Wedding Party

Justin Barber

Best Man

1997© entered Aaron's life. Destined to be in each other's lives from birth, the two grew up together playing videos games, building hot wheels tracks, and having stick battles. If you ask Justin about Aaron, he'd say "he's definitely my favorite sibling". Aaron might say "I used to be better than him at video games, I must've lost my touch". Despite being brothers, Aaron & Justin were always friends. Aaron did big-brotherly things like drive Justin to school every morning or tell him which teachers to avoid. Justin has repaid the favor teaching Aaron origami (although Aaron was never very good at it) and making Aaron the best home-cooked Detriot-style pizza. The first time Justin met Anne, he brought her into their yearly Christmas tradition of building elaborate scavenger hunts late into the Christmas Eve night. Anne matched Justin's wackiness, escalating the plan to a Christmas morning where the entire house was covered in string. A great first impression for the parents!

Jonathan Miller

Groomsman

2003© entered Aaron's life. Aaron & Jonny first met at a friends house when they were 8, on Berwick Court. Jonny defeated Aaron in Super Smash Bros on the Nintendo 64. Aaron was stunlocked. How did he win when he wasn't playing as Kirby? With respect earned, the two were inseparable ever since. Hundreds of hours playing mario, star wars, and pokemon. Always inventing new games in the pool, on the field, or in the basement. Aaron was a shy kid unless he knew someone well, and Jonny was one of the few people willing to wait through the quiet period and stick around through the babbling. For years as they grew up, Jonny pushed Aaron. In video games, athletics, and academics, Aaron strived to compete at Jonny's level. In a wild turn of events, Jonny moved to Austin the same week as Aaron & Anne. The three took up bouldering together, and as always Jonny was a natural and pushed Aaron to new heights. But most important to Aaron was seeing his future wife and oldest friend connect and banter. And when Jonny gave his stamp of approval, Aaron knew he had found the right one.

Sharvil Patel

Best Man

2007© entered Aaron's life, when Sharvil decided to sit next to Aaron on the bus to school. That same day, the two found out they had the same math class. Suffering through math classes intertwined their futures. They suffered from 2007, in middle school algebra, all the way through 2017, at UoM's computer vision class. In 2010, Aaron & Sharvil took their first computer science class. They spent countless hours of fun on a project which made Aaron realize computer science was the career he wanted to pursue. But the two's relationship was much more than just the classroom. As they liked to put it, Sharvil "broke" Aaron from the shy kid into the travel-seeking food-loving adventurer that he is today. Sharvil convinced Aaron to join him and others on a group trip to India after graduating. Sharvil talked Aaron through countless life crises in his basement playing video games like Dynasty Warriors. The first time Sharvil met Anne was on a trip out to Austin. At the end of the trip, Anne's flight home was delayed and she was stranded hanging out with Sharvil an entire day! Their friendship continued when Aaranne moved to Austin. Here, Sharvil perfected the art of bantering with Anne, as he had long ago done with Aaron.

Sean Johnson

Groomsman

2007© entered Aaron's life, in 7th grade. Aaron & Sean spent too much time together in high school, from joining the popular club "CSMTech" (not nerdy at all), to playing lacrosse together, or even listening to the song '500 miles' for 3 hours on drives up north. Aaron & Sean's friendship strengthened as they always found themselves on the same teams, such as FIFA or backyard ice hockey. Eventually they both ended up in Ann Arbor for school. They became housemmates and partners in crime, continuing their partnership in sand volleyball or whatever dubious games were invented around consumption of adult beverages. Sean has watched over and supported Aaron in his toughest moments, and is more than happy to have handed that role over to Anne! Sean's role in Aaranne's relationship cannot go unmentioned. Aaron captured Anne's admiration when they went jet skiing together. Cruising around the beautiful Seattle shorelines, Aaron impressed her with "The Spin Cycle", nearly launching her off. Aaron had honed his elite driving skills from Sean at his up north cabin. If it weren't for Sean getting pretty good on the jet ski and teaching Aaron, #aarannexo might have never come to be!

