Abby went to high school with Eric and Maeve, where Abby was arguably closer to Eric than Maeve. After all, Eric was invited to her graduation party, while Maeve was not. However, Maeve has never let a lack of invitation exclude her from a good party, so she attended it anyways. Since high school, Eric, Maeve, Abby and Abby’s fiancé Christian (see below) have shared many delicious meals, ski trips, NYE plans and games of Pandemic. Abby holds the coveted spot as the first high school friend to know Maeve and Eric started dating.
Andrew and Eric met when they played (poorly) on the same intramural flag football team freshman year of college, but it took until sophomore year for their friendship to really click when they realized that their time would be better spent on the dance floor rocking neon shoelaces at parties together. When Maeve was home and attended Eric’s college parties, it was always chivalrous Andrew that walked her home rather than her fiancé. Be careful what you do at the wedding – this guy has a crazy good memory of conversations and events :)
Eric’s first memory of Austin is watching him look at shirtless photos of himself after Delta Chi’s annual Halloween party, but Eric was willing to overlook that and become close friends with him because Eric is also a little vain. Austin is Eric’s go-to friend for new music suggestions and always serves as the DJ for nights out. Austin and his girlfriend Mel were Eric and Maeve’s first houseguests (though Eric and Maeve were admittedly out of town and hope that they come back to visit again soon). If we are all lucky, we may get a glimpse of his abs at the reception.
If there were truly a bride’s side and groom’s side of this wedding, it would impossible to put Christian on one or the other. Christian and Maeve grew up in the same neighborhood, where they played many games of rundown and release as kids. In high school, Christian and Eric became friends while playing on the football team together, and the three of them all ended up in the same group of high school friends. Both engineers in similar fields, Christian and Eric could spend hours talking about spines. On the other hand, Christian has spent hours listening to Maeve complain and is always the first person to tell her exactly what she doesn’t want to hear. For the sake of his friendship with both the bride and groom, Christian will forever have to remain Switzerland.
Fiona and Maeve worked together in Washington, DC. They sat directly across from each other in the office, were often working on the same projects, and yet still chose to spend a lot of their out of the office time together as well. They both studied Economics, share a birthday month, and dislike any amount of alone time. Fiona has taught Maeve and Eric a lot of Australian slang, and in return Maeve and Eric taught Fiona about tailgates and pedal wagons. Maeve likes to say that Fiona is the older sister that she never had, and never really wanted.
Heather and Maeve met on their first day at Dickinson. Maeve was struggling to get around with the hot pink cast she was sporting on her left foot at the time, and Heather was the first person to offer her a hand. In the following years, Heather and Maeve lived together, where they drank a lot of Malbec and ate a lot of breakfast potatoes as midnight snacks (on the occasions Maeve actually made it up until midnight). Heather, who also attended her fair share of Pitt parties with Eric, had a front row seat to Eric and Maeve’s evolving relationship. She remains Maeve’s first call for advice, especially now that she’s a doctor.
Izzy and Maeve met while teaching English in Santiago, Chile. Every Monday evening, Izzy and Maeve would make pizza together and spend most the week brainstorming new topping combinations. On one of those Monday evenings, Izzy (a California native) helped Maeve survive her first earthquake. Despite living across the country from each other ever since their days in Chile, Izzy and Maeve (and often Eric as well) have found plenty of opportunities to still explore the world together. Anyone who has ever spent time with Izzy and Maeve has probably been asked what type of drink best describes his/her personality. Maeve is a mimosa and Izzy is an entire bottle of red wine… in case you were wondering.
Maeve and Jack met during her senior year at Dickinson when they both participated in the same climate change research program. Maeve had just returned from a year abroad and had little interest in making any new friends. However, when Jack and Maeve started sharing stories of their travels in South America, they quickly became good friends. They are fortunate now to have plenty of South America travel stories together as well, including a Hogel family vacation. Both early risers, Jack and Maeve were notorious in college for getting up early on weekend mornings to go out for breakfast at Kim’s before any of their other friends got up for the day. Maeve was at least nice enough to wake up Eric to join them once when he was visiting.
Kate and Maeve also met while teaching in Chile. Shortly after Maeve moved to Santiago, they decided to buy a Groupon for a workout class together at a gym just a few blocks from Kate’s apartment. Maeve made the first mistake in their friendship—trusting that Kate had any idea how to get to the gym. After walking around lost until they were far too late to attend the class, Kate and Maeve instead decided to make mac and cheese and eat ice cream. Kate makes up for her lack of directional skills with her incredible creativity. In fact, if you’ve ever received a gift from Maeve or Eric, there is a good chance that it was Kate’s idea.
Kathleen is Eric’s younger sister. After graduating from the University of Dayton, Kathleen joined Eric in Columbus, where the two lived together successfully for a whole year for the first time since they were kids. Though he no longer cooks dinner for her every night, she is still a common dinner guest at Eric and Maeve’s chateau, and Eric and Kathleen can still be found going up and down every aisle at Costco, ordering Chicken Bacon Gouda pizzas at Pies and Pints, and at the movies together. When she is not working as a data analyst, Kathleen moonlights as an interior decorator and serial furniture rearranger.
Larkin is Maeve’s older brother. With only a two-year age difference, Larkin and Maeve often ended up with a lot of mutual friends (against Maeve’s wishes), including Eric. Eric was there to celebrate Larkin’s 21st birthday, even when Maeve was not. Larkin was, however, kept a bit out of the loop when Maeve and Eric first started dating, so they are still trying to make it up to him, starting with keeping his paragraph nice and short.
Laura is the youngest Weston sibling and is also a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. While at Pitt, Laura played the typical youngest sibling card and one-upped Eric in everything she did, both academically and in terms of her campus involvement. Thanks to Laura’s shared interests, Eric can use the “I have a younger sister excuse” to justify his knowledge of certain lyrics and movie quotes. Like Maeve, Laura is also a world traveler and spends lots of time dreaming up her next adventure.
Marty is the first friend that Eric purchased as a result of joining the Delta Chi fraternity his sophomore year at Pitt. There, he and Eric both studied Bioengineering, which left them inseparable for much of college. Marty is largely responsible for keeping Eric’s ego in check and is always good for a quick-witted pun. To Maeve’s avail, Marty and Eric have agreed to buy houses next door to one another someday with a secret passage connecting the two.
Eric met Mr. Congeniality upon joining Delta Chi his sophomore year at Pitt. Years later, Eric was the Biden to his Obama in the fraternity. Despite his best efforts to help Eric’s golf game, no progress has been made to date. Zach grew up in Central Pennsylvania, and if you ask nicely, he could supply you with some highly coveted Middleswarth potato chips. But take it from Maeve, don’t touch his Apple Pie Moonshine.