. esther leah baker .

esther leah baker and rachel have been together since esther was a baby.  though they were four years apart in age ... rachel and esther were considered twins.  in fact ... their mom dressed them like twins!!

esther is the youngest daughter in the baker family ... and because of this ... esther is the coolest and most laid back person in the family.  she has learned a great deal from everyone else's mistakes and for 17 years young ... she is much more mature than most people her age.

esther is very international {and national for that matter} ... having lived in beijing ... california and texas.  she has friends from all over the world and is super easy to get along with!

she wants to study hotel management and run a huge resort one day.  she has a great business sense and we have no doubt that she will be successful at whatever she pursues!

esther is a wonderful big sister {and little sister} ... and yet maintains a sassiness that is unrivaled.  she is athletic and artistic too.  she played volleyball and soccer for her former high school in china {she was voted 'most valuable player'}.  she is also really good at graphic design.

esther is rachel's 'maid of honor' and the team captain for the ladies squad.  though she is the youngest bridesmaid in the bunch ... we have no doubt that she possesses the leadership qualities to lead these beeches.  we're excited that she is going to stand next to rachel!

. michael allen von mueller .

michael allen von mueller and taylor met at a selections party for the aggie men's club in 2002.  saint michel graduated that semester ... but taylor and mike have stayed in touch over the years and just last year toured all over the place playing music together.

saint michel was born in san diego but went to high school in texas.  he played in punk bands growing up and honed his skills as a phenomenal guitarist at an early age.  he attended texas a&m university and then moved to austin where he currently resides.

saint michel has done various jobs including working in special education ... a freelance photographer ... booking agent ... and musician.

currently he is doing photography and playing music with his band balmorhea.  the band is signed to western vinyl and is touring europe for a second time this fall ... along with potential tours through asia and australia in the future.

he recently helped compose the score for a french film!

michael has a heart of gold and we really hope that his tour schedule will allow him to come to costa rica.  regardless of whether or not he can come ... we love him and are thankful for his friendship!

. elizabeth ruth haller .

elizabeth ruth haller has known rachel since rachel was 10 years old.  they were neighbors in langfang and they grew up together.

elizabeth's mother is from the philippines and her father is from wisconsin {which is another reason why their families connected}.  along with all of rachel's other bridesmaids ... she is very international.  she lived in hong kong for the majority of her life.  

she has been to every continent ... minus antarctica ... and obviously has been bit by the travel bug.  

currently she resides in seattle.  she is a very good writer and although the pen is mightier than the sword ... she is incredibly feisty and good with a sword {or so we think}!  

elizabeth shares the same middle name as rachel ... which is not the only thing they have in common.  they are both all about making people look more fashionable.  elizabeth does it with scissors and hair ... while rachel does it with a sewing needle and thread.

elizabeth is going to bring a fun and feisty attitude to costa rica and we are ready to see her!

. kyle joseph von mueller .

kyle joseph von mueller met taylor through his brother ... saint michel.  the two have developed a solid friendship and keep in constant contact with one another.  

kyle was born in los angeles ... but grew up in dallas.  kyle graduated from university of texas at austin with a degree in art.  now ... kyle lives in brooklyn and works as a graphic designer.  although graphic design is his occupation ... kyle is talented in many other areas.  

he is a wicked good artist ... and can paint like a champion.  he has a rap alias named 'burger money' where he drops beats that will make a bitch's ass shake for days.  

he has also done some modeling ... including a six page spread for shape magazine.  kyle worked in paris for fat tire bicycle tours and was voted 'most likely to become famous' by sir michael j. franz.  

the most recent addition to his resume was being on the reality tv show 'the bachelorette.'  he has an incredible sense of style and a contagious sense of humor!!  he can do the splits and kick bottles off of tall people's heads.

Black Lips- Starting Over from Tyler Crelia on Vimeo.

he's a skateboarder and has landed a pop shovit to 50-50 grind with a bigspin off.  wicked!!!  

we are so pumped that kyle will be involved in the wedding festivities!  it wouldn't be a party otherwise!

