Brendan Santschi
(Best Man)
College roommate, SCUBA diving buddy, and best friend of the groom. His attentive listening, patient smile, and good humor will prove to you that he is the most compassionate man alive, even as he handily demolishes you in a game of Catan.
Sarah Smith
(Maid of Honor)
Younger sister of the bride and world traveler extraordinaire. Visited Australia and South Africa in the time that Max and Rachel were dating. Even when she’s home, her family asks, “Where’s Sarah?” because she leaves home without telling anyone to go somewhere around Wilmington.
Henry Forsyth
College friend who Max sponsored for confirmation. Owns a full-scale engineering lab, works as a defense contractor, and is crazy smart with robotics. Sound familiar? You may have read about him under his true name, “Tony Stark”.
Rebekah Smith
Second-youngest sister of the bride who shares Rachel’s love of reading. She’s active in homeschool soccer and volleyball leagues and uses modern lingo that Rachel doesn’t understand. In younger days used to fight with and bite Rachel, but now is a good friend.
Luke Smith
Brother of the bride, drone enthusiast, and Lego collector. Luke and Max’s friendship is relatively new. However, their shared experience of growing up with only sisters fostered an immediate mutual understanding.
Leah Smith
Youngest sister of the bride. Brags nonstop about being almost as tall as Rachel despite being 13 years younger. Talented at soccer, acting, and surfing. Is homeschooled and loves to FaceTime her cousin from Australia and her friends.
Jack Greer
College friend and former co-teaching assistant of the groom. When office hours were slow, Jack helped play-test the first draft of Max’s board game and coined the game’s title: “Cosmic Corsairs”.
Brenna Carter
Close friend of the bride. Rachel piqued her interest in Catholicism at a Christmas party, which led to her conversion in 2024. She moved away from Raleigh which made Rachel sad, but does excellent work as an early childhood educator. Had a rough time with an RV and helped move Rachel’s dense granite table.
Eric Hasenbein
College roommate of the groom, seminarian for the Diocese of Patterson, and loyal New Jersian. You can trust him to coordinate a fine liturgy or recite Bruce Springsteen by heart, but keep him away from the cake: He’s known to make icing out of vodka and light it on fire.
Emily McGovern
Close friend and emotional support buddy of the bride. Met Rachel when she was guarding her at Ultimate Frisbee and was left in the dust. Also moved away from Raleigh, all the way to Oregon!
Karl Wolf
College roommate of the groom, aerospace engineering graduate, and fluent speaker of German. Karl appreciates the simple things: long talks with friends, fresh homemade bread, birds at the feeder, and merciless Mario Kart races.
Adriana Watkins
Close friend and puzzle buddy of the bride. Superb cook, awesome teacher at STMA, and go-kart survivor. Legend has it that she painted in the North Carolina Art Museum with a mustache on her face.
Tiernan Barber
College roommate of the groom, master of the open road, and future mad scientist. In conversation, Tiernan may share traveling to a place you’ve never heard of, fascinating corners of the internet you had no idea existed, or engineering projects you’re amazed didn’t burn the house down.
Ashley Wells
High school friend of the bride and bird nerd whose life coach is Peppa Pig. Watched Up 87 times and is still searching for Paradise Falls. Quotes SpongeBob SquarePants at least once a day. Refuses to move to Raleigh although Rachel really wants her to.
Nash Euman
College friend of the groom, passionate architect, and the most cultured gentleman this side of the fall of Rome. Max’s favorite memories with Nash include fireside conversations about ancient Greece and carrying backpacks full of bricks at 5:00 AM.
Lizzy Schuetz
Close friend and former roommate of the bride. As Rachel’s roommate, she braved a nonstop fire alarm, a swarm of bugs, a fire extinguisher explosion, and lackluster apartment customer service… all while working from home! Loves the outdoors and has an awesome dog named Jetta.