Dockside at Dukes

Welcome Party

Wedding Day

St. Joseph Parish

Ceremony

Fox Hollow Farm

Reception

Our Wedding

Conor and Emma met in Houston in the summer of 2022, when Conor was working for a software consulting company and Emma was just starting her third year of medical school. Their first date was at a cocktail bar called Julep, a quick meetup which turned into four hours of laughing and interesting conversation. In the several following months, they learned they shared so many similar passions and interests in life and fell in love.When Emma matched to ophthalmology residency in Seattle, WA at the University of Washington, Conor decided that he would come along with her for an entirely new adventure in a place far from both of their homes in California and Texas. They quickly learned to love the city where they now live, with all of its quirks and especially with its incredible access to the outdoors.Conor and Emma went on a backpacking trip at the end of June 2025 with several close friends and Emma's sister to the Enchantments, a famous outdoors destination in the PNW. At the end of the first day of backpacking, the group had found an idyllic camping spot next to Snow Lakes. Against an intimate backdrop of mountainous passes and sparkling alpine waters, Conor asked Emma to marry him. And of course, she said yes. They celebrated with a bottle of champagne that Conor had lugged up 10 miles / 4,000 feet of elevation gain in his 60-lb backpack. If you ask him, though, he would say the effort was worth it and he'd do it all over again (...maybe). We love this chapter and new home we've built here in the PNW, and are so excited for all of you to experience what makes this corner of the world so special.

Our Story

Photos

Emma's only and favorite sister, who currently lives in Denver, CO working as a public historian! Rachel and Emma have been best friends their whole lives and love doing most everything together. Rachel is smart, spunky, hilarious and is the bride's favorite person to talk to on the phone for hours, where they probably will end up someway or another laughing over some obscure reference for long periods of time. Rachel will be the focal point of the dance floor at the reception, without a doubt, and likely will be influencing the DJ playlist.

Rachel Stenz

Julia and Emma met at Pepperdine University through their sorority, Tri Delta, where she was responsible for most of Emma's fun outside the library. Julia is the most steadfast friend a girl could ever ask for, and she and the bride have only continued to deepen their friendship in the years since college. If you ever need someone to get a spur-of-the-moment breakfast burrito or Facetime to discuss small daily moments with, Julia is your girl! Julia is currently living out her dream of being close to the mountains with her husband just outside of SLC, Utah.

Julia Bernstein

Emma and Dominique have been life long besties! They met in 4th grade and became fast friends. Some of their favorite activities in their pre-teen years included obsessing over the Twilight saga (mainly Emma), developing code names for everyone they knew, and sleeping at each other's houses more than they slept at their own. Dominique has become Emma's family over the years and she's honored to have her at her side on the big day!

Dominique O'Brien

Abby and Emma became friends through Jazz Choir in high school and led to many humorous memories of their days performing with the rest of their friend group. They stayed close friends while through their college and Emma's medical school years. They have somehow managed to finagle their way back together in the Seattle area after Emma matched to residency at UW (Emma's secret plan), so now they can hike and revel in the beauty of the PNW together once more! Abby is the best listener you'll ever meet, sometimes to her own dismay, and brings life to any room she walks into!

Abby Shade

Trevor is the definitive reason that Emma got into medical school and also the definitive reason why she was happy as a pre-med in that process. He combines so many positive attributes into one single person: disciplined, generous, intelligent, adventurous, and just plain fun! They've stayed very close since their time together in college, and Emma is simply so happy to have Trevor in her life today. Trevor is currently crushing it in his anesthesiology residency at Duke University and is also a (basically) elite distance runner / marathoner!

Trevor Sytsma

Kendall is the funniest person you'll ever meet and also somehow is the kindest person as well, because she's just that cool. Kendall and Emma met on a run at the beginning of medical school in Houston, TX where they became fast friends with the rest of their friend group, commonly known as "Villas Trap House". Emma has never been confused with someone as many times as she has been confused with Kendall, so strangers often think they are sisters or cousins. Kendall is currently in her pediatrics residency at Boston Children's Hospital / Harvard and is taking Boston by storm!

Kendall Howen

Hannah and Emma became friends on the same run where she also met Kendall; talk about a high yield run! Hannah is another of the funniest people you'll ever know (think Elaine from Seinfeld), and also is a wicked smaht New England gal. She is the girl you want on your team, Emma's favorite person to go to for life advice, and the reason Emma fell more in love with distance running! Hannah is currently pursuing a residency in Interventional Radiology at Brown University and is an avid marathoner!

Hannah Coco

Lindsay was Emma's final roommate during medical school, and they shared their somewhat ratchet but also extremely special home together at the Villas in Apt 921. To know Lindsay is to love her; she has the biggest heart for her friends and does almost too much for the people she loves. Emma is incredibly grateful for their friendship and feels in many ways that Lindsay is a big reason that Emma is marrying the love of her life! Lindsay is currently delivering quite literally hundreds of babies in her OBGYN residency at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX.

Lindsay Strickland

Maddy is Emma's friend that she has somehow managed to take with her from Pepperdine University, to Austin TX, to medical school in Houston. Some may call it fate, but Emma thinks that Maddy was put in her life this many times for a very good reason. They love their college walks, yoga classes, and really, just any time spent talking in each other's company. Maddy is in her general surgery residency at UT Austin!

Madysen Johnson-Abshire

Conor's big brother, who (still) lives in NYC with his wife Haley, where they both work for Blackstone and Blackrock (don't ask me which is which).  While they butted heads growing up, Conor and Phillips are now golfing buddies, ski partners, philosophy debaters, and all around very good friends.  As the guy that frequently reads mathematics and economics publications for fun, if you ever need someone to quote you obscure Wikipedia articles to you, Phillips is your guy.

