Wedding
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Ceremony
Reception
6:30 PM
Perkins Chapel
6001 Bishop Blvd
Dallas, TX 75205
7:30 PM
The Hall of State
3939 Grand Avenue
Dallas, TX 75210
Black tie preferred
Military dinner dress
The doors to Perkins Chapel will open at 6:00 PM. After the ceremony, please make your way to the Hall of State, a 10-15 minute drive from Perkins, for cocktail hour at 7:30 PM. Dinner and dancing will commence at 8:30 PM. We hope you will stay to see us off as husband and wife at midnight!
The Venues
Perkins Chapel
6001 Bishop Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75205
Our ceremony will be held at Perkins Chapel on the Southern Methodist University campus, a 10 minute drive from downtown Dallas. Originally dedicated in 1951, Perkins Chapel holds a special place in the hearts of Helen's mother, Beth, who would often attend services at Perkins during college, and family minister, Dr. Tommy Brumett, who earned his Doctorate from SMU's Perkins School of Theology.
As our ceremony will be held in a house of worship, we ask that you please leave your cell phones and cameras in the car or turn them off. Thank you for understanding.
The Hall of State
3939 Grand Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75210
Our reception will be held at the Hall of State in Fair Park. Built for the Texas Centennial Exhibition in 1936, the Hall of State commemorates the history of Texas and its heroes. The Art Deco building is at the center of Fair Park, site of the annual Texas State Fair. Visiting the State Fair every year is a Hansen family tradition, and while at UT Helen and Mark went to the fair every year for the big Texas vs. Oklahoma Red River Rivalry football game.
The Hall of State is a 10-15 minute drive from Perkins Chapel and a 5-10 minute drive from downtown Dallas. Free parking is available in the lot right next to the venue, and complimentary valet will be available as well.
Wedding Party
The Girls
Hannah Hansen
Maid of Honor
Hannah is Helen's taller, cooler little sister. One of Helen's favorite memories of her sister is from her last summer at Camp Waldemar, Hannah's first summer. Helen was in the Comanche tribe, and she hoped Hannah would be too, but Hannah had stubbornly told Helen for the past year that she wanted to be an Aztec or Tejas. When it was Hannah's turn to draw for her tribe, she went up to the box, drew out a piece of paper, and screamed, "COMANCHE!" She then ran at full speed straight into Helen's arms and started sobbing. When Helen asked what was wrong, Hannah replied between sobs, "I'm so happy! I wanted to be a Comanche so bad!" Then Helen was crying!
A junior at Lovejoy High School, Hannah is a triple-threat actor, dancer, and singer! When Helen is home from school, they love to watch Avatar the Last Airbender re-runs, belt out Fall Out Boy in the car, and snuggle.
Dylan Guzy
Maid of Honor
Dylan and Helen are ADPi "Twins" and lived together in the ADPi house--the Pi Palace--their sophomore and junior years at UT. Their friendship grew over countless Friday Bride Days on TLC, serving on ADPi exec together, decorating Big/Little boxes, painting coolers, surviving Recruitment, cheering on Longhorn football, making brackets for the Bachelor/Bachelorette, and a senior year Eurotrip whose highlights included popping cheap champagne on NYE under the Eiffel Tower and eating Vietnamese food every day in Prague.
Dylan graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering from UT. Today Dylan works at Phillips 66 as a Market Analyst in Houston.
Adriana Cervantes
Bridesmaid
Adriana is Helen's (and Dylan's!) ADPi Big Sister and one of the classiest ladies you'll meet. She showered Helen with love throughout college and made ADPi that home away from home every girl hopes for. A confidante, role model, and true friend, Helen couldn't imagine her wedding day without having her Big by her side.
Adriana is earning her Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) at UT-Austin, expecting to graduate in December 2017.
