Hannah & Travis
Wedding Party
Heidi Carlson
Maid of Honor
Heidi is the first of the bride's sisters; they are closest in age and farthest in height. As Hannah's first childhood friend, they went from playing spies in the backyard to games of 21 all summer. Heidi and her husband taught us about the tradition of working a night shift at the hospital, then immediately going fishing all day, and then driving back to work another night shift with no break. Heidi and her husband Isaiah live in Anchorage and raise our adorable nephew Micah!
Landon Clark
Best Man
Landon and Travis met on the playground at Chesapeake Academy in 3rd grade. But when Travis moved to the Northern Neck in 7th grade is when they started to become close by bonding over their love for things like DragonBall Z, Blink 182, Star Wars. They played in a band together called "Green Piece" and spent more time and money than any high schooler should going to see live music whenever they could. In college they were separated for a bit but by the end of it they both ended up living in Radford next door to each other where nothing really productive occured other than just becoming even better friends. Now they live in different towns but still get together whenever they can and still go to every Jack White show they can together. Landon lives in Richmond with his girlfriend, Adele.
Esther Sperry
Bridesmaid
Esther is the bride's middle sister and the smartest and most sensible of the brood. She's the only person known to mankind to chose books over boys in high school. Now that she's found the one, they got hitched and brought Hannah's adorable niece into the world. When Esther isn't taking care of sweet Miriam, she's reading 1000 page novels and taking science classes for fun. Esther and her husband Nathan live in Anchorage with sweet Mimi.
Troi Meyers
Groomsman
Troi and Travis are closest together in age in the brood of George's children. Separated by only 3 years they got to be in high school together for a year and see each other occasionally in college as well. After college Troi and Mariana invited Travis to live with them while he got on his feet in the Northern Virginia area. They would spend late nights (on school nights!) playing NBA Jam and reminiscing about childhood. Troi lives in Reston with his wife, Mariana, and two children, Leo and Marco. PS: Don't forget to ask Troi about the time he tackled Travis on campus at CCS!
Ellen Ivers
Bridesmaid
Ellen is the second youngest sister in the gang and self-proclaimed mother of the Esbenshade clan. She goes by nurse by day and by night is a hilarious side-kick, extravagant baker of cakes, and the absolute best at promising to visit the east coast. Ellen makes sure all of the sisters are housed, fed, and beaten at every sport imaginable. Ellen lives in Anchorage with her husband Clint and their adorable daughter Piper.
Sadler Meyers
Groomsman
Sadler is 6 years older than Travis. Which means when Sadler was entering high school at Woodberry Forest Travis was only in 3rd grade. But that didn't stop Travis from trying to visit anytime he could to take in the campus and try to play some pool, arcade games, or get Sadler to take him around the science building whenever the opportunity presented itself. Sadler has spent most of his life pursuing his career in surgical medicine but his ability balance his studies/work while also taking breaks to have a good time has always inspired Travis. Sadler lives in Yorktown with his wife, Maggie, and their son, Luke.
Christina Esbenshade
Bridesmaid
Christina, aka Tina, TJ, TT, Teens, is the youngest and is, in her mom's words, "a monster" (height-wise, allegedly). Tina recently moved to Houston which makes her just one time zone away from Hannah and Travis. On her last visit, she almost soured the relationship by forcing Hannah to choose where to eat dinner, leave the house, and find places to explore in the city. Tina was recently accepted into a graduate program at Baylor University and we are so proud of her!
Spencer Miller
Groomsman
Spencer and Travis worked together in their first sales jobs out of college at a company in Northern Virginia. They spent too many weekends going out in Clarendon where Sponsor would have to listen to Travis sing karaoke but only the good stuff though like Creed. They've traveled together to Austin, where standing in line at 8am for four hours to get bbq was a good idea, and to Vegas (which was a really boring trip and there are no stories whatsoever). Today they now work at different companies but get together often and debate the finer details of the Star Wars saga.
Emily Shaw
Bridesmaid
Emily is also part of the family and has brought so much adventure and joy to Hannah and Travis's lives. Whether it's champagne-bonging, double-brunching, or having the guys cook dinner for everyone before the girls bounce for a night on the town, her infectious energy always lifts spirits and brightens the room. Hannah and Travis are so lucky to have such wonderful friends in Nic and Emily, and we can't wait to explore the world together!
Nic Shaw
Officiant/Groomsman
So you see this picture of Mr. Shaw here right? This is a picture of him dressed as Guy Fieri in New Orleans where he remained in character for the entirety of the day. Travis first met Nic in college around midnight one Saturday during freshman year. Nic was standing on a bench outside of the dorm they lived in introducing himself to everyone that walked by and he will probably be doing that again the day of the wedding. Nic and Emily have been a big part of Hannah and Travis' relationship. They've traveled to Chicago and New Orleans together for music festivals, Nic and Emily come up every year for Hannah's birthday, and if they haven't seen each other in a couple months they all get nervous. Hannah and Travis couldn't have asked for anyone better to marry them.
Maria Eells
Bridesmaid
When Hannah moved to Yakutat, AK in the 8th grade, Maria (and Ashton and Toni!) went up to Hannah and asked if she'd like to join them for lunch. Ever since, Maria has been a thoughtful, kind, and hilarious friend of Hannah's. One time, Hannah met up with Maria in NYC and Maria had brought her frozen salmon that they kept in the bathtub with buckets of ice. A fisherwoman and nurse practitioner with killer karaoke skills, being friends with Maria is an adventure and there's never a dull moment. Maria and Ashton are flying down from Sitka to hang out with the wedding party for over a week and Hannah is thankful to have such wonderful, life-long friends.