Well, we thought we'd have a little page dedicated to getting to know our wonderful bridesmaids and groomsmen. Sometimes it's nice to know how such-and-such a person knows the bride or the groom, plus who they are and what they do. All were very good sports about filling out a little questionnaire and allowing us to profile them here. (P.S. Click on the photos for a little different peek at each!)

Rachel Lynn Marek (Maid of Honor)
	Knows the Bride From: University of Michigan Medical School Place of Residence: Ann Arbor, MI, but originally from Sonoma, CA Occupation: Medical Student Future Outlook: Specialty undetermined, but "definitely not staying in Ann Arbor." Relationship Status: "Neutrally single but happy in general except post-call" Three sentences about yourself: "VSS NS SWF in NAD w/ no c/c/e who enjoys traveling, walking, reading, biking, baking, gardening, and eating good food. Must leave MI for more temperate climates. ISO residency w/ home call and few hours." [Christopher sez: "What???"] Best Memory of Bride: "What I realize that I treasure the most in medical school is that very precious commodity called time, so my best Akiko moment isn't really a moment but a day not marked by any incredible event, but rather stamped with the simple pleasures of talking and laughing, sharing and enjoying each other's company. With Christopher gone to visit friends in Texas, Akiko and I set out one Saturday last April to head up to the thumb (if you are not from Michigan, think of the state as a mitten; the thumb is in the east). We stopped in Frankenmuth for Christmas shopping in the Spring and chicken at Zender's, and then continued to head North talking all the way (definitely, one of my favorite pastimes much better than baseball). We walked along the shoreline of the Great Lakes, and then headed back to Ann Arbor, or so we thought. In Saginaw, with Akiko's cell phone ringing constantly with calls from her mom and both of us trying to navigate to get on the southbound 23, we somehow missed the exit realizing this about fifty miles later after we had passed Midland heading West. [Akiko says: "It's okay, it was Christopher's car."] This mistake was no great loss, because it just an opportunity for us to talk more, and as Christopher can testify, we never stop chatting. Good times are not by default extraordinary ones but rather they can be ordinary moments sewn together with extraordinary care." Funniest Memory of Bride: (Editor's note: In order to save room for our other bridesmaids and groomsmen, the rest of Rachel's response can be found by clicking here.
Yvonne Claire Lee
	Knows the Bride From: University of Michigan Medical School Place of Residence: Ann Arbor, MI Occupation: "Very sleep-deprived medical student who has recently been harassed by a certain Christopher Bachmann regarding a certain questionnaire." [Christopher sez: "Sorry Yvonne, last is last, and I did NOT make you lose HBO! Ha ha."] Relationship Status: "Neutrally single" Tentative Ideas for Bachelorette Party: "Food. Lots of food. With Rachel's culinary expertise, I'm sure this will not be a problem. Of course, we could always employ a male stripper to come, but I'm afraid he might feel a little neglected when all of us ignore the beefcake in favor of cheesecake." Three sentences about yourself: "Greatest attribute: I make other people feel taller. Greatest flaw: I have no decision-making capacity whatsoever. Favorite thing: A stuffed dog in a railroad suit (his name is Mauk)" Best Memory of Bride: "Running down the sand dunes in northern Michigan. It was happy, fun, free and oh so non-med school-esque." Funniest Memory of Bride: "Akiko, Rachel and I attempting to skip rocks on the lake near Traverse City: Poor Akiko had just been rudely awakened from a deep sleep, so she wasn't exactly in top rock skipping form (of course, neither was I, but that's beside the point). Instead of skipping quite cheerfully, the rocks just went plop. We ended up just cheering for anything that didn't directly sink into the water. The most pitiful thing was how much our arms hurt the day after." [Akiko says: It was so true! Ha ha ha!]
Shannon Eileen Bachmann
	Knows the Groom From: Birth Place of Residence: Santa Monica, CA Occupation: "By day: Legal Assistant. By night: Rock Star, a.k.a. Singer/Songwriter with a soon to-be-released demo full of Neo-Post-Classic-Future-Minimalist-Funk-Hip-Soul-Hop-Fusion-Rockin'-Euro-Afro-Jungle-Latin-Jazzy Pop songs for your listening enjoyment... in case you were wondering what type of music. (I get asked that question a lot)." Relationship Status: "Happily committed and in love with my favorite new boy in the world. Pop and CB, you are my favorite old boys in the world, so no worries...." [Christopher sez: "Hmmmm, I need to meet this 'boy'..."] Tentative Ideas for Bachelorette Party: "Skydiving anyone? Akiko's one last adrenaline hurrah...." [Akiko says: "FIRST adrenaline hurrah, maybe!"] Best Memory of Groom: "Too many to count! Making forts out of couch cushions in the basement, hippity-hop races, riding ghetto (Pop-made) skateboards, 2-man circuses, overnight tent camping in the backyard with bowls of hand-picked blackberries, cheezy home-made movies (Mystery of Minter Lagoon, Pizza Boy, and How to Teach Your Dog Tricks, Trampoline Fun, and other DIY goodies), singing along to Nylons and Michael Jackson's Thriller cassette tapes, watching the only two videos we owned: Annie and Back to the Future, and how could I forget bouncing each other off the parent's bed while they were gone. They never had the slightest idea... until now!"
