Katherine is the bride's older sister. Her constant influence has helped shape Michelle's life. Katherine was always there to do Michelle's hair and makeup for school dances and also had a closet to raid (if she wasn't looking).

Allie and Michelle both attended Clemson University for their masters degrees in the biology department. They struck up a friendship while being teaching assistants for a biology lab for non-majors and got close going out downtown and to Clemson football games. Allie's lab was one floor below Michelle's lab in the LSF, so she was always a quick trip down the stairs during incubations.

Maddy is one of Michelle's cousins, but after Michelle moved to Baltimore in 2017, she spent a lot more time at the Peffers' house and Maddy became more like a sister. Game nights are a popular choice to pass time and Michelle and Maddy make an amazing Linkee team.

Caitlyn is also Michelle's cousin, but they have formed such a close relationship that she feels more like a sister. Caitlyn is also a big fan of board games and has more recently shared book interests with Michelle.

Jessie and Michelle met while working at Duke's Regional Biocontainment Laboratory in Durham, NC. Their similar mindsets and work ethic made them fast friends. Jessie left Duke to pursue a PhD at Vanderbilt, but they remain close despite the distance.

Cecilia and Michelle worked together in Frederick before Michelle made the move to Durham. She was a constant source of friendship and support and quickly became Michelle's work bestie. Work besties turned into dinners to watch tv shows they both followed, margs on nice days, and several attempts at couch to 5K (which only one of us was successful at, spoiler alert: it wasn't Michelle).

Jaafar and Alex first crossed paths in their 5th grade class at Gary D. Wright Elementary School, where they infamously faced off in the championship round of the Geography Bee (Jaf came away with the W). The two became close friends during their middle school and high school years--bonding over sports, music, and their shared class schedules--and maintained their relationship through many more years of schooling and cross-country moves.

Despite living over 2000 miles apart, Jaf and Alex are still best pals, though most of their text conversations nowadays consist solely of inside jokes and sports highlights.

Eli and Alex first became pals in middle school and high school, where they spent unhealthy amounts of time playing Xbox together. This hard work paid off, and the two graduated and went to college. Eli and Alex stayed close over the years and have reconnected for some wonderful adventures, including a road trip to South Dakota where their campsite was raided by wild buffalo.

Nowadays, their reunions are often a little quieter... having a beer and commiserating over the Chicago Bears.

Stephen and Alex also first crossed paths in 5th grade, and their friendship has grown throughout middle school, high school and beyond. Stephen and Alex have especially bonded over their shared obsession with fantasy football (Alex is commissioner and Stephen is de facto community manager). Their storied fantasy football league began in 2014, and every so often Stephen reminds Alex about how many more championships he has won. (Current tally: Stephen = 2, Alex = 0).

Ryan and Alex met at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (I-L-L!) through the Spikeball Club. The duo have paired up for numerous tournaments throughout the years, including the 2019 National Championship in Richmond, VA and the 2021 National Championship in Philadelphia, PA.

Ryan and Alex have grown close over their sports fandoms, music interests, and philosophical discussions regarding the modern era of baseball and its evolving role as America's pastime.

Braden is the middle brother of the groom.

Braden and Alex have bonded over their shared interests in food and music. Alex has repeatedly rambled on about the similarities of the chemistry lab to the culinary world while Braden excitedly describes that one scene from that one episode of Chef's table. It's a great conversation that always turns into laughter.

When they visit each other, the agenda usually revolves around where to eat and which concert they're going to next!

Christian is the youngest brother of the groom.

Christian and Alex have always bonded over sports, starting with backyard wiffleball games in their childhood and transitioning into banter over fantasy sports and video game face-offs. Christian's knowledge of the NFL/NBA and Alex's knowledge of the MLB make them a diabolical duo in sports trivia!