Our Wedding Party

Megan and Sarah, Andrew's Sisters 

To be a younger brother is the most wonderful gift: It's love and lessons and friendship right from the very start. Also screaming, hitting and getting really good at annoying each other. Megan timed me (accuracy remains in question) while I fetched her ice cream and Sarah re-enacted WWF-style wrestling moves with me. I wore their shoes as hand-me-downs and we drew imaginary lines in the backseat on car trips, making bold threats to any who would cross. We also woke each other in the night and shared a bed whenever one of us was nervous. My love and appreciation for my sisters has grown along with us. My sisters have been the best of mentors, with enough opinions to keep me going, and enough sense and compassion to know when to let me go on my own. They are brilliant, compassionate, passionate, groovy and cool. They are also a lot of fun. More than anything, they are my sisters, and I love them. They've been with me for every step of the way so far, and I know they will be into the future. We are honoured to have them stand with us on our wedding day.

Cam, Christa's Brother

In my speech at Cam and Drea's wedding, I entertained the crowd by stating that “growing up with Cam was always an adventure - it usually ended with a hospital visit!” And that is so true. As my older brother, Cam has always been someone to learn and grow with. When we were younger, Cam and I were busy kids and determined to try something new, usually without thinking. The bees nest in PEI, when my older brother provided succinct advice... “RUN”. The time we were searching for golf balls in North Carolina; following along behind him, Cam came to a direct stop and I quickly learned we were upon two hooded snakes. Swinging in the hayloft of a family friends barn, when a sibling competition ended poorly, with Cam standing at the bottom of a 20ft drop with his arms wide open, coaxing me to “drop and I will catch you!” That did not end well. Cam knew how to cut boredom on long family trips with many ridiculous games such as leg slap and finger bite. As we grew older, the adventures continued - dressing me up as a minor 9er at the start of highschool, showing me how to remove doors in under 10 seconds, making sure my head hit the window on the last turn home, and working out together. In our adult life, I have appreciated my brother's ability to deal with high anxiety moments and find the positive to focus on - even when that seems most difficult. I respect my brother for the many things he has accomplished in his life, through his Ministry and the Navy and surviving cancer. I love you brother and look forward to your support both on our wedding day and beyond.

Andrea, Christa's Sister-in-Love

Andrea is my wonderful sister (in law). We first met in highschool, when we trained on the same synchronized swimming team out of Burlington Synchro in 1999. We became close friends, talking about school, boys and life. Drea left for university the following year and because there was no such thing as MSN yet, we lost touch. In 2006, Drea's Masters of Physio brought her to McMaster and to my surprise, we were reunited on Mac's waterpolo team – once again team mates! That year we rekindled a much missed friendship, enjoyed each other's company and had many memorable chats while traveling with the team. I introduced Drea to my brother, as a way of meeting “fun & interesting” friends in the Hamilton area. The day after they met, Cam phoned me starting with “Christa, what have you done...?”. Drea soon became my sister (officially). Drea is one of the most amazing people I will ever meet and I look forward to when Cam and her return to Ontario to spend more time together. Drea, it is a great honour to have you stand up beside us. Looking forward to the celebration and hoping for a bit of “La Bamba!”

Aaron and Mike, Andrew's Brothers from Other Mothers  

Aaron claims he showed up on the scene when I was 12 (I was too young to remember, so he must be mostly on track). Mike when I was 17. My brothers have been a part of my growing up. They have been the brothers I never had; in fact, that's true for all of us, none having a brother by blood. They're hilarious and playful, and willing to be as in on the stupid thing you're doing as anyone, as you may expect brothers to be. They're also honest, real people with feelings. They are protective and supportive leaders in my life, and thoughtful friends who can ponder a big thought with me or just be goofy. They're wise and teach me things, sometimes intentionally, directly, other times just being themselves and being honest. We don't spend too much time talking about our appreciation for each other, but I'm really grateful for the choices my sisters made and the brothers I've found as a result, and thrilled to have them stand with us on our wedding day.

