Wedding Party
Molly Smith
Maid of Honor
Molly and Tessa met in their freshman year of college at CSU. They had several fateful encounters such as living in the same dorm, sitting next to each other in a freshman year class and joining the same sorority. They moved in together their junior year and their friendship quickly blossomed. All the roommates enjoyed teasing Molly for her early bedtime and aversion to germs. Everyone also enjoyed the living room dance parties Molly would initiate and her fearless need to request a song, no matter the DJ. Tessa and Molly have remained very close over the years, always making time for each other when Tessa was in town. To this day, the two frequently stay up way too late (with Mariah too!) reflecting on old times and making new special memories together. Molly is an extremely supportive friend and I immediately felt comfortable around her. She is the kind of person who will drop everything for a friend in need. She is vibrant and organized, this combination creates a dynamic person who I am always delighted to spend time with!
Anne Archibald
Bridesmaid
Anne is Easton's twin sister and technically the older sibling. (we think it shows). Tessa first met Anne at a friend of Easton's wedding. Because Easton and Tessa had only been dating for about 5 months at the time, Tessa was relieved that Anne immediately made Tessa feel right at home. Since then, Anne, Easton and Tessa all moved to Denver. Tessa has been lucky enough to enjoy many a girl's night with Anne and has developed a wonderful friendship with her future Sister-in-Law! Anne brings spontaneity and kindness wherever she goes. I love that she shares qualities with Easton but they manifest in different ways. She is loyal and confident and in situations where Easton can't always relate because he is a guy I know that Anne will "get it". I am so lucky to marry into such a wonderful family!
Alexa Kinsinger
Bridesmaid
Alexa and Tessa quickly bonded because of their mutual misunderstanding of the sorority they joined as well as their need for female friendship in engineering. Tessa and Alexa would always bike to class (and the bars) together and take alternate routes for "max contact time." Their dream was always to get an engineering job in a ski town. They both eventually accomplished this dream and lived together again post-college in Lake Tahoe! Regardless of if it was 3 am in the library or 3 am at Bondi these two can always have a good time! Alexa has an amazing charisma that I have always admired. She is confident and bold but is also willing to admit when she doesn't quite know what she's doing but she's here to figure it out! I love her energy and cherish all of the silly times we have had together.
Paige Reisman
Bridesmaid
Paige and Tessa have been friends since high school when they started their careers at Target. They loved working at target and talked about it constantly. Eventually, their friend group got so sick of hearing about all the goings on at Target that they officially banned "Target Talk". They remained close and supported each other at their respective colleges and later their respective careers. Although the pair haven't lived in the same state since high school, they have remained close through frequent phone calls. The two are constantly calling each other to talk about anything from the mundane to life-altering decisions. Paige has always been a shoulder to cry on or someone to share a laugh with. Paige is energetic and brilliant. She can step into any situation and match the energy perfectly. I've never felt so understood by another person and am so grateful for her friendship.
Mariah Stotsky
Bridesmaid
Tessa and Mariah met their freshman year of college when they both joined the same sorority. Their friendship really took off their sophomore year as they were both searching for people in their sorority that they could connect better to. Mariah always had a passion for art and Tessa was drawn to her ability to make anything beautiful and the process of creation fun. They moved in together and their friendship only grew. Famously, Mariah made their beloved college house "The Green House" a true work of art. She was constantly painting the furniture with fun colors and the girls even brought one of their dining room tables over to a nearby house party to paint during the party. It was an absolute hit. Mariah has a wonderful sense of humor and can always make me giggle with her witty one liners. She can always help me put my problems into perspective and is such a breath of fresh air to be around.
Ellie Lupo
Bridesmaid
Although Ellie and Tessa went to the same high-school (Sko Knights!). They didn't officially meet until they both needed a roommate in San Francisco. They got one drink together and decided, let's do it! They quickly found 2 strangers from the internet to share a 2 bedroom apartment in a charming neighborhood in SF. The dining room became Ellie's room while the conjoined living room, which had some flimsy doors to separate the two rooms became Tessa's bedroom. Luckily Ellie and Tessa quickly realized that they were both extremely extroverted and loved each other's company and close proximity. They spent many days enjoying a big city lifestyle and overcoming the different obstacles that come with living in a new place. Ellie has a way of connecting to everyone and I am truly so lucky to have her in my life. She is thoughtful and bright and can always bring humor to any situation.
Mark Vander Aarde
Best Man
It's not often that people can say they have had the same best friend since preschool. Mark is that person for me. He has always been there, and feels more like a brother to me. The time I spent at Mark and Bobby's house growing up is immense. Mark has a special gift of making everyone he meets feel comfortable and special, in my experience it's unmatched. As nice as he is, he has a mischievous streak, and quite enjoys it. One of my earliest memories of this was on May Day in elementary school. We loved ding dong ditching and May Day provided the perfect excuse to enjoy this sport. We whipped up these ugly little May Day baskets out of printer paper that were barely held together with Scotch tape. The candy supply chain was limited that day, so we put one maybe two mini-snickers in each. We had a successful day of ding dong ditching and were headed home with our last crumpled basket feeling quite satisfied. Just when we were about to cut across some yards to make it home, Mark spy's a BEAUTIFUL May Day basket on a porch. A truly proper one complete with green fake paper grass and overflowing with candy. I stood frozen as he calmly walked up the steps and quietly says, "yoink". He swapped the beauty with ours! We sprinted home and enjoyed our stolen treasure together. Anyways, Mark is the best, I love him.
