Brittany is my older sister—10 years older, to be exact—and growing up, she was my ultimate idol. If Brittany liked *NSYNC, so did I. If she showed me a song, I’d listen to it on repeat until I had it memorized. If she wore a turtleneck one time, I’d suddenly start wearing them all the time. She was the quintessential cool older sister. Fun fact: she once introduced me to this up-and-coming country artist named Taylor Swift, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Brittany is the kind of person everyone wants around. She makes every event more fun, laughs at all your jokes, and is always there when you need her. Growing up, I played countless pranks on her—like giving her a mole I dyed blue on her wedding day, teaching her a completely made-up language that had no logic whatsoever, and our classic game of “Tackle Britt Britt.” Through it all, she has always been by my side. During my time at Bellarmine, I even lived with her and her family for a few months. She and her husband would whip up egg burritos for me while making breakfast for their kids, and we’d stay up late playing games, studying, or just talking. Their home has always felt like a safe haven for me, a place I can go when I need comfort or support. On the morning of my dissertation defense, she got up early with me to go get breakfast and coffee, helping me feel less nervous before the big day. She's just always been there when I've needed her. She’s not just my sister—she’s my role model, my confidante, and my forever best friend. So of course she is my matron of honor.

My bond with Anna (or Pooch, as most know her) truly unbreakable. She has this beautiful duality: part fiery and bold, part quiet and sweet guardian angel. But behind all the sass, there's a depth to her that not everyone gets to see. She’s incredibly thoughtful—whether it's remembering the smallest detail about someone or showing up exactly when you need her most. I know she’d go to great lengths to protect me from anyone who might even slightly hurt my feelings. She’s the kind of person who feels deeply, even if she doesn’t always say it out loud. You can see it in how she looks after the people she loves—how fiercely she defends them, how quickly she’ll jump to your side, even if all you need is someone to rant to. Though she might love my dog more than me, I adore her with all my heart and would drop everything to travel across the world if she ever needed me. When she was a baby, people couldn’t resist squeezing her cute, chubby little cheeks—and I still think of her that way sometimes. Now, she’s grown into one of the most strikingly beautiful people you’ll ever meet—literally like having a supermodel in real life. She loves to tease me, and I’ll admit, I’m a little scared of her sometimes. For example, remember the turtlenecks I bought to copy Brittany? Well, one day when Anna was like 10 years old, she went into my closet to borrow some clothes and cut off all the necks of my turtlenecks because she couldn’t stand them. She almost died that day. Her only response was, "Well, sorry. Turtlenecks are ugly." However, she's the only one who’d cut the necks off my turtlenecks and still get a pass because... well, she’s just a Pooch. She's cool, hilarious, and really good at Dutch Blitz. I'm constantly checking her location to make sure she's safe and to see what she's doing. I chose her as my maid of honor because I love her with all my heart.

Although we’ve never hugged (not even once), Jessica has undoubtedly surpassed the ranks of friendship and become like a sister to me. Our story of friendship started when I was her boss for a summer. She had planned an 8-week rotation in my lab, and, in true workaholic fashion, I scheduled a Zoom meeting with her while I was on vacation in Cabo to go over my plans and expectations. I even created an over-ambitious outline of all the experiments I wanted her to tackle. Jessica says her first impression of me was that I was a "hard-ass" and assumed we’d never be friends. Little did she know that I’d soon become her favorite person ever (well, that's what I like to think). That summer, I taught her all about microscopes and FtsK, and she kept me laughing while teaching me how to speak in a British accent and fall asleep in a chair in five minutes. Honestly, I think we spent more time watching Gossip Girl clips and swapping funny stories on the microscope than actually working, but it was worth it because we became lifelong friends. Eventually, we decided to take our friendship to the next level and become roommates. We found a run-down attic of a house in the worst part of town, right across the street from a strip club and a Checkers, and made it our home. I’ll never forget helping Jessica unload all her Gucci shoes from her 1989 Subaru and lugging them up to our chaotic little attic. The Checkers house was a mess, but it was *our* mess. We laughed, we cried, and we watched about 103,820 clips of Joey and Tyler C. from The Bachelor in that house. Jessica is the first person I’ve ever met who truly shares my ridiculous sense of humor—we could (and did) laugh at literal nonsense all the time. For her final year of medical school, we were inseparable. Whether it was going to Orange Theory, tackling random house projects, or wandering through Costco to eat hot dogs and pizza while goofing around, we were constantly together. Jessica, being iconic, landed residency interviews at places like Yale, Harvard, and UC Davis in California. I knew I was going to lose her eventually, but that didn’t make it any easier. The night before she moved to California, we stayed up packing all her things (last minute, of course), and when she left, it felt like I’d lost my other half for a while (and honestly, I’m still sad about it). But she’s off doing amazing things, and I couldn’t be prouder. I love her dearly and would do absolutely anything for her—except, apparently, give her a hug.