Gary Bigger

Groomsman

2008© entered Aaron's life, or at least that's what we think. Gary has been getting into shenanigans with Aaron for nearly two decades. Gary once designed a massive poster about kale to sneak into Aaron's home. Aaron once surprised Gary by showing up to "support" him at a soccer game, but secretly brought a hand-made poster insulting Gary's soccer skills. The two spent summers playing basketball together, which really meant shooting a little and mostly talking seriously about life. On one "hoop session", the two recounted the first time Gary met Anne. It was in Sean's basement playing a game we fabricated called "purple rain" (a crowd favorite at the bachelor party). Gary also brought his new girlfriend Miranda. Anne & Miranda, surrounded by their boyfriend's dumb high school friends playing a dumb made-up game, looked at each other as if they were rethinking their lives. Gary & Aaron agreed they were lucky to found partners willing to put up with their shenanigans! In an unfortunate turn of events, Gary & Miranda moved to Seattle the year that Aaranne left. But opportunity awaits, and Aaranne may be back in the PNW soon enough!

Wilson Mullen

Groomsman | Officiant

Aug 2017© entered Aaron's life. At Amazon's new hire orientation (their first day of work!) at the water cooler, Wilson overhead Aaron mention he was from Michigan. They found out they both graduated from UoM, and planned a little 'date' to watch Michigan football that weekend. Ever since that day they knew they were destined to be roommates. Aaron moved in with Wilson the next year, the exact time that he met Anne. Aaron jokes that he upgraded his life that summer with a "new girl, new apartment, new phone". Wilson helped teach Anne core midwest fundamentals like euchre, board games, and that you need to text your partner when you get home safely! The first time Wilson met Anne was a legendary night to remember: the group drank "The Benjamin" (a $100 drink that comes in a fountain), and Anne astonished Wilson with her NY forthrightness. That night, Aaron & Anne said goodbye to the group to go dancing, got their photobooth reel that they lost and then magically found again hours later. That night was the first time Aaron told Anne that he loved her. Wilson watched over Anne & Aaron's relationship the next few years, making sure Aaron didn't fumble the bag. He'll be standing at the end of the aisle on 10.04.25 to continue doing the same!

Andrew Borba

Groomsman

Aug 2017© entered Aaron's life. Hours after meeting Wilson at new hire orientation, Aaron went to meet his Amazon team: enter Borba. Aaron learned that Borba was his great-grandmentor (his mentor's mentor's mentor). Rather than teaching core work tenants, Borba taught valuable life lessons. Aaron soon succumbed to the wild adventure of Borba's life lessons: going "full send" on a cold Washington surf trip; booking a ticket the night before for "necessary work Vegas trips" (plural!); never saying no to a post-work beverage. Borba plays a special role in Aaron's life, being the matchmaker that introduced Aaron to Anne on that "fateful log". Borba continued to play matchmaker, creating opportunities for Aaron to see Anne, like facilitating a weekday afternoon jet ski trip where Aaron captured Anne's admiration. Aaron claims to have repaid the favor, asserting that he introduced Borba to his now-wife Emma. Aaranne & Borbemma became bffs as they lived together and kept each other sane during covid!

Austin Deal

Groomsman

Aug 2017© entered Aaron's life. The week Aaron met Wilson, they headed to the Michigan bar in Seattle to watch the game. That's where they met Austin, another UoM grad, and their goofy attitudes soon led these three to spontaneous adventures. They traveled to Corvallis, Oregon, to watch UW vs. OSU (oregon-state) on a Michigan bye week. They took a 40 hour road trip to Los Angeles to watch a 40 minute basketball game (which Michigan won!). They went kayaking and night swimming in Seattle. Not long after Anne entered the picture was Austin dragging her into goofy spontaneity. Their nights became filled with case-races, Overcooked all-nighters, and midnight brekky burritos. Even distance could not keep the crew separated: Austin & his partner Xinrui visited Aaranne on their global expedition, meeting for a week in Bangkok where they completed a "luxury hotel crawl" and ate more bowls of Khao Soi than should be legal. Aaron & Austin's "what do you have to lose?" mindset might lead to trouble in the future... perhaps their upcoming 2026 half ironman is more than they can handle!

Kenneth Hurt

Groomsman

Dec 2017© entered Aaron's life, when Max Silverman came to Seattle (a friend of Aaron's from San Francisco) and invited Aaron to "hang with a few friends". Turns out a "few friends" was a dozen tight-knit folks who had been friends for over a decade! Fortunately the group, and especially Kenneth, welcomed Aaron warmly. Aaron & Kenneth bonded over their love of futbol, and soon after Aaron had joined Kenneth's team and Kenneth was driving Aaron to matches every week. Kenneth admired Aaron's youth and exuberance on the pitch, while Aaron admired Kenneth's natural skill. Aaron likes to joke that "I'm a lucky soul who can see my future, watching Kenneth, 8 years my senior, go through life". Anne first met Kenneth at the birthday party of Kenneth's now-wife, Fay. That night Anne & Fay connected, and transformed Aaron & Kenneth's friendship forever. Turns out Aaron & Kenneth just never texted each other ever, and a few nudges from Anne & Fay had the group hanging out all the time! *sigh* boys. The group has since traveled together in China (shoutout Zhonghao) and the Philippines. Fun fact: Aaron's most intense rivalry in any sport is with Kenneth in spikeball, yet Kenneth has never actually beaten Aaron!

