Wedding Party Bio: Bridesmaid Darner

I have just taken a look at our wedding party line-up and realized that six of the seven bridesmaids are first in the alphabet before we even get to any of the groomsmen! So brace yourselves for a lot of stories about me and my closest girlfriends over the next few months, knowing that some manly stories will be coming in the future.

Bio of a Bridesmaid: Kelli Darner

Kelli and I became friends freshman year of college because of a pair of white pants. To back track a bit, we originally met via a friend of mine who lived across the hall from Kelli (I lived around the corner on the same floor of our all-girls dorm, Tappan Hall). We had spent some time hanging out with our mutual friends in the dorms the first few weeks of school, and then we hung out all night at an off-campus party with a bunch of our freshman friends. We bonded quickly after my friend Steve decided at the party that he had a crush on her, but because he could not remember her name he decided to refer to as one of the items of clothing she was wearing: "White Pants." Unfortunately for Kelli, this is a nickname she will never escape.

(This is a photo of Kelli and I during one of our many nights out on the town.)

Kelli and I spent most of our waking hours in college together, which included studying in her room at our beloved house Catch 22, going to the rec together (she for a long workout and me to get dinner), or with the other six housemates of Catch 22 at the lovely drinking establishments of Uptown Oxford. When Kelli moved to Chicago after school, I visited her and the other three C22 ladies who lived there (Al, Lindsey, and Steph) frequently. Kelli even visited me in New York before I moved to Sydney, and despite the distance, we always feel like we are still in college and that nothing has changed.

About Kelli

Kelli is currently a Private Wealth Banker for Merrill Lynch in Chicago, where she is taking names and kicking butt every day. Sinec graduating from Miami University, she has lived in Chicago and worked for both BAML and JP Morgan Chase. She has quickly risen through the ranks and really enjoys her work and her clients.

When she is not at the office, it is likely that you will find Kelli at the gym or with our Catch 22 friends trying new restaurants in Chicago. She has recently treked thru Patagonia, driven through the green countrysides of the UK, and laid on the beaches of Barcelona and Sitges - not to mention visiting me in Asia and eating such delicatessens as tripe and chicken feet. She has three beyond adorable nieces and nephews back in Ohio, to whom she is a loving Aunt.

(This is Kelli and I in Shanghai this past October 2011.)

Kelli and I have traveled on Spring Breaks to Florida, she has visited me in New York and Hong Kong, and we have even met up in Shanghai! We have double-fisted pizza bagels while breaking into our dorm rooms, and I have even helped her cut her hair (this is a story that didn't have a good ending...). Kelli has always been a staple in my life and I am so happy to have her as a friend and confidant.

Ten words that remind me of Kelli:

* White Pants
* Backstreet Boys

* Pizza Bagels

* Underground

* Taco Burrito Palace #2

* Hane-in Out

* Breaking and Entering...into our own dorm room

* US Weekly

* Stadium

* Miami Beach - both of them

** As usual, many of these are inside jokes that you can ask either of us about during the wedding weekend.