There’s not nearly enough space here to fully express how much I love Liv. While I was starting to write this, she called me to check in because she’d heard some news and wanted to make sure I was okay—that’s just who she is. Liv has been one of my best friends since sophomore year of high school. We met at a mutual friend's 16th birthday party, stayed up all night talking and laughing, and taught ourselves Taylor Swift songs on the guitar. She’s my go-to for comfort, advice, or support, and we’ve had countless four- or five-hour phone conversations since high school. She’s always one of the first people I call with good or bad news. Liv is an anchor in so many lives, often without realizing it. She’s incredibly brilliant, thoughtful, and somehow always knows how to make any situation better. When my mentor was in a terrible car accident, she flew me to Arizona and took care of me for days, making sure I had what I needed. I’ve always felt deeply understood and valued by her in a way that’s rare and special, and I hope she feels the same from me. I’m convinced we’ll still be laughing and singing Taylor Swift songs decades from now. I’m so, so lucky to have someone as wonderful and caring as her in my life. Long Liv us!!!

There’s a long, long list in my phone of iconic and hilarious things Kathryn has said over the past nine years of our friendship. Not only is she a doctor, but she’s also outrageously funny, always ready to throw Michael off his game, and she loves Taylor Swift. Honestly, how could she be more perfect? Kathryn takes her role as matchmaker between me and Michael very seriously—she’ll probably take full credit for our future marriage and will probably somewhat expect us to name our future child Kathryn. I’ll never forget the day I met her. I was looking over my Gen Chem 1 test results when this stranger leaned over my shoulder and said, “Do you want to study together? I basically hate everyone else in our class and they all cheat.” And that was the beginning of our friendship. My favorite thing quickly became saying the most ridiculous stuff just to see her reaction. We’d spend countless late nights in the library, studying, eating pizza, and trying to get Trevor to teach us everything we didn't understand. Not long after, she introduced me to this really smart guy named Michael who could “help us study.” The three of us became inseparable, and while I’m sure mine and Michael's honeymoon phase of our relationship might’ve been *slightly* annoying to her back then, she stuck with us anyway. Now, all of us make it a tradition to meet up every year at her family’s houseboat, and Kathryn’s family feels like family to Michael and me. I’ll never forget spending that eclipse weekend at her family farm, drinking too much country smash. Kathryn has been such a huge part of my life, and I can’t imagine this day without her by my side. I love her forever and ever—so, of course, she’s a bridesmaid. She said yes to being a bridesmaid before I could even finish the question.

I first met Dr. Emily when she handed me my very first beer during a trip to San Salvador that could’ve been taken straight out of The White Lotus. We spent the week identifying fish, desperately trying to find a sea horse in -10 degree water, and dancing at the island's local political rallies during a thunderstorm. Emily officially joined the Michael-Kathryn-McKenna friend group in 2019 (though I wish it had happened sooner!). I always tell her that the group was only complete after she had joined. While her now-husband embarked on the crazy adventure of hiking the entire Appalachian Trail (he survived), we spent those months together, studying, drinking banana margaritas, and hanging out in her parents' hot tub, where we’d watch Kathryn and Michael belt out Old Town Road at the top of their lungs. Since then, Emily has become a kindred spirit. Her empathy, passion, and kindness make you feel loved, cared for, and understood. I’m beyond lucky to call her one of my closest friends. Emily brings so much joy and energy to every event—she has this incredible ability to make everything more fun and more hilarious. And let’s not forget, she has really long arms and has an undying love for Taylor Swift. Also, If Trump bans science in America, you can probably find us opening up a bakery together. I’m so grateful she’ll be by our side on this special day!!