. marie decru .

marie decru and rachel were introduced by their mutual friend sophie at bar blue.  they realized that they would be attending the same international school.  after school started the two were attached at the hip.  

marie is the only person in the wedding party that does not have a middle name ... which is cool and not confusing.  marie is very international as well.  having lived in asia and europe ... she can speak dutch ... english ... and some chinese ... which she and rachel kind of learned together at yew cheung.  her most recent attempt at a language will be french ... which will be useful at the wedding ... seeing as half of the attendees lived in france at one point.

marie is belgian.  she is studying painting at the royal academy of fine arts of antwerp.  she is a very good artiste and is planning on becoming the next jenny saville.  she is interested in pursuing contemporary style paintings.

she is an especially good dancer {particularly on the tables at nanjie}.  marie also has an alter ego named 'maxima' that happens to be ghetto fabulous.  when posing as maxima ... she tends to shout 'fo shizzle ... my nizzle!' on a regular basis.

she likes good music and has a wonderful sense of style.  her favorite fashion designer of all time is yves saint laurent. which is what makes rachel and marie not only attached at the hips ... but at the head as well.

we are excited that marie will be attending the wedding ... and are looking forward to a rehearsal dinner speech that will include ... 'fo shizzle ... my nizzle!!!'

. drew thomas jones .

drew thomas jones met taylor in the aggie men's club at texas a&m university.  they really became good friends while living at chadwick with james mcmahon carlson.  taylor has drew to thank for meeting rachel ... so technically he is forever indebted to him.  it is very exciting that drew is going to be his brother-in-law!!!

drew is the definition of tenacity.  he is always pursuing things whole heartedly!  he graduated from texas a&m with a business degree and has lived in italy ... singapore ... somewhere in central america and beijing.  

after being incredibly involved as a student at a&m ... drew has not slowed down.  he owns and operates his own suit company {d jones tailored collection}.  the music on his website will make you orgasm.

drew is a handy man too.  he remodeled an entire house from top to bottom!  one secret that few know about drew is that he is an incredible dancer!  he makes usher his bitch.  

he is a wonderful friend who will bend over backwards to help you out.  taylor can attest to this.  drew sat through math classes with taylor for weeks in order to help taylor pass business math 141.

we are excited that drew and sarah will be attending and thankful that they fell in love so that we could too!

. sarah bethany jones .

sarah bethany baker jones has known rachel since rachel was born ... and because sarah loved babies so much ... sarah always held rachel.  they were roommates together in beijing and rachel would not be getting married if it weren't for her sister falling in love with a texan.

we mentioned that sarah loves babies ... and she loves them so much that she decided to become a midwife and pull babies out of vaginas everywhere!!  and we do mean everywhere ... she has delivered babies in the philippines ... beijing ... idaho ... and texas.

she plays guitar and sings.  she likes to draw and paint as well.  she is particularly good at painting nude pregnant women!

in april 2008 ... sarah married drew thomas jones {the guy giving her a hickey in the photograph}.  thanks to this arrangement ... taylor and rachel were united!  in fact ... sarah is a bit of a match maker.  she called it before the two even met!!

she is a wonderful friend and sister and we are looking forward to having drew and sarah at the wedding in costa rica!!

. parker allen lee .

parker allen lee met taylor in austin during fat tire bicycle tour guide training ... but their friendship didn't really come to fruition until hanging out in paris together.  taylor specifically remembers the time that he and parker were in giverny fixing flat tires on bicycles at monet's gardens.  

parker is currently attending law school at southern methodist university in dallas ... texas.  he received his undergraduate degree at the university of texas in austin.  

parker was also one of the few members of the student body {four to be exact} who were responsible for firing the canon at ut football games.  this may not seem like a big deal ... but it is a highly coveted position at ut.  he was actually on the canon crew the year that ut beat usc in the national championship!  

parker is an adventurous spirit {hence the fiddler on the roof photograph in switzerland} ... and he has lived in france and argentina.  in fact ... parker speaks excellent spanish!  he did an internship with a law firm in buenos aires!  bad ass!!

p lee is one of the few people in the wedding party that know of quepos ... costa rica.  he has been there before and we are pumped about him being there in july 2010!