Stefanie Derrett
Bridesmaid
Stefanie and Helen lived together in the ADPi house during their sophomore year. Helen can't help but smile when she thinks of Steffy, especially if it's a memory of the time she slept with a microbiology book under her head, or when they inhaled CiCi's Pizza together during Round Up junior year, or that night she got a burst of inspiration after a night out on Sixth to rewrite the words to a Pitch Perfect mashup for Recruitment. Bubbly and so much fun to be around, Stefanie is a fierce friend and one of the hardest working people Helen knows.
Stefanie graduated with a BS in Nursing from UT and is now a Registered Nurse in the Pediatric ICU at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
Laura Jbeily
Bridesmaid
Funny and generous, Laura is Helen's soon-to-be sister-in-law! Mark introduced Helen to Laura, his oldest younger sister, over a summer brunch at Kerbey Lane in Austin. Making their way through plates of queso-drenched migas and Kerbey pancakes, Helen and Laura became fast friends. When together, Helen and Laura enjoy bossing around Mark, yelling at Mark, and swapping stories about all the dumb things Mark has done. Helen can't wait to spend future family holidays with Laura!
Laura is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin majoring in Math. She plans to attend dental school after graduation.
Stephanie Jbeily
Bridesmaid
Stephanie is Mark's youngest sister and Helen's second soon-to-be sister-in-law! Helen first met Stephanie at a UT Navy ROTC barbecue where Mark played a prank on Helen that essentially involved her speaking Arabic badly to his family (it was pretty funny--for details, ask one of us!) Needless to say, Helen let Stephanie do the talking while in Lebanon this past summer! Stephanie was an excellent tour guide and translator, helping Helen navigate a new culture and integrate into the Jbeilys' big, warm family.
A sophomore at Westwood High School in Austin, Stephanie loves soccer and is active in YoungLife.
Grace Mills
Bridesmaid
Grace has been Helen's friend since the day Helen was brought home from the hospital. One year and two days older than Helen, Grace lived across the street from her for 14 years. They grew up spending summers in the pool pretending they were mermaids, watching Grace's brothers' baseball games while chomping on Big League Chew, riding the school bus home together, and performing very embarrassing self-taught dance routines to ABBA songs in the annual school talent show. Self-less and loyal, Grace is one of Helen's dearest friends and when Helen called to ask her to be a bridesmaid, Grace said, "Did you need to ask? I thought we decided this about 20 years ago!"
Grace graduated with a BS in Public Relations and Mass Communication from Texas State University. She is now the Marketing Director for Mochas and Javas, a successful and growing local coffeehouse chain in San Marcos.
Sarah Ryburn
Bridesmaid
Helen met Sarah when they both lived in Hardin House and pledged ADPi their freshman year. Helen's four years at UT and in ADPi are highlighted by countless memories with Sarah: dressing up as Nicki Minaj (Helen) and a hip-hop dancer (Sarah) for a mixer freshman year, living together in the ADPi house their junior year, singing to the Ying Yang Twins at Round Up for like three years in a row, seeing Queen Britney Spears in Vegas, playing Kings Cup on the beach in Destin, triumphantly staying out on Sixth for one more hour at Daylight Savings Time, and finally toasting their graduation on a beach in Cozumel together after winning a free cruise at ADPi Founders' Day. Gifted with the most infectious laugh, Sarah is a great friend and true betch :)
Sarah graduated from UT with a BA in Rhetoric. She is now a law student in her second year at Baylor Law School.
Kendall Westbrook
Bridesmaid
Kendall and Helen have been friends since they were two years old when her family moved in just down the street. Growing up, Kendall and Helen loved two things most of all: Anastasia the movie and Harry Potter. They watched Anastasia about a million times together, and played pretend that they were the sisters Tatiana (Kendall) and Olga (Helen) because it would be unfair for one to be Anastasia. When a new Harry Potter book was released, Kendall would read it all in one night and then wait for Helen to catch up. They went to midnight movie premieres together too, and then would stay up for hours after discussing all the stuff the movie had left out. An incredibly thoughtful friend, Kendall wrote a letter to Helen everyday during her last summer at camp, something Helen will never forget!
