Jessica & Craig
Wedding Party
Jenna Markel
Maid of Honor
Jenna is blessed to have been stuck with Jess for her entire life. When she was a child, Jenna survived being bossed around on a daily basis, tied to trees and even some squabbles. Somehow, through it all, Jenna and Jess grew up to become best friends. Jess did lose her sister in a foreign country in recent years, ("How am I supposed to know where my sister is?"), but Jenna was found safe and sound and is now able to stand by Jess's side as Maid of Honor. Jenna is a 2nd grade teacher in Red Lion Area School District, where the Doudrick sisters grew up.
Dan "Deej" Martin
Best Man
Daniel John Martin met Craig as a junior in high school - where the two competed for rival show choirs (think Glee). The duo both studied broadcast journalism at Ohio University (think Bobcats, not Buckeyes) and quickly became inseparable. You may know Dan from roles such as The Cowardly Lion in Brush High School's performance of "Wizard of Oz" or as Danny in "Grease", but he and Craig shined together as members of the Singing Men of Ohio (SMO), Section 8, "DC&J" and "One Brown Shoe". Dan and Craig began their television broadcasting careers together in Lima, Ohio, before separating in 2007 when Craig left for Erie and Dan went to Youngstown. Dan currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, where he is a news producer at Spectrum News.
Kelsey Flatau
Bridesmaid
Kelsey and Jess bonded over locker signs in junior high. Since then, they've done everything together: family vacations, adventures across the country and even moves to Florida. Their friendship has had a few rocky moments, like when Jess stole Kelsey's cupcake in high school and Kelsey said their friendship was over, and when Kelsey was the main cause of Jess's sledding accident and concussion in high school. But the pair has made it through those "bad" times and will forever be the dynamic duo of Jesseroni and Kelseroni. Kelsey lives in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida where she protects Jess from squirrels when they attack. Kelsey also travels the country for her marketing job (and for fun).
Justin Barasky
Groomsman
All it took was a few Adam Sandler impersonations at the 8th grade lunch table for Justin to go from being the "most annoying kid" Craig had ever met to one of his best friends. Justin and Craig bonded through choral music, show choir, drama club and crushes on many of the same girls....except for the time Craig dated Justin's younger sister. Justin and Craig were college roommates for two years at Ohio University where they sang together in the Singing Men of Ohio, Section 8 and DC&J. They love to quote "Con Air", Fleetwood Mac song lyrics and do impersonations of Lennie in "Of Mice and Men". Justin is a political consultant and currently resides in our nation's capital.
Andrea Sambrick
Bridesmaid
Believe it or not, Andrea & Jess met at band camp. The two "Marching Lions" spent almost every day that fall together. Then spring soccer season came, and again, the two were inseparable. They'd drive to high school jamming out to High School Musical and Lifehouse. That was about the time when they both became obsessed with Taylor Swift (and still are. You Need To Calm Down.) Over the years, Andrea and Jess have been together through the best of times, like when Jess stood by Andrea's side as she married the love of her life, and the worst of times, like when they got sunburned so badly that they slept on Andrea's basement floor, lathered in aloe. Andrea is a dental hygienist and lives with her husband, Jody, in Lancaster, PA. She has two cats, Scout & Garfield, cousins to Ollie & Greyson.
Ryan Smylie
Groomsman
Ryan Adam Smylie came into the world on January 12, 1985, and while Craig was only two and a half years old, he still remembers seeing his baby brother in the hospital for the first time. Despite growing up with very different hobbies, the brothers grew much closer during Craig's college years. Maybe it took so long because of the infamous "eyes-shut fake field goal" Ryan secretly called in the Smylie basement leading to Craig's broken big toe in 6th grade. None-the-less, Craig is extremely jealous of Ryan's world travels, random autograph collection, and math skills. Ryan is currently a math teacher and serves as the Academic Team advisor at Avon Lake High School.
Sammi Battista
Bridesmaid
Sammi and Jess met in 2017 when Jess moved to Sammi's hometown, sunny Sarasota, Florida. The pair worked together at ABC 7, and Sammi took Jess under her wing to show her the city and introduce her to co-workers who would soon become family. A videographer and reporter duo, the two once weaseled their way into the middle of a crime scene on Longboat Key and were given the nicknames "Cagney and Lacey." Sammi was also the one to come up with the name for Jess's second born: Greyson (combining "Carson" Wentz and "Grey's" Anatomy.") Sammi and Jess now live 1,000 miles apart but still talk nearly every day about life struggles, the Bachelor (until Sammi bailed on the show) and to make sure they both close their rings.
