Lee & Aaron
Wedding Party
Spencer Allee
Groomsman
Spencer and Aaron met in kindergarten orientation when they realized they were the only two redheads and needed to stick together. Their birthdays are one day apart, and in second grade they threw a shared birthday party to mixed reviews. Despite Aaron moving to Missouri and then Los Angeles, Spencer and Aaron continue to find yearly opportunities to travel together whale-watching, moviegoing and enjoying world cuisine. Aaron is the closest Spencer has to a sibling, and Spencer is therefore delighted to be a part of his big day, which will assuredly be more fun than their second grade birthday party.
Trista Allgood
Bridesmaid
Lee and Trista first met in a college writing course, but their friendship didn't blossom until they reunited in LA. They took LA by storm — we're talking jazzercise with Richard Simmons, long talks with Fabio in Whole Foods, and providing employment opportunities to every celeb impersonator in Southern California. In their later years, they enjoy watching bad cinema together, drinking tea, and swapping pics of their demon cats.
Brian Chae
Groomsman
Brian and Aaron met in kindergarten, and, after being impressed by Aaron's amazing cosplay as a bunch of grapes, they remained friends ever since. From battling Pokémon addiction together as children to waking up at 3 am with the sounds of Aaron watching Enchanted in Brian's college apartment, there are many fond and random memories from their decades of friendship. Brian lives a few suburbs over from their shared childhood neighborhood Skokie and he is honored to be a part of this special day in Aaron and Lee's story.
Chris Cottle
Bridesman
Lee and Chris met over fireworks! The first time I encountered this great person was during a lunch break at Film Independent in 2011. We were talking about whatnot and potential hangs and she chimed in, “I have a closet full of fireworks.” She also mentioned she was from Houston and I knew then and there that this woman’s gonna be my friend. Since then, she has surprised me left and right. She can throw a party like nobody else and can chat the boots down about film, history and pop culture. She’s an honest, loyal, good friend and I’m thankful for her.
Lindsay Cutler
Bridesmaid
Lindsay and Lee met freshman year of college and became fast friends, bonding over film, 90s sketch comedy, and inventing ever-more-extreme ways of making each other laugh. After 15+(!) years of ride-or-die friendship, Lindsay couldn’t be happier to see her favorite couple take the next big next step in building their weird (looking at you, Mork and Harvey) and wonderful life together. Lindsay lives in Los Angeles with her adorable poodle Percy.
Evan Goran-Dry
Groomsman
Evan met Aaron during the many Smash Bros. hangs in our grade school days. We have since grown into trusted confidants on the important topics of the world: cartridge vs. CD media formats, cats vs. dogs, baseball vs. basketball and more. Aaron’s consistent thoughtfulness and commitment to laughter in all of our talks have been a blessing. He is proud to return the support on Aaron’s big day with Lee, his movie connoisseur match!
Jen Hyde
Bridesmaid
Jen had heard about Lee through friends in early 2014 and made it her mission to become friends with the coolest girl she’d ever heard of. At some point in the summer of 2014 her plan worked. After a magical trip to Vegas, their friendship was secured and the adventures have been never ending ever since. Jen is thrilled to celebrate her favorite party queen's journey into marriage!
Bridget Illing
Bridesmaid
A friendship forged in the fires of Las Vegas and the desert of Palm Springs, Bridget and Lee first met at Lee’s infamous Ladies Only Oscar Party (Best Picture: Spotlight). They’ve bonded over a love of movies, denim, and having a good laugh. Bridget can’t wait to celebrate Lee and Aaron and whatever celebrity impersonators are invited at the wedding of the century!
Robert Jameson
Bridesman
As siblings, Lee and Robert’s friendship began from the start and both have grown to become best friends to this day. With too many fun memories to even count, a strong bond over humor, cinema and shared life experiences has tied our friendship together throughout the years. I’m so grateful to have my sister be such a close friend and cannot be happier for her and Aaron to share their lives together!
Maggie Moe
Bridesmaid
Maggie and Lee met nearly 10 years ago working at Film Independent, where Lee grew from a demure intern to a savvy businesswoman under Maggie’s mentorship. Early on, the blondes discovered they shared the same birthday which bonded them cosmically and prompted a legendary NYC trip where they celebrated from the lower eastern tip of Manhattan to the outer Burroughs. While the two share no mutual interests aside from making each other laugh and documentaries, their friendship is a Total Blast™.
Stevie Palmer
Bridesmaid
Stevie and Lee orbited each other for years in a planetary game of fate - despite going to the same college and having mutual friends in LA for years, they didn't meet until Lee's legendary 2016 election night party, which stands as one of the best nights of Stevie's life - in which her America was truly made great again by her introduction to the bride. She wears her love and loyalty to Lee as a literal badge of honor in the form of an upper-arm 98 Degrees tattoo. Stevie is thrilled that the bride's husband to be hails from the same windy city, and wishes them a life of love as deep as the deepest dish Uno's pizza.
Sam Rubinstein
Groomsman
Sam's friendship with Aaron dates back to their preschool days, when they bonded over mutual support for the cause of saving the whales. Sam and Aaron have remained close since then, sharing a strong affinity for word games, strong disdain for Paul Hollywood, and both strong affinity and disdain for the Chicago Cubs. Sam works as a hematologist in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, where he lives with his wife Amy and their two cats.
Lauren Stambaugh
Bridesmaid
The Lee and Lauren Saga began in Boston 2008, the college years. The two quickly bonded over their shared love of movies, comedy, 80s dance nights and giggling uncontrollably. (Also, Lee bought Lauren booze since she was still underage.) They both moved to Los Angeles and went on to share so many ridiculously memorable moments together that Lauren couldn't begin to summarize...BUT she will list them off stream-of-consciousness-style: Party Buses/Trolleys/Boats, Jumbo's Clown Room, Karaoke nights at The Smog Cutter, Whole Foods Fabio, The Cat Circus, Andy Dick encounter, truly outrageous Las Vegas/Palm Springs/Joshua Tree/Big Bear trips, Zel Kool...we'll stop there. Lauren is truly lucky to have a friend like Lee, and Lee is truly lucky to be marrying the ultimate Sopranos Superfan.
Bonnie Stiernberg
Groomswoman
Bonnie and Aaron's friendship goes all the way back to sixth grade math class, where they were seated next to each other and quickly bonded over their shared disinterest in pre-algebra. Eventually, they discovered they had more in common, including diehard Cubs fandom, an affinity for prestige TV and a fiery hatred of loud chewers. Bonnie currently lives in New York, where she's a senior editor at InsideHook, and she's extremely proud to be a part of Aaron and Lee's big day. (Prouder even than the time she watched Aaron win a box of ziti on a Sopranos bus tour of New Jersey.)
Kelsey Whipple
Groomswoman
Kelsey is an assistant professor of Journalism at the University of Massachusetts and the founder and forever president of Mork's Fan Club. She met Aaron when they were both in journalism school at Mizzou (and drinking alcoholic slushies to get through it). Her favorite things to do with Aaron are drive on the PCH, celebrate films and books from the '90s, binge on Mexican food and purchase plants in bulk. If her time as Aaron's groomsperson should become part of a 27 Dresses-style plot, she will split the proceeds with Aaron and Lee.