Wedding Party
Meaghan Puckett
Maid of Honor
Meaghan and I met in middle school when she moved to North Carolina from New Jersey. She had to the chance to start fresh and reinvent herself but instead she chose to join us nerds and I'm so glad she did. We might life far apart and our music tastes might be really different now but she's still my #1. Nothing puts me in a better mood than a cold call from Meaghan when she's on her ride home from a long shift at work, even if we can only chat for a couple minutes. So grateful for her to take time away from her big Dr. job to join us on our big day.
Matt Clair
Best Man
Brother by birth, but Best Man by choice! Matt and I go ALL the way back to the very beginning and has been doling out "big brother" guidance ever since - sometimes heeded, sometimes not, but guidance that's always given with love. Adventure and travel buddy, guidance counselor, and always the more athletic one (although he was bested in corn hole... once!), Matt has brought joy and a lust for life that is infectious, and I am extremely fortunate to be able to call him my brother.
Josh Kongmany
Bridesman
Josh and I met in his first year in college and my second. Meaghan had studied abroad for a semester and I was starting the school year without many connections. I met Josh and he immediately brought me into the fold and introduced me to his suite of roommates and I'll be forever grateful for his friendliness. He lives in Germany now so I don't get to see him often but he always keeps in touch with mental health checks and to send the most absurd posts. So grateful he's made the long trip to celebrate with us. Danke schön!
Vinny Piccolo
Groomsman
Vinny was one of the first friends I made in my in first month at UVA, one of the Humpfreys dorm crew (of which I am an honorary member, and practically lived at) along with three other groomsman. Vinny and I lived together for the next 3 years along with Joey (and Ryan for the later two), and we've been been buds ever since. Vinny and I shared a passion for playing cheesy piano tunes, perhaps sometimes to the displeasure of those around us. Having since moved out to the west coast, where he and his wife Karissa are living their best So-Cal life with their senior dog Sophie.
Tiffany Hardin
Bridesmaid
Tiffany is my newest friend I met out in Colorado and truth be told I'd be chomping at the bit to moved back east again if it weren't for her friendship. I teach her old lady hobbies like gardening and she shows me how to use my new apple ipad without laughing at me. Tiffany is so sweet and so supportive and I'm grateful to have her and Austin in our lives. Together we are learning that $10 wine is in fact not the best wine and exploring all that Colorado has to offer.
Joey Cunningham
Groomsman
Joey is the second member of the Humpfreys dorm crew, where I met him early on in my first year at UVA as well. Joey and I connected over our love of good jams - Joseph is a fellow music enjoyer and loved ripping metal rifs on his guitar. Joey has personally influenced my musical tastes (we still share favorite tracks still today), and has been involved in some of my most intense gaming sessions. He's one of two of the former roomies who relocated to the ATL and lately has been traveling the globe for work and has recently been enjoying rock climbing and biking.
Elijah Abel
Bridesman
I met Elijah (aka Yaya) in college through Josh and after that first year we all practically lived in Josh and Yaya's apartment. Yaya was a true dad of the group, always ready with a bad joke or to cut us all down a peg but just a quick with a supportive word or to lend an ear to troubleshoot a personal issue. It's no wonder that he settled down quick and has gone on to become a great husband and dad. These days he's in NYC having completed his master's degree while working as a stay at home dad and making us all super proud!
Derek Cousins
Groomsman
Derek is yet another member of Humpfreys - are you seeing a pattern here? We've been fortunate to live in closer proximity for a while after college when I was working at Wallops. Derek is a wearer of many hats - from working for the Sacramento Kings fresh out of college to professional firefighting in the greater Hampton Roads region, he is currently on his way to becoming Physicians Assistant. Derek and his wife Lauren live in Norfolk, VA with their child Logan and dog Jax.
Emily Graczyk
Bridesmaid
Emily is one of my oldest friends from all the way back in first grade. Her family essentially took me in as a 3rd child and I spent many weekend over at her house. Emily is the reason that I actually cared about school and making good grades (even if I could never beat her) so I can easily say I wouldn't be where I am without her. These days we don't talk often because she's all the way in Ohio kicking butt as an associate professor and researcher, but when we do talk it's a 3 hour minimum conversation. So thankful for our conversations and for you to be here with us.
Ryan Peters
Groomsman
At last, the final member of the Humpfreys dorm. Ryan was roommates with Joey, and we spent a lot of time (toiled away?) in class together as we were both studying mechanical engineering at UVA. Ryan convinced me to take a class on Abstract Expressionist art which is still the most challenging class I've had to take. Like Joey, shared a lot of musical tastes.He was known to be able to rap the entirety of Lil Wayne's "A Milli" - if we're lucky maybe he'll break it out for the wedding. Possibly the best golfer of the group (both in Wii or real life), Ryan lives in Atlanta with his wife Hana and child Oliver.
Thomas Rufty
Bridesman
Thomas was an obvious addition to the bridal party as he's been around since the beginning, not by choice per se but by birth. We grew up playing outside and he was always good about letting me intrude on his play time with friends and didn't begrudge me as his little sister. When he discovered videogames our play time became more indoors but her trained me to be a very formidable Mario Kart player. Thomas has always been supportive and generous whenever I've needed help and I'm grateful he logged off his computer and braved the daylight in order to join in our wedding.
Brad Hood
Groomsman
Arguably the most influential member of the wedding party, Brad was the one who provided the extra push to get Kay and I to actually exchange numbers back on that fateful day in the Rocket Club at NASA Wallops Flight Facility. Brad and I shared an office at Wallops for a few years, before he departed for bigger things, eventually landing in the Denver area. Brad subsequently convinced us to move out to Denver (he put in a good word at Ball for me!) before unceremoniously deserting us and moving back to his home state of Maryland where he and his wife Beth, child Westley and dog-child Otter live.
Kelsey Stover
Bridesmaid
Kelsey and I met middle school and starting hanging out more regularly in high school. Emily, Kelsey, Meaghan, and I formed our own little marching band crew and had a blast together all through high school. Kelsey staying in NC to pursue a career in veterinary medicine and even though we don't see each other often we all try to reunite the high school crew at least once a year. These days I rely on Kelsey to always introduce me to the best new boardgames and books (even though she has never given a book less that 3 stars) and to begrudgingly provide veterinary advice when I'm panicking about Wooley. So thankful to be friends all these years and to see how our relationship has evolved as we've grown.
Austin Wojkiewicz
Groomsman
That's pronounced "Voykevitch" for all you non Poles out there. Newest member of the crew. Austin and his fiancee Tiffany are our token Denver pals in the wedding party. Classics fiend and collector of whiskey, Austin is here for all your Ancient Roman knowledge, or if you need a translation in ancient Greek. Suffering through his own fixer-upper so we share in the misery of our self inflicted projects. By the end of our journey with both of our powers combined we might be able to screw two pieces of wood together. With Tiffany, he is a proud dog parent to the biggest bunch of floof West of the Mississippi.
Spencer Karges
Officiant
Spencer and Kay also met in college through Josh (sensing a theme, yet?) and to say he is too cool for school is both literal and figurative. Spencer and I always had a blast in random history classes or just hanging out in Josh and Spencer's freshman dorm room. That is until he ruined it all by dropping out of school to follow a girl....*eyeroll*. But he made the right choice because they got married not long after and we've all continued to stay in touch. I wish I saw him more than once a year at our annual college friend get together, but I'm grateful to have him in my life and acting as our officiant on such a special day!