People

Bride

Alyssa was born in Minneapolis, MN, where she lived for ten years. On her tenth (and golden) birthday, the Stielstra’s packed up and migrated west to Seattle. She homeschooled for two years, attended Seattle Waldorf School for two years, and then attended Blanchet High School. Adventures at University at Puget Sound were to follow, which included being a Pi Beta Phi sorority member, studying abroad in Dijon, France, and working at Point Defiance Zoo feeding the marine mammals! She has worked in the food and beverage industry since her first job waiting tables at Grandma and Grandpa Stielstra’s retirement home at age 16. She still loves everything related to food and beverage (most importantly creating and consuming it), and enjoys selling wine and liquor to restaurants local to her home in Tacoma, WA.

Groom

Chris was born in Allentown, PA and moved to a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA when he was 5. This is where Chris first learned of his love for construction and real estate. Mike, Chris’s father, worked for Ryan Homes and the Murphy’s lived in a new construction subdivision in which Chris enjoyed watching the homes being built around them. The Murphy’s moved to Rochester Hills, MI during Chris ages 6-15 after which they moved to Tigard, OR where Chris graduated high school. During college at UPS, Chris worked for a real estate and outerwear entrepreneur who taught Chris about rental investment properties. After graduating, Chris worked for the coastal real estate development Seabrook, WA and his passion for real estate was born. Today, Chris is proud to contribute to the Puget Sound’s largest new construction waterfront neighborhood, Tacoma’s Point Ruston. During his spare time, Chris loves to downhill ski and run his extracurricular business, WashingtonWaterfronts.com.

Maid of Honor

Emi Stielstra is not only Alyssa’s younger sister, but steadfast comrade and incredible girlfriend. She currently lives in San Francisco, CA, and works for the a marketing firm as an account manager. Emi and Alyssa love spending time together, especially when traveling. They have enjoyed traveling as a duo in Paris, Berlin, Napa, Prague and Strasbourg in France.

Bridesmaid

Sarah Murphy has shared many of life’s moves with her two brothers, Matt and Chris. However, when Mike and Karen moved to eastern Tennessee, Sarah sought out on her own adventure to the University of Tennessee. Sarah earned a degree in Public Relations from UT and after many internships, she moved to live with Chris in Tacoma. Sarah lived in Tacoma and then Seattle for 4 years and steadily built her career in Public Relations. Last year Sarah married Paulie Caiano in Bar Harbor, ME and they live in Cambridge, MA.

Best Man

Chris couldn’t be prouder to have his brother Matt as his Best Man. Since overlapping one year in high school, Chris has looked up to Matt for his unyielding determination and will power. Sure, Chris and Matt had their fair share of scuffles growing up, but thanks to their one-of-a-kind parents, Mike and Karen, Matt and Chris turned out better than the professional wrestlers they once aspired to be. Matt currently lives in Boston, MA with his incredible wife Sally and their youthful son, Benjamin. Matt has dedicated his career to mastering financial models and successfully achieved the CFA designation as a result. Not that he isn’t still dedicated to finance, but Matt’s newest passion is being a father to his son, and future FED chairman, Benjamin Murphy.