Party
Matt English is Sophie’s younger step brother. He is currently living in Arizona with his girlfriend Molly of almost 4 years. They moved there together a little over 2 years ago in search of a change in environment and access to outdoor activity. Matt works as a bike mechanic and races mountain and gravel bikes all around AZ. Molly is currently enrolled at Prescott College to earn her Masters Degree for Science in Environmental Studies while also working as an Education Coordinator at the local zoo. Matt and Molly love hiking, biking or sightseeing together and have been to 11 of the National parks so far and are always looking to add more to their list.
Gail Goldsmith
Bridal Party
Gail Goldsmith met Jeremy when they moved into the Disciples Divinity House at the University of Chicago. Thank God they survived drinking on the house’s roof. She was thrilled to make a new friend when he started dating Sophie! Gail will even watch a horror movie for Sophie, but it’s going to have to be in daylight hours. She’s grateful for Sophie’s wicked sense of humor, depth of friendship, and keen sense of integrity and justice. Gail is an Episcopal priest at Trinity in Lynchburg, VA; she hasn’t worn her Fast & Furious-style rhinestone cross necklace to services yet, but she’s still got time. She likes to lift weights, and hang out with Kathleen, her wife, and their absurd dogs.
Sarah Miller
Bridal Party
Sarah Miller met Sophie through the year they spent living together in New Orleans. When not listening to live jazz or exploring the city, they bonded over late night fast food runs and the struggles of being an introvert in an extroverted world. Sophie and Jeremy moved to Kansas City while Sarah was living three hours away in Omaha, which counts as close in the Midwest. She’s grateful for many laughter-filled New Years, camping trips, and Zoom movies with them. Sarah works for the University of Minnesota and lives in Saint Paul, where she enjoys extreme winter sports and lying about her hobbies.
Keely O'Sullivan Kurtz
Bridal Party
Keely O'Sullivan Kurtz went to college with Jeremy and is eternally grateful he started to date Sophie. Keely and Sophie met for the first time at a lunch in celebration of Jeremy's birthday, which turned into a 12-hour hangout packed with good food and an uncommon amount of Twin Peaks. They didn't have damn fine coffee that day but it was a damn fine start to their friendship. Keely really bonded with Sophie once they both moved to KC. Their friendship has grown through movie nights, board games, and chicken sandwiches. Outside of being a program director at a local nonprofit, Keely spends her time camping, reading, crafting, being married to Eli, and surviving cohabitation with her despot of a cat, Bruce.
Grace Whitmore
Bridal Party
Grace Whitmore met Sophie in 2011 when they both transferred to Eckerd College in Florida. While they both left Florida (and thankfully the glitter) behind, they remained close friends and consistently scheduled walk-and-talk phone calls, regardless of those pesky time zone differences. Two of Grace’s favorite memories with Sophie are when they got their faces printed on pints of Guinness in Dublin, followed by getting Philly Cheesesteaks on Thanksgiving in London. She is incredibly grateful to have gotten to know Jeremy and is ecstatic that these two kind, funny and genuinely wonderful people have found each other. Grace is an avid traveler and reader. She has spent the last three years living in Albania with her partner David, and they will be moving to Australia at the end of the month. She hopes to bribe Sophie and Jeremy to visit with the promise of holding a koala.
Max Martinez
Bridal Party
Max Martinez is the often stressed, anxious patriarch of the Martinez family and owner of his own burger restaurant. He is known for being mild-mannered, pessimistic, and being a terrible businessman, often having financial struggles in keeping the restaurant running and paying rent. He has a rivalry with the Italian restaurant owner across the street and quarrels with local health inspector. Max is a third-generation restaurant owner, and by nature, loves his business and has big ideas for his different burgers (in particular, having a new "burger of the day" for multiple years). He has a strong love for his family, including his husband Westley, and their cats Macchiato and Zeus.