Kendall graduated with a BA in Criminal Justice from Indiana University. Today she works as a Project Coordinator for LevelTen Interactive, a web design & Internet marketing service in Dallas.
Gabbe Zuniga
Bridesmaid
Helen and Gabbe became friends when they both pledged ADPi and lived in the Pi Palace together with Dylan and Stefanie their sophomore year. Despite being one of the busiest people with the most challenging workload Helen knows, Gabbe always finds a way to be there for her friends. For example, in the middle of med school applications senior year, Gabbe painted an enormous cardboard wine glass for Helen to wear on her 21st birthday. Gabbe's own wedding is in November and Helen is so excited to be a bridesmaid for her friend so that she can shower Gabbe with as much love as she's shown her on her special day!
Gabbe graduated from UT with a BS in Biology Honors. She is now in her second year of the MD/PhD program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
The Boys
Jason Beck
Best Man
Jason “ma fee mushkila” Beck is Mark’s best man and partner-in-crime. The two met on the first day of Naval ROTC Freshman Orientation and quickly became friends. Ever the creative bureaucrats, Mark and Jason were always looking for an excuse to spend battalion funds on parties for the Midshipmen. Their junior year at UT, they spent the summer in Morocco studying Arabic on a Department of Defense language fellowship. After joining their host family in the fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, both returned with a new appreciation for A/C, Shiner Bock, and Whataburger.
A founding member of The Braintrust, Jason graduated from UT-Austin with a BA in Arabic and is currently at naval officer training in Corpus Christi.
Jon Askonas
Groomsman
Jon “Sous Vide” Askonas and Mark became friends through bible study at Oxford. Jon was instrumental in Operation Condor Claw – Mark’s proposal to Helen – helping to plan the surprise and lure Helen to a fake gala at All Souls College. Perched in a second-floor window of the quad, Jon stealthily took pictures of the proposal. Together Jon and Mark indulge in their appreciation of all things fine from cigars and whisky to Republican politics while cooking delicious meats in interesting ways.
Jon is pursuing a DPhil in International Relations at Oxford University. Soon to parents, Jon and his wife Laura are expecting a baby in April. They have said Mark is welcome to babysit…as long as Helen is nearby.
Eric Dawson
Groomsman
Eric “Perfect Grind” Dawson was Mark’s undergrad roommate and grilling partner. Eric and Mark met at UT’s orientation weekend in line getting their student IDs. Eric, an out of state student looking to make friends interjected in a conversation between Mark and Rishi and the rest is history. Eric and Mark spent most of senior year sampling fine coffees, drinking Texas beer, and grilling in the yard of their north campus house. So much grilling was done that the two in fact burned a hole through the bottom of their $25 H.E.B. clamshell grill by graduation.
An honorary member of the Westwood Crew, Eric graduated from UT-Austin in 2015 and is now earning his DPhil at the University of Cambridge as a National Institute of Health OxBridge Scholar.
Ciarán Dean-Jones
Groomsman
Ciaran “CDJ” Dean-Jones and Mark first became friends sophomore year when Mark organized a student-led philosophy exam review. Frustrated by the slow progress, Ciaran stood up and lectured the class for two hours, single-handedly raising the class average by a letter grade. Determined to be friends with the famously bookish Ciaran, Mark and Helen deliberately ambushed him at his favorite lunch spot every Tuesday. Senior year, the trio along with Jay, Sai, and Jason would gather for margaritas and tacos at Mi Madres giving birth to The Braintrust.
Ciaran graduated from UT-Austin with BAs in Plan II and Classics. He currently works as an Accounting Analyst with Accenture in Austin and is beating Mark to the altar by three months, marrying the love of his life Wendy Hayes in April.