. sarah grace sulistio .

sarah grace sulistio has known rachel since her days rebelling against 'the man' at yew cheung international school in beijing.  together ... with the help of anisha ... they created a trio that rivaled that of 'josie and the pussycats.'

just like all of rachel's bridesmaids ... sarah is very international as well.  her father is indonesian and her mother is singaporean.  sarah herself is singaporean.

sarah is attending boston university where she is studying art history.  she is an art connoisseur and enjoys art from almost every time period.

sarah is a music connoisseur as well.  she plays guitar ... but would rather listen to other people play than perform herself.  she likes bands such as bon iver ... tiny vipers ... girl talk ... etc.  

she dislikes australian guys with shaggy hair that walk with their heads to the side ... yet she can do an incredible impersonation of them.  

even though rachel is the fashion designer in the relationship ... sarah is very fashionable herself.  she has great taste in music ... art ... and fashion.  this is why the two of them get along so well!!

we are so excited that sarah will be attending the wedding and also really excited that she will be coming to texas in november for the fun ... fun ... fun music festival!!!

. alexandria sabrina lee .

alexandria sabrina lee has known rachel since they were five years old.  they were neighbors in the same apartment complex in beijing ... and played with each other every day.  they have kept in touch ... despite several stints apart ... and their friendship continues to be solid.

alex too is a very international person.  her parents are korean yet she is a native of california ... and has spent a large portion of her life in china.  

she is studying architecture at the university of california - berkeley.  she obviously has a healthy amount of brain activity in order to attend berkeley.  

alex is very artistic ... and enjoys drawing.  she is a talented make-up artist as well.  although her heart is set on building flying buttresses ... she and rachel spend much time discussing the latest trends in fashion.  

alex and rachel have had an ongoing inside joke that one day they would marry texans.  well ... rachel is about to fulfill her dream of marrying a texan.  alex is going to have a handful of texans to choose from at the wedding ... and we are excited that she is taking part in the festivities. 

. james mcmahon carlson .

james mcmahon carlson and taylor met in the aggie men's club at texas a&m university.  their friendship really began to blossom after living together at chadwick with drew thomas jones.  since then ... jim has lived with taylor in paris and has been a wonderful sounding board for taylor over the years.

jim was actually elected as the student body president of texas a&m university.  he did an outstanding job as sbp by standing up against discrimination towards international students in the community among other things.  he is a natural leader with a heart of gold!

jim also lived with taylor in paris and worked as a bicycle tour guide for fat tire bicycle tours.  the two took a trip to prague where jim had to help locate taylor after taylor had too much tequila.

jim lived in beijing for a year working on the u.s. embassy ... and actually knew rachel before taylor did.  he has lived in paris ... beijing ... and been to the middle east.  he has his pilot's license!!!  

jim is always seeking adventure and always has a way finding it.  it will be very interesting to see where he ends up.  we are so excited that he will be making the trek down to costa rica to take part in the wedding!

. bradley joseph otts .

bradley joseph otts has been friends with taylor since their early days at texas a&m university.  taylor and brad really became friends while living on luther street in college station ... and taylor had the privilege of being an usher in brad and noelle's wedding in philly.  

brad has a unique sense of style and is always up to date on the latest trends in fashion.  if given the opportunity ... taylor would steal all of the clothes in brad's wardrobe {that's the reason why brad calls taylor ... slick willie}!  he has unbelievable tattoos.  actually ... he is working on two full sleeve tattoos.

along with being a trendsetter ... brad is a wicked musician!  he plays just about every instrument.  his most recent addition being the lap steel guitar.  i don't know if anyone is aware ... but the lap steel is fucking hard to play!!!

brad owns his own company.  he works as a sales rep for some really cool fashion companies {tom's shoes among others}.  

brad is married to noelle vasko otts.  she is absolutely amazing!!  she is an artist and a professional mother of two.  one boy ... cash alexander otts.  one girl ... madeline-rose otts.

team otts make a wonderful family.  we are so excited about brad being apart of the wedding!!

