Ryan's Attendants
Mike Vander Muelen
Relationship: friend of groom
Michael and Ryan became good friends during their senior year of high school and have grown closer every year since. When Michael moved to Boston, he and Ryan spent ample time together playing board games (if Michael won, it was because Ryan let him), watching sci-fi movies, exploring the city, and bonding over “nerd culture.” This past summer, Ryan and Michael enjoyed connecting with their Dutch roots on a trip to the Netherlands. Michael is currently making the world a healthier place as a doctor in Boston.
Annie Stegink
Relationship: sister of groom
Andrea “Annie” Stegink and her brother grew up as most siblings do sometimes getting along, sometimes squabbling relentlessly. As they grew older, they became closer and closer and now they are the best of friends. As children, they spent their time playing in the sandbox, hanging out with the neighborhood kids, building forts for their Beanie Baby collection, and watching Disney movies. After Annie spent a year in Brazil after college, she moved in with Ryan and they became housemates once again. Ryan has always admired Annie for her wide range of natural talents and looks up to her, even if she is the younger of the two.
Robyn Stegink
Relationship: sister of groom
When ten-year-old Ryan found out his mother was pregnant, he was not amused. That all changed, however, when he got to hold baby Robyn in his arms on the day she was born. When they were younger, they spent long hours together watching Pokemon videos, playing with Legos, and building forts. Since then, Robyn and Ryan have become inseparably close, sharing a love for paper-cutting, board games, John Green books, and goofing around. Ryan has always admired Robyn for fully embracing who she is and showing kindness to all who cross her path. She is currently living out the Stegink legacy as a first-year student at Calvin College.
Jodi and Kent Koeman
Relationship: friends of groom
When Ryan moved to Whitinsville, MA in 2007, Kent and Jodi were quick to open their home to him. As time went on, they, along with their three children Jamison, Arianna, and Hadley, became Ryan’s closest friends and eventually housemates as well. Ryan bonded with them over their shared love for good conversations, social justice, shared meals, and goofing around. They spent many nights together seated around their fire-pit, dinner table, or front porch eating good food and drinking Kent’s home-brewed beer talking about anything and everything. Ryan couldn’t have gotten through seven years of teaching without their support, generosity, and love.
Dan Heffner
Relationship: friend of groom
Daniel and Ryan became friends in fifth grade when they both became founding members of “the Buds,” the coolest group of fifth graders ever to roam the playground. Since then Ryan and Daniel have grown closer and closer over the years taking classes together, traveling together, and living together. Ryan has always appreciated Daniel for his sense of humor, his kindness, his insightfulness, his taste in music, and his genuine interest in the lives of others. Daniel lives with his wife Janelle in Ottawa, Canada where he works for an environmentally-conscious building and planning firm.
Craig Hoeksema
relationship: friend of groom
Craig and Ryan have been friends since their first year of high school. They spent countless hours carpooling together, running cross-country, and playing Nintendo 64 in Craig’s basement. Craig is the one responsible for Ryan’s love of coffee and liberal-leaning politics. Ryan has always appreciated Craig’s creativity, his good conversation and his fierce loyalty as a friend. Craig works at a high-end furniture showroom in downtown Manhattan. He and his wife Coe live in Brooklyn, NY.