Unfortunately, I have to give credit to my friend Parker for the beginnings of my friendship with BreAnna. Over the years, Parker tried setting me up with several people, but the only successful connection that came out of all his efforts was the friendship I have with BreAnna. The story begins with Megan Franz and me struggling to stay awake at 4am, trying to convince Parker to break up with his dramatic, over-the-top, snake of a girlfriend. I kept telling him that one day he’d find the perfect girl for him. I remember on the car ride to a game night, my friend mentioned this girl, BreAnna, that Parker had started dating. Within the first five minutes of meeting her, she was already talking about Grey's Anatomy and how badly she wanted to beat Parker at Catan. Even then, I knew she was "the one" — for me, not Parker. That summer in 2017, the three of us became inseparable. BreAnna and I spent most of our time in Parker’s aunt’s basement, playing games, watching American Idol, baking cookies shaped like chihuahuas, visiting Graeter’s by King’s Island, or listening to Parker correct our spelling. Some of my favorite memories were made with them that summer. I vividly remember telling Parker one night, “If you don’t marry BreAnna, you’re an idiot.” Then, he showed me the ring he had just bought her. That’s when I knew it was safe to get attached. BreAnna is not just a true friend but also one of the funniest people I know. Her sense of humor is infectious, and no matter how tough the day has been, she has this incredible ability to make you laugh at the most random things. She’s someone who genuinely cares deeply about the people in her life. She’s the kind of person who will always show up for you, no matter the circumstances, and you can count on her to listen, support, and make everything feel a little bit lighter. Even though we live in different states now, we’ve managed to stay close, mostly through voice memos. It’s not quite the same as seeing each other in person, but we’ve made it work — whether it’s sharing random thoughts, inside jokes, or just checking in on each other’s lives. One of the things I look forward to the most is our wine nights after Thanksgiving festivities. It’s become a tradition that I hold dear, and no matter how long we've been apart, those moments always feel like we’re right back in 2017. I love BreAnna with all my heart, and I'm so excited she said yes to being a bridesmaid.

There are probably hundreds of photos of the two of us I could’ve picked for this, but I picked this one—and only MaKayla will know exactly why. I first heard of MaKayla through whispers in the Bellarmine pre-med class. At a small school with very intense pre-med energy, everyone was always silently (and sometimes not-so-silently) toxically ranking themselves against one another. MaKayla was part of what was called the “Main Character Group”—you know, the people who somehow aced every quiz and exam without even trying very hard. And yeah, I was a little scared of her in the beginning. But then we ended up on the same field study trip to San Salvador, and everything changed. I've been obsessed with her ever since. We quickly became the ultimate black cat/golden retriever M&M duo, and we were completely inseparable. We got wayyy too invested in studying fish, made it our mission to endanger ourselves at every turn, and lived like we had a hundred lives. Whether it was racing an Olympic competitive swimmer in open water, eating sandwiches in the home of random strangers, or lying in a field surrounded by stray dogs at 2 a.m. talking about how we’d never become doctors... we were in it together. However, I knew from the moment she wrapped my injured foot in slices of ham just so we could keep diving that she would become an MD. When we got back, we basically refused to be apart. I spent countless nights crashing on the concrete floor of her dorm while we crammed for tests. There was even that one completely unhinged finals week where we stayed awake for seven straight days studying in Southeast Christian Church. I think we lost our minds that week. We really thought we wouldn’t make it... but here we are. Our professors would say we had a "chaotic best friend energy" or they would say, "those two should not become doctors" (I just am assuming the second one). MaKayla is one of the smartest, funniest, most unhinged, most loyal people I’ve ever met. My dad still quotes her all the time. I love her with all my heart. I’d do anything for her—and I even forgive her for the unspeakable number of proteins she overcooked in our shared experiments. I told her three days into our San Sal trip that she was probably going to be one of my bridesmaids, and I meant it. She is someone I consider my sister in science and in chaos in the best of ways. I am also happy to announce we are now both doctors... This fact may shock Dr. Savita just as much as we heat shocked her proteins.

