Crew Member Ste Marie

The next bridesmaid to introduce is Andrea Ste Marie - aka. Dre, Soul-sister.

Andrea and I were introduced by my childhood friends Mike and Patty E. when they discovered we were both skeptically pledging the same sorority (there were 70 of us, we hadn't met yet).  Once I met this tall, hilarious, swimmer-in-a-previous life, girl from California with a witch for a roommate, I knew we would have the time of our lives together; I wasn't disappointed.  We quickly signed up as roommates for the following year, with Crew Member Ryan and Juliet.  The following four years were filled with spectacular memories and personal-growth which can't be duplicated.

After graduating from University of Michigan, Andrea left the snowy winters behind and returned to southern California.  She successfully climbed the ranks in marketing at Fox Sports, ESPN and Disney.  Somehow she found time to further her education, obtaining her MBA from UCLA while working!  Andrea is far from one-dimensional; you will rarely hear her talk about her career.  She is a world traveler, adventure seeker, fitness enthusiast who loves her friends, family and dogs deeply.  I vividly remember sitting under a tree in front of Angel Hall on my very first cell phone, when she told me about her malignant melanoma diagnosis.  Andrea is an optimist and a survivor.  More recently she overcame two major back surgeries and completed her first (and second) marathon.  Nothing is an obstacle.

We lived in the same city for four short years, but our friendship is now 16 years strong and one of the strongest I have.  We discovered later in life that we are perfect travel partners, which is not something to take lightly.  We share so many interests beyond exploring the world, but most importantly our mutual love and respect for one another.  We embrace our differences as much as our similarities.  We have been lucky to follow parallel lives over the past decade, understanding and supporting each other's highs and lows along the way.  Most recently, Andrea got engaged to be married- so we are sharing this major life change too!!

I'm so happy to have her as my bridesmaid, soul-sister, friend-for-life.

See her verison of our friendship on her blog- The MF DRE