Phillips Hogan

David and Conor first met in 7th grade, and became fast friends.  David now lives with his wife Rebecca in his and Conor's hometown of Houston, where he works as a financial advisor. Whether going on European adventures, visiting each other all over the country, and each standing by the other's side as best man at his wedding, David and Conor have been by eachother's sides for almost their entire lives.  Every person should be so lucky as to have a friend like David.

David Newton

Colleen is Conor's big sister.  She now lives in Boston with her husband, Tyler, and their two beautiful children, Declan and Addison.  Growing up, Colleen was always Conor's biggest hype woman, helping to give him the confidence to eventually play college soccer amongst many other things.  She is as steadfast and dependable as they come, as evidenced by her strong type-A personality and need for detailed planning.  For anyone enjoying our transportation on the wedding day, you can thank Colleen for strongly advocating for it.

Colleen Hogan

Conor and Jason first met while he attended Trinity University in San Antonio where he ran cross country along with another groomsman, Ben Matthews.  Jason now lives in Houston with his wife Elina, dog Jack, and cats Babur and Pipistrello. After meeting through Ben, Conor and Jason quickly became great friends, bonding over a shared love for golf, professional sports, and being better than their friends at video games.  If you ever want a truly honest opinion on something, Jason should always be your first call.

Jason Nania

Ben and Conor are probably each other's oldest friends.  They first met at 7 years old, and even shared a ninth birthday party.  Ben now lives in Houston where he enjoys year-round golfing, coaching high school cross country and track, and working too much for an oil and gas software company.  Ben also frequently cooks elaborate dinners like roasted leg of lamb with mint sauce, scratch-made pizzas, and more (which he never shares with me).

Ben Matthews

Thor (yes that's his real name) moved to Houston in high school and joined Conor and Ben on their high school cross country team.  Thor quickly became (one of) the fastest men on the team, and went on to run for the road runners at UT San Antonio.  Thor now lives in San Antonio along with his wife Jenna and their many, many animals.  Find Thor enjoying some mango margaritas and tearing up the dance floor on our wedding night, and still waking up early enough for a run the next morning.

Thor Crux

Andrew and Conor met early on in their college careers at Claremont McKenna, but they didn't become close friends until senior year.  Andrew lived in the apartment directly above Conor, and they bonded over NFL fanaticism, a love of climbing and the outdoors, and an exceedingly strange sense of humor.  Since graduation, Andrew and Conor have spent hours on the phone remotely watching football together, belly-laughing about nothing in particular, and having deep conversations about their lives and the state of the world.  For now, Andrew lives in Cleveland, but he is planning a move back to the West as soon as he is able (Seattle, anyone?).    

Andrew Friedlander

J.P. and Conor met in college during Conor's sophomore year, and quickly became very close friends.  They often went hiking and camping together, attended many music festivals, and supported each other through all their academic endeavors.  JP now lives in his hometown of Eugene, and is a massive Ducks fan.  Last year, he took Conor and Emma to the Oregon vs. Ohio State game, and they all stormed the field together.  

J.P. Kiefer

Evan and Conor met while they both worked for Spaulding Ridge in 2021.  Though they have never lived in the same place, they are very close friends regardless, making a habit of taking turns to visit eachother across the country.  Evan lives outside of Detroit, along with his fiancee Paige and their dog Ziggy.  Evan has also recently discovered a love for golf, though he will have to practice a lot more on his personal simulator before he'll take any holes off of Conor. 

Evan Antonucci

Wedding Party

Sea-Tac is a large international airport and is home to Alaska Airlines! Ubering from Sea-Tac to Seattle is efficient (~25-30 minutes) but quite pricey ($70-80) due to the city taxes on Ride Share apps. Other great options of getting to downtown Seattle from the airport include taking the train, known as the Link Line, from the station at SeaTac to downtown (~40-50 minutes). It's a safe and commonly-used method for public transportation in and around Seattle during normal hours of the day (6 am - 10 pm).

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

A block of rooms has been reserved at&nbsp;Fairmont&nbsp;Olympic Seattle in Downtown Seattle for a rate of $329 per night.&nbsp;Please book your room by 07/20/2026 via the below link.&nbsp;If you would like to book additional room nights, please make your reservation for the dates available on the link then&nbsp;contact Tracy Ostermann at&nbsp;+12062874042 or&nbsp;<a href="mailto:tracy.ostermann@fairmont.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tracy.ostermann@fairmont.com</a>.

Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle

A block of rooms has been reserved for our wedding at the EVEN Hotel which is near South Lake Union / Downtown. Please use the link above to book the hotel by 07/20/2026 for applicable discounts.

EVEN Hotel Seattle Downtown - Lake Union by IHG

Travel

We have made a local guidebook to provide you with recommendations for Seattle restaurants and activities, along with suggestions for nearby destinations for those of you interested in prolonging your PNW trip. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VhA6dunmLwZeuOHKgB41dF8EdIRjtZ3p/view?usp=sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VhA6dunmLwZeuOHKgB41dF8EdIRjtZ3p/view?usp=sharing</a>

Plan Your Trip

For our wedding day, this means suits or tuxedos for men, and full-length dresses for women.

Emma & Conor

Emma & Conor

Travel

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

How can I get from the airport to downtown on the Link Line?

Do I need a rental car to visit Seattle?

Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle

EVEN Hotel Seattle Downtown - Lake Union by IHG