Cameron Coppock

Groomsman

Aug 2018© entered Aaron's life. The first time they met, Cameron took Aaron & Anne on what he described as a "casual hike". Aaron thought, "I'm in pretty good shape from marathon training, I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake". 11miles and 5000ft later, Aaron could barely move. Cameron simultaneously gained Aaron's trust forever (emotionally supporting him through some class 3 sections that had Aaron "gripped" and fearing for his life) and lost Aaron's trust at the same time (never trust Cameron when he says "only another 1000ft of vert"). The icing on the cake was that Aaron officially asked Anne out on that hike (and then proposed to her 5 years later to the day). Aaron, and surprisingly Finley too, have tagged along for many Cameron "casual hikes" ever since. Cameron has led Aaron up many scree-filled slopes, across reasonably sketchy creek crossings, and even challenged his fear of heights in helicopter rides. Aaron once, very hungover, joined Cameron on Halloween sunrise hike the morning after Borba met Emma. Cameron has taught Anne & Aaron crucial life advice like "if you said you're leaving at 7am but don't leave until 7:05am, you're screwed". Fun fact: Cameron & his wife Arianna ('Arie') were also married in Hood River!

John Kennedy

Groomsman

Sep 2018© entered Aaron's life. Anne, in her infinite wisdom, thought it would be great that Aaron's first experience meeting her family would be a backpacking trip. Little did she know Aaron had zero outdoor skills (or gear) at the time! After an expensive REI trip, they were off to San Francisco to meet John & his now-wife Amanda. Aaron was nervous to meet his girlfriend's "older brother", but quickly experienced John's grizzly goofy warmth and they immediately bonded and were giggling around the fire. The backpacking trip was a huge success, with John teaching Aaron skills like "the sleeping bag can be compressed if you put it in the stuff sack 🤦‍♂️". Aaron has looked up to John as an older brother ever since. For example, Aaron has looked to John & Amanda with admiration when the J&A walked down their wedding aisle, when J&A bought a beautiful epic home in Tahoe, and when J&A brought two wonderful daughters into the world, Jane & Claire (Aaron's first nieces)! Jane & Claire will be the flower girls for the wedding, and perhaps one day they'll be on their first backpacking trip with Uncle Aaron and Auntie Anne :)

Stephen Chen

Groomsman

2019© entered Aaron's life. Aaron had heard from Anne how much he would like her long-time college friend Stephen, a brilliant and kind soul who had co-started a TEDx-style club at USC with Anne. To Anne's surprise, it wasn't their technology/academic interests that kicked off Stephen & Aaron's friendship, rather their absolute silliness and love for food. Stephen, being a big foodie, took Aaron & Anne to dim sum during his visit to Seattle, the first time he and Aaron had met. Aaron thought it strange that Stephen was showing him & Anne around their home! Well it turns out... Stephen's dim sum place is still a favorite of Aaron's (he always devours an absurd amount of szechuan noodles there). Fast forward a few years, Stephen & Steph, stopped by Austin for a few weeks (after their big international expedition). They reignited Aaranne's passion for travel, leading to gears put in motion for Aaranne's grand expedition. Obviously Stephen & Steph also showed Aaranne around the yummiest spots in Austin. What's even more fitting is that Stephen & Steph led to a key moment at the end of Aaranne's expedition: their travels ended in Portugal, which they visited for Stephen & Steph's wedding!

Molly Amezcua

Bridesmaid

Emma Borba

Bridesmaid

Meg Brantley

Bridesmaid

Stacy Buell

Bridesmaid

Joelle Darby

Bridesmaid

Sara Englehart

Bridesmaid

Fay Hurt

Bridesmaid

Sarah Kennedy

Maid of Honor

Amanda Moreland

Bridesmaid

Adriana Piazza

Bridesmaid

Anna Skelsey

Maid of Honor

Arianna Tousi

Bridesmaid