Jordan Smylie
Groomsman
Jordan is the youngest of the three Smylie brothers. While they are nearly seven years apart, Jordan and Craig share a love of music and theater. Both sang in choir at Solon High School and Ohio University. Inadvertently, Jordan helped Craig get his first job - babysitter. Jordan is a computer guru and serves as the IT manager for the family business, Smylie One Heating & Cooling. He's also spent more time at Cedar Point and Disney World than most people on Planet Earth and is passing down his love of amusement parks to his daughter Lizzie and son Kyrian.
Leanne Stuck
Bridesmaid
Leanne is often referred to as ROOMZ. Jess and Leanne took a chance and roomed together in Erie without ever meeting. The rest is history. One was rarely spotted in Erie without the other. In the famous words of Alex Peterson, "It's like you two have known each other for your whole lives, but no, only since March 2015." The two enjoy communicating with one another in voices that are so high-pitched that no one else can understand them. Cheese and crackers! Leanne Stuck is a news reporter for WGRZ in her hometown of Buffalo, NY!
Rick "Turkey" DiLuciano
Groomsman
It's hard to believe that Rick and Craig met 15 years ago in the small town of Lima, Ohio. While Craig was working in his first job in the TV business, Rick was a technical director behind the scenes. Little did they know, it would be the love of music that would bring these two closer together. An outstanding drummer, Rick teamed up with Craig and best man, Dan Martin, to form the band "One Brown Shoe". Their friendship has only grown stronger since Craig and Jess moved back to Cleveland. Rick's infectious "turkey" laugh and life-of-the-party attitude are reasons you can often find him spending his evenings off from his job at FOX 8 with both the bride and groom. Ladies, you can find this Italian stallion on Tinder and more importantly on the center of the dance floor on July 24, 2021.
Heather Schmuck
Bridesmaid
Heather and Jess bonded on the varsity soccer bench. Heather taught Jess how to make water bubbles with chewing gum and the pair sang Harry Potter Puppet Pals. It was then that they realized, they must be twins separated at birth (and born two years apart). Since then they've been the apple to each other's pie and the straw to each other's berry. For years, they vacationed together in OBX and will forever hold on to the embarrassing moments, unforgettable stories (waking up to find a chicken wing in their bed after a fun night) and memories they created on those trips. You do the math. Heather is a recruiter and lives in Baltimore.
Tom Reisenweber
Groomsman
Truth be told, neither Tom nor Craig can remember when exactly they first met, but it happened early in Craig's tenure as a sportscaster in Erie. Tom worked as a sportswriter for the local newspaper and despite being "competitors", the two quickly became the best of friends. Fortunately, this was already during the time of unlimited cell phone minutes, text messages and data because Tom and Craig have been known to spend more time talking to each other throughout a day than married couples. Craig has been quoted as saying, "Tom is the hardest-working guy I've ever met" and Tom has been quoted as saying, "Why does Smylie keep breaking stories when he's not even on TV anymore?"
Tracy Rabuck
Bridesmaid
Tracy and Jess met when they were in diapers. Every Sunday at church, they'd request the song "Father Abraham" during Sunday School and giggle together in the back of the room when they were told no. The two went to Hartman Center together every summer and grew in their faith hand in hand. Decades later, Tracy and Jess may live miles apart, but they'll always be the peanut butter to the other's jelly. Oh, and they've both grown up to become crazy cat moms. Tracy and her husband, Tyler, live in Harrisburg, PA.
Seth Balkanyi
Groomsman
Seth Loren (he hates when Craig announces his middle name to the world...or even on a private website) Balkanyi is one of Craig's oldest friends....even though they're only two months and 15 days apart. Not only did they grow up living one street away from each other, Seth's mom and Craig's mom brought the boys to "Romper Rally" when they were just a few years old. The boys attended the same elementary, middle, junior high and high schools before going their separate ways in college. No matter how busy their individual lives have gotten, Seth and Craig always manage to make time to catch up - especially on April 5th and June 20th (You do the math....) every year since they were able to use a phone.
Payson Smylie
Flower Girl
Payson Dylan Smylie is a second grader at Roxbury Elementary School. She loves to dance, cheer, visit the zoo and the cats at every animal shelter we pass. She's affectionately known as the "Princess" because she always plays by the rules and is the best big sister to Rowan.
Rowan Smylie
Flower Girl
Rowan Daisy Smylie may be a flower girl, but she might as well be the wedding planner, because what she says goes. We call her "The Tornado" because she has a tendency to destroy any and everything in her path, but this little one is the life of every party and knows how to go toe-to-toe with her older sister, Payson. Ask her to sing you a song. She takes after her Daddy!