Mert Erdenizmenli
Groomsman
Mert “MEHHHT” Erdenizmenli is Mark’s drinking buddy and fellow Pluckers aficionado. Always up for an adventure, Mert was Mark’s accomplice in their many cockamamie schemes throughout high school. One such adventure made it into the local news after the two started a crowd-wide “USA!” chant to force their way into a concert at South by Southwest.
A member of the Westwood Crew, Mert graduated from UT-Austin with a BS in neuroscience and is currently a first-year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Rishi Goel
Groomsman
Rishi “Cat Lady” Goel is the only person in the room louder than Mark. Not only the life of the party and an exceptional mixologist, Rishi is also one of Mark’s most thoughtful and caring friends who is always there when you need him. For instance, knowing Mark and Helen were missing good Texas queso, Rishi packed a container of Torchy’s queso in a suitcase and brought it with him all the way to Oxford on his visit…that’s true friendship.
The glue that held the Westwood Crew together, Rishi graduated from Harvard University with a AB in Biomedical Engineering and is currently a first year medical student at McGovern Medical School in Houston.
Sai Gourisankar
Groomsman
Sai “Tata” Gourisankar is the progressive yin to Mark’s conservative yang. Sai and Mark knew they had to stick together in Oxford when their fathers, one Indian and one Lebanese, stood shoulder to shoulder on UT graduation weekend and wagged their fingers at them shouting, “Never forget your roots, boys!” As marathon training partners, the two have spent many cold Oxford mornings arguing with each other about politics while jogging through Christ Church Meadow in preparation for races in Malta, Italy, and Cyprus.
A founding member of The Braintrust, Sai graduated from UT-Austin with a BA in Plan II and BS in Engineering. Sai is currently earning a Masters of Public Policy at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar before pursuing a PhD at Stanford University.
Ryan Henrici
Groomsman
Ryan “Mr. Flow” Henrici is the other half of Mark’s “tally ho!” and his best friend on the Marshall. They met during orientation weekend when Ryan made the responsible decision of renting a cherry red convertible Camaro for a group trip to the Shenandoah Valley. The neighbors were happy to see the group leave as Ryan and Mark commemorated the occasion by opening all the car doors and playing “God Save The Queen” on full volume. He indulges Mark’s parachute dinners into London, has voluminous hair with exceptional flow, and almost medaled in the freestyle in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ryan graduated from Penn State in May 2015. He is currently earning a PhD at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Marshall Scholar, and next will attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.
Anuj Kudva
Groomsman
Anuj “Smiles” Kudva is one of Mark’s oldest friends. The two first became friends in middle school yearbook class when they would sign hall passes for each other to skip class. They continued their shenanigans in high school, once building a powerful potato cannon with some friends. Proud of their handiwork, the two brought it into school to show their physics teacher who was impressed but horrified and told them to hide it in the back of his classroom so they didn’t get arrested for bringing a firearm to school. They would go on to be roommates for almost all four years of undergrad due in no small part to Anuj’s mom cooking them both delicious Indian food.
A member of the Westwood Crew, Anuj graduated from UT-Austin with a BS in Biochemical Engineering. He currently works as a Consulting Analyst for Accenture in Atlanta.
Jay Patel
Groomsman
Jay “Hot and Cold” Patel was Mark’s first friend at UT. Jay was in the same Plan II World Lit class as Mark and Helen. Knowing Mark liked Helen, Jay played wingman by constantly mentioning Mark to Helen and telling her they should date. Always the mischievous type, Jay once invited Mark to dinner with his family in Austin where he told everyone Mark was a “fair skinned Indian.” Mark only figured this out when he arrived at the party and Jay’s aunties began speaking to him in rapid fire Gujarati to which Mark responded with a smile and asked for more rice.
A founding member of The Braintrust, Jay graduated from UT-Austin with BA in Plan II (and a 177 on his LSAT). Jay is currently rescuing polar bears and saving children as a Private Equity Analyst at Bain Capital in Boston.