Andrew Clark aka Clarkie, Best Man

We met in first year at Mac. I'm not sure who sat down first, but we found ourselves as strangers sitting at the same dinner table at Commons. It went something like this: "I'm Andrew," followed by "Me, too." We repeated our strange 'we are the same person' routine for the rest of the evening: Same program and year. Same interest in sports. And that was likely the extent of our conversation skills at that point in our lives. Nevertheless, we had our foundation, built on fate and a table with a view of the TV. From there, we sat together in classes (Andrew took meticulous notes while I tried to write funny comments to distract him), worked on projects together (Andrew mostly shook his head), played sports together, taught each other things (like basketball and how to count the beats in a song for our Pop Music class) and just generally spent time together being 'The Andrews'. The coolest thing is that, through all the adventures, with all our similarities (and differences), we really appreciate, respect and enjoy each other's company. Andrew's a wonderful, thoughtful, caring and generous friend. A role model for me and others. I had the honour of standing with him and Carly on their wedding day and I am honoured to have him join me and Christa for ours. He also looks really great in spandex.

Melynda Paterson, Matron of Honour 

I have been friends with Mel for over 20 years, meeting when we were 5, on our first day of Grade 1. Ironically, Mel was bold, introducing herself courageously, while I shyly hid behind my mom's leg. (A real role reversal, if you know us!) We developed a long-standing friendship throughout our formative years attending grades 1-12 together, participating in sports, summer camps, travel, and all the joys of adolescence. In our spare time from synchro, Mel and I often made videos with my dad's old video camera. Sadly, the classified information recorded during those years has been regrettably misplaced - a huge loss for us both. The memories of childhood with Mel are endless and always make me smile big. Our friendship continued into university at McMaster, finding mischief studying for exams, traveling with the McMaster Women's Waterpolo team to other schools, and then heading to Australia to compete in synchronized swimming together. We still enjoy swimming on week nights, are part of a book club and find time to enjoy a good movie together. This year, Mel and I shared a team at Burlington Synchro together, traveling to Ottawa with a group of highschoolers! Mel is also a successful entrepreneur, Birch & Blossom Design, selling hand-crafted jewelry, artwork and memorable items. Four years ago, Mel and Ted got married and Mel changed from a Saunders to a Paterson! I was honoured to stand with Mel and Ted on their day, and am honoured that Mel will be standing with Andrew and me.

Karyn Melfi, Christa's Cousin

Karyn is my baby cousin, 4 years my junior. I can't remember meeting her, but can remember bringing bottles to her crib as the proud, older cousin. In our younger, exuberant years, we enjoyed family Sunday dinners after church, summers at the cottage in Southampton, reenacting movies (Home Alone! She's All That!), creating dances and putting on shows for anyone who would watch! (Lip syncing “Too Much Love Will Kill You” by Queen, much to our parents chagrin.) As we got older, I enjoyed carpooling to and from the pool with the Makins and the Saunders to synchro or waterpolo. As the older cousin, I thought when I joined water polo, that I would be protecting Karyn in the pool – I was extremely wrong! We attended the same highschool, both enjoying social events and sports at Westmount. Karyn is a very talented individual, notably her gift given through photography. She has been recognized for being a strong, young woman entrepreneur, being asked to provide speeches to local education facilities to provide leadership for young women like herself. Last summer, I had the honour of standing with her as she married Nic Melfi – a charismatic school teacher. (He looks gentle, but do not let him fool you, he is an aggressive gamer!). Andrew and I are honoured that she will stand with us this summer.

Danielle Hulan, Christa's Roommate & Soul Sister

I first met Danielle at Sport Fitness School, our summer camp job at McMaster. Dee was one of the camp leaders and I, a first year coach, even though we are the same age. My first memory of Dee is from our meet and greet BBQ at SFS, where with over 100 staff to remember, she came up to me and greeted me by name. This speaks to Dee's character and philosophy of life, believing that knowing someone's name would make them feel more welcomed. And Dee likes to make people feel welcome. [Host of the Year Award] Camp only scratched the surface of the friendship we would develop, the depth of our understanding developing over the last 3 years as room mates. Our first week together, we were almost evicted for all of our “parties” - which in reality was just Dee and I, alone in the apartment, laughing at pictures from a Triathlon. The weeks after that first have been similar. I am so proud of Danielle and her devotion to her community and in particular, the women within it. Dee just graduated with her M.S.W this year (with straight A's). I am honoured to have her stand with us on our wedding day and look forward to more laughter together.