William Joseph Kaberle, Jr. (Best Man)
	Knows the Groom From: Undergrad at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Place of Residence: Richardson, TX ("Dallas, really, since Rich is a suburb") Occupation: "Work for the Dallas Water Utility... future... Oil rig out in the Gulf" [Christopher sez: "Yeah right, not unless you can get a cable modem out there too..."] Relationship Status: "Tricky question... How about them Red Sox?" Three sentences about yourself: "I am a pretty easy going type of guy who is a little shy in big groups and can be very stubborn and has his own ideas about things. I drive wayyyyy too fast sometimes and this also adds a depth to my personality. I like spending my time watching sports, gaming, and moving heavy things." Tentative Ideas for Bachelor Party: "Well it's very very soon to be thinking about and I'm very very far away which complicates things... but it should be relaxing and not stressful and a chance for Christopher to get out and away from the grind for a bit." [Akiko says: "Safe answer, Willie."] Funniest Memory of Groom: "In context, Christopher being the alpha veggie head that he is was rooming with me and Rino during his sophomore year (1996?). Christopher has always instructed us in the finer side of veggie life and he explained his confusion/distaste for the meat eating way of life. He was very good at pointing out his pros and cons to back up his case, and it is with this background of some of our conversations that lends this to being one of the funniest mems of him... though he would definitely disagree. One night we decided to order some Papa Ginos pizza. This was not very unusual in itself but more about that later. There was always the debate on exactly how we were going to order, Christopher by himself, or maybe one of the meat eaters would go for a veg slice. Christopher orders the veg thing, whatever they call it, and Rino and I split the meat lovers deluxe. The irony sets in, Christopher gets very very sick for a week and misses classes from his veg pizza and the meat eaters didn't notice anything wrong with their chow. So one of the advantages of veg life was to avoid the inherent risk of getting sick from undercooked and unclean meat. Unfortunately for Christopher he probably got sick from an earlier chicken order that had cross contaminated his veg pizza." [Christopher sez: "Hooray for salmonella! Good thing I'm marrying a doctor."]
Joseph Lee Richards
	Knows the Groom From: Undergrad at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Place of Residence: Cambridge, Massachusetts Occupation: "Current: engineer. Future: shepherd." Relationship Status: Engaged since 11/30/02?? It's an epidemic! Three sentences about yourself: "Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, I made the move eastward to study physics and electrical engineering at MIT. That turned out to be a good move, since while there I met and befriended Christopher -- we were in the same pledge class at Epsilon Theta Fraternity. Since graduating, I have moved from Cambridge to San Jose and back from San Jose to Cambridge, and I'm currently working too much at a start-up while trying to revive my long-neglected musical side." [Christopher sez: "Oh, God, come on with the order! Take forever!"] Tentative Ideas for Bachelor Party: "Just three words: drunk farm animals" [Christopher sez: "Oh Joey! You remembered! LOL"] Funniest Memory of Groom: "One of the funniest things I remember about Christopher was his method of communicating with a comatose (Editor's note: 'sleeping') Willie. Chris would use just the right tone of voice and kick him just right and elicit a grunt in response. Or sometimes a groan. Then, somehow Chris could interpret that response and translate it to English. It's hard to explain just how funny this was, so you'll just have to take my word for it." Best Memory of Groom: "That would have to be Spring Break, 1999, when he, Willie, and I ditched MIT, jumped on a plane, and flew to Seattle for the week. Only a week, but thanks to Christopher's uncannily refined planning skillz, we packed in a month's worth. Although sacred pacts keep me from sharing many of the more sordid details, I can tell you that we sipped expensive micro-brews in fashionable Seattle yuppie bars. We got soaked on a foggy, rainy Pacific beach. We threw fish at passers-by at the Pike Street Market. We hiked through the heart of a rain forest searching for the world's largest spruce tree, and we stumbled through 10 foot deep snow on Mount Rainier. Chris was the driving force that got us out and about on that trip, and we had as good a week as you possibly can without winding up in a Tijuana prison."
Takanori Brian Kurachi
	Knows the Bride From: Birth Place of Residence: Los Angeles, CA Occupation: Paralegal Relationship Status: Committed Three sentences about yourself: "(1) Like to drink. (2) Like to party. (3) Like good food. (Simple pleasures are the best, aren't they?)" Tentative Ideas for Bachelor Party: "No comment (you would probably prefer to exclude my ideas anyways)" Funniest Memory of Bride: "Akiko's first experience with a gas pump - Holding the pump in the air, spraying gasoline everywhere while screaming. (Almost died laughing so hard)" Best Memory of Bride: "Akiko taking care of me while parents were working - helping her cook and making new recipes together." [Akiko says: "This must be why you are such a good cook today!"]