I met Janae back in high school, wandering the halls of CEC. Well—I was trying to meet her. Every time I’d say hi, she would literally run away from me. It turns out, she was scared of me at the time. Somehow, we went from that to becoming best friends by senior year. I’m not sure what changed exactly. Maybe it was the moment she saw me rolling through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru in my Nissan Altima decked out in full Christmas and thought, “Okay, maybe this girl isn’t terrifying.” Or maybe it was when she met my vicious little white chihuahua and realized he was the only one anyone should be afraid of. From then on, we were inseparable. There were so many mornings when my mom would wake up and just find Janae in the house—she’d show up around 10pm the night before, and we’d talk for hours in the “Surrelum” or drive aimlessly in the dark blasting Sugar by Maroon 5 after getting Icees from Thortons. Before Janae, I’d only been to Chick-fil-A maybe three times. After Janae? Millions. One night, when my parents were out of town, a surprise blizzard hit while we were at O’Charley’s. Of course, we got completely stranded. But somehow, we navigated my family’s giant Suburban back home through the snow. The next morning, without skipping a beat, we were up early making banana pancakes in the Surrelum and then hiking five miles through snow to visit Abby Gates’ infamous pet donkey, Muffin. If that kind of thing doesn’t bond you for life, I don’t know what does. Senior year with Janae honestly ranks as one of the top five years of my entire life. We were always together—crashing at her place for coffee and Karen’s sage counsel, picking up Jessica from school on a near-daily basis, going to prom together.. She was a constant source of joy and laughter through it all. Janae is one of the funniest, silliest, most genuine people I’ve ever known. No matter how much time passes or how many miles there are between us, we always find time to reconnect—whether it’s a Christmas coffee date or a cozy wine night spent catching up or reminiscing about the chaos of senior year. I will love her forever, and I’ll always be grateful that she stopped running away from me. Snoots for life!!!

There are so many things I love about Marquinta—but my very favorite has to be the way she found *the* video that ended up launching our entire lab’s research project. It was literally the spark that started it all. My second favorite thing? How she never lets me forget it. She reminds me—often—that she is the reason behind all the lab’s success. And honestly… she’s not entirely wrong. Marquinta has been one of my best friends, roommates, and lab partners for the past three years. Through it all, she’s been the calm, grounded center holding it together while Jessica and I ran around the Checkers house in full-blown ADHD chaos. Somehow, she managed to keep us (mostly) on track without ever losing her sense of humor—or her patience. After she joined my lab in the summer of 2021, it didn’t take long for me to realize I absolutely loved her. From that moment on, I decided she was simply not allowed to leave my life. Ever. She’s now way beyond just a friend. After years of living together, laughing, crying, and probably emotionally trauma-bonding through countless failed experiments or med school endeavors, she—and her dog—have become family. Marquinta is the person you want by your side in every situation. She’s steady, dependable, endlessly funny, and always up for rallying behind me—whether it’s hyping me up, reminding me that we need to work on becoming more "developed," listening to me vent, or just showing up exactly when I need her. She has a rare kind of presence that makes everything feel just a little more peaceful and a little more hilarious. She’s truly a ride-or-die in every sense of the word. The kind of person who quietly makes everyone’s life better just by being in it. And while I make fun of her for taking all the credit for our lab’s success, the truth is—she really has been at the heart of so many of the best moments, both inside and outside of science. I’m so lucky to have her in my life and in my wedding party!