Jackson Brockway
Groomsman
I actually met Jackson years before Tessa from the ultimate/rugby friend pipeline. He coincidentally ended up being my across the street neighbor at 902 Mathews St. in Fort Collins! I love discussing basically anything with Jackson. Our favorite topics are how cities work and our shared love of the Hardcore History podcast by Dan Carlin. I always learn something new when I spend time with Jackson, and truly value those lessons. This winter, Tessa and our friends Kai, Ian, and Alyssa were welcomed with open arms on Jackson's boys climbing trip to El Potrero Chico, MX. We got to climb an interesting tower together, and I was so impressed with how Jackson has improved as a climber! Jackson is one of the most athletic people I've met (not surprising that he's a Brockway), his feats range from silly challenges he devises, to running from rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon. I am looking forward to the numerous adventures we will share together in the years to come!
Bobby Vander Aarde
Groomsman
Bobby has always had a brilliant mind and a gentle soul. He is so caring and thoughtful in everything he does. Bobby is Mark and John's younger brother (one of 5 brothers in their family!) and I've been friends with him just as long as I've known Mark. Bobby (Bob, Boob, Bob-O, Bob-a-lob-a-rino) has always been a tinkerer and creator. My earliest examples of that are when we would stay up late playing a coding game together. Together we learned how to troubleshoot problems, provide feedback, and have fun doing it! Bobby would code, and I would watch in awe as he effortlessly expanded his mastery of that rudimentary programming language. I am so proud of Bobby and how he has harnessed his ferociously curious mind to solve problems. I think he's addicted to solving problems, and he's quite good at it. The photo of Bobby is after he got his first internship in college at Google. No doubt, his tinkering as a child played a major role in accomplishing this.
Leif Olsen
Groomsman
Leif grew up on 4th Street, a few blocks from me, but Mark introduced us as friends. If I wasn't at Mark's house on a summer day, Leif probably was. I spent a lot of time at Leif's house as well, Dan and Lilla Olsen's summer grill nights could feed armies of growing boys! Leif and I formed a much closer relationship when we joined ski club in middle school. Each Monday night throughout the winter, we would hop on the musty bus, and ride to Welch Village. Night skiing is considered a novelty to people out West and with temps regularly hitting -10F in MN it would be considered downright un-skiable. To us it was magical. We didn't know what proper mountains were, and didn't realize at the time we would simultaneously fall in love with them. It became clear by junior year that we needed to get out of the Midwest and check these things out. Flash forward a few years, and Leif is finishing up another season living a PROPER ski bum lifestyle in Jackson, WY. I roll into town in my 08' Outback (Jade) stuffed to the gills with all my belongings. I had just finished my first thru-hike of the Colorado Trail and was moving further west to Oakland. Leif and I didn't get to spend much time together when I was at CSU, but during that visit after 5-years, it was like we never missed a day. Leif is so genuinely himself, this especially resonated with my father who had a great appreciation for Leif. It is also one of the things I love most about him.
Jake Davis
Groomsman
I met Jake (Pacemaker) on the front porch of the general store in Trout Lake, WA while he was journaling on the PCT. This just so happens to be the same tiny town that Tessa's cousin Charlie ended up moving to after college! I had broken off from my trail friends of 1500+ miles after joining the Brockways on a river trip through Idaho and was traveling solo. I remember feeling kind of lost and sad to not have any friends, but also open to the possibility of connecting with new folks. Jake and I had some mutual friends on trail, and connected immediately. A moment in the sun diving in an ice cold mountain lake in the Glacier Peak Wilderness solidified our friendship for good. It felt like a dream or a feel good movie where nothing could go wrong. We laughed our way to camp that night only days away from the Canadian border with both of us feeling the immensity this perfect storyline coming to a close yet not wanting to confront it. Our trail story ended with Jake and I (Tape Tape) completing the PCT and him ticking his second long trail having completed the AT a few years before. As Tessa drove us back to Seattle from Mazama, Jake was in the back seat scrambling to book a hotel and was forced to reckon with life off trail. We told him we were so excited to move back to Colorado and rent a place in Denver. I like to take credit for him committing to move to Colorado, but his brother did have his first kid, and in his words, "You just can't watch that shit from a screen."
Keenan Rust
Groomsman
Keenan and I lived together in college. He's a top tier roommate and friend. Keenan is very self aware and and challenges me to reckon with my own flaws. We had an quick bond over growing up in the North Star State, and continued to grow closer as we lived together at 902 Mathews St. Keenan is the second history major in the roster of groomsmen alongside Jackson; maybe I just gravitate towards these pontificators! After hiking the Colorado Trail, Keenan and I were left with the daunting task of deep cleaning out our college house in about a day. 902 had the same group of friends living in it for 4-years which now contained a multitude of orphaned items. We worked all day on the house, and I packed Jade for my move to Oakland. The sun went down hours before finishing, but the house was completely empty save for a few lawn chairs to hit the curb the next day. We made a tradition of watching Game of Thrones together with a bowl of cereal this last year of school. Another episode had aired while I was on trail, Keenan didn't dare watch it solo. We looked at each other in our echoey stark house and knew what must be done. "I'll get the cereal" I said, he responded "I'll set it up". I snatched a bag of cereal from the store and when I returned Keenan had set up a minimalist theater with lawn chair seating. We watched our last episode together with a healthy bowl of cereal huddled over his laptop. This remains one of my favorite memories from my time at CSU.