. rebecca lynn baker .

rebecca lynn baker is the eldest of the notorious baker girls.  bekka first met rachel when rachel came out of their mother's womb.  the two of them have been fast friends since.  

the two share similar interests and tastes.  having lived longer than the other baker girls ... her resume is vast!

she has lived in california and china.  she has a degree in sociology ... and has also studied the art of making people look beautiful {aka ... make-up artistry}.  

she has worked in schools as a teacher ... which is what she is doing currently ... but she has also done modeling ... worked as a runway make-up artist ... and has dee jayed under her alias ... dj assassin eyes.

her husband ... gregg nathan vossler ... is an exceptional musician ... and together they make an incredibly artistic couple!  bekka also does very good art ... which hangs all over their apartment in beijing.  

gregg and bekka have one child named jasmine.  she is two years old and a schnauzer.  it will be great having the two of them in costa rica!

. benjamin john chessman .

so ... my friend ben.  ben has been taylor's friend since elementary school.  taylor has this really strange memory of ben staying with him in liberty city.  ben went swimming with taylor at his uncle's pool in white oak.  i don't know why ... but it is really vivid!  

he also lived in bolivia with taylor.  they were vaquero's together in the bolivian jungle.  he has a sweet tattoo on his forearm ... and he has the most beautiful beard in the wedding party {although morchat is giving him a solid run for his money!!}.  

he is potentially the most amazing guitar player that taylor knows {reference needed}.  he brews his own beer.  he has lived in africa and south america.  he sings like a bird too.

ben taught taylor how to play guitar.  not only that ... ben has imparted his love for jazz music to taylor.  wes montgomery ... miles davis ... and john coltrane are all in taylor's repertoire of music because of ben's influence.

ben is an amazing person ... with a very real faith.  he is non-judgemental and has a wonderful sense of humor.  we are excited that he will be conducting our ceremony!!!

p.s.  ben is the preacher man and will be conducting the ceremony.

. anisha pauline budzinska .

anisha pauline budzinska has been friends with rachel since the days at yew cheung international school of beijing.  rachel and anisha hit it off immediately because of their polish heritage and the rebellion towards the establishment at yew cheung!

anisha is one of a kind!  insanely international ... with parents from poland/england and africa.  she's lived in england ... prague ... beijing ... and possibly africa {reference needed}.  she is wise beyond her years ... and yet still maintains a contagious positivity that makes everyone excited!  

anisha is an athlete {football} ... photographer ... artiste ... and karaoke addict!!  she is taking a gap year from school ... and will be attending university in england.  i think she wants to be a professional olympian rower though {reference needed}.

we are so excited that she is going to be a part of the wedding party!!  it is going to be a fun time with anisha around!

. michael j. franz .

see mike.  see mike ride.  see mike ride fast.  see mike ride fast while standing on the back of his beach cruiser in front of the louvre in paris!!!  

michael j. franz is the definition of optimism.  mike and taylor met while working in paris ... and immediately became friends due to mike and taylor's positive outlooks on life.  

franz is king of fat tire bike tours in paris, france.  he is the operations manager ... speaks french ... and knows more about french history than any university history professor {reference needed}.  

he is son of the legendary christmas tree salesman ... tracy franz {please take off your hat out of reverence} ... and a california native.  although his roots are in the west ... mike is actually a true texan at heart.  he wears shit kickers better than most cowboys and his desire for adventure rivals any character from 'lonesome dove' {please take off your hat again}.

franz plays the didgeridoo ... rides bicycles backwards ... scored perfect on the analytical section of the gre ... and happens to hold the title as the air guitar champion of paris.

we are excited that he will be apart of our wedding.  thanks mike.

. f r i e n d s .

we are going to put up pictures and short biographies on our friends who will be standing next to us in our wedding.  we hope that everyone will be able to read these before we get to costa rica.  we are incredibly fortunate to have the friendships that we do.  thanks to everyone involved.  we love you.

. e n g a g e d .

exactly one month ago today ... rachel ruth pychinzska and david taylor tehan were engaged.  they took a road trip from marfa ... texas to the grand canyon on a whim.  

exact conversation as follows ...

taylor ... 'have you ever been to the grand canyon?'

rachel ... 'nope.'

taylor ... 'wanna go?'

rachel ... 'yup.'

so they drove through the mohave desert with no air conditioning ... through a pretty intense sandstorm ... and finally made it to the grand canyon.  

at this point ... taylor looked at rachel as they were staring into the big ass canyon and said ... 'would you mind spending the rest of your life with me?'

and rachel responded with ... 'absolutely.'