Wedding Party
Kasia Hitczenko
Matron of Honor
Kasia and Gianna were matched as roommates freshman year at Yale and became inseparable, hosting countless waffleragers. They are often confused as sisters and even their iPhones can't tell them apart. Kasia is now a professor of computer science at George Washington after completing a post-doc in Paris, and has one of the cutest babies around!
Trevor Himstead
Best Man
Alex's brother and best friend since birth, Trevor has been with Alex through thick and thin growing up in New York, New Jersey, Switzerland, and Seattle. He recently returned from a 3 year stint in Japan where he finished his college education in Tokyo, and is now working in sales for an electricity company. His true passions lie in Japanese culture, anime/manga, renewable/sustainable energy, trying diverse cuisines, and our dog Gabi.
Niki McClure
Matron of Honor
Niki began her journey to becoming a master scientist as an undergrad helping Gianna in the lab during her Ph.D. Gianna couldn't have finished without her. Niki can run a record-breaking 11 western blots per day while somehow keeping everything clean and color coded, and is now completing her own Ph.D. growing ever kind of stem cll. She is friends with all the gorillas at the LA zoo, and has the other cutest baby around!
Jacob Deyell
Groomsman
Alex's best friend and roommate throughout medical school, they endured countless hours of studying together interspersed with many cups of coffee, IPA and whiskey nights, and various adventures around Southern California and beyond. Jacob just finished his Ph.D. and is now in 3rd year of medical school completing his M.D.
Marie Heath
Bridesmaid
Marie grew up in a German castle but sadly decided to become a scientist and join the same lab as Gianna and Niki. Over the years Gianna has benefitted immensely from Marie's expertise in fresh bread and growing massive house plants. Marie recently added to the list of the world's cutest babies, and casually went for a 10 mile run with Gianna while in her second trimester.
Matt Merckling
Groomsman
Matt Merckling ("Merck") and Alex met through the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in college and lived together for 3 years. Currently, Merck is in medical school and is working towards becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Justine Maher
Bridesmaid
When Gianna had to move closer to the hospital after her Ph.D., Justine was starting Ob/Gyn residency and took Gianna in like another one of her quirky but loveable cats, and soon adopted Alex too. They have shared the struggles of residency, indulged in k-pop music videos, and planned irresponsibly wild vacations over many shared monkfruit sweetened space foods.
Pablo Cueto
Groomsman
Pablo and Alex were in the same pledge class in Beta, our fraternity. We went through pledging, serenades, skit, concerts, and debauchery together during Chapman. After college Alex has always supported Pablo's professional growth through his changing career paths. Coming from a family of doctors, I was stoked to tell my family that one of my best friends was going to not only be a doctor, but a neurosurgeon and I love relaying the OR stories Alex tells me with them.
Miriam McQuade
Bridesmaid
Miriam and Gianna met in medical school and Gianna quickly realized that Miriam could make even the most boring days of studying magical. They frolicked in the ocean, climbed large rocks, and escaped into their med school campus' best climbing tree. Miriam is now an Ob/gyn attending saving the women of New Mexico, where she recently got married!
Igor Bellineli
Groomsman
A kindred spirit who ventured to the United States for college from Brazil after learning English from reading Harry Potter, Igor loves tennis, traveling, and has been a lifelong friend. Currently, he lives in Brazil working in finance and was recently married to Bruna.
Isidora Beach
Bridesmaid
Isi was cursed/blessed? to have Gianna as the Christina to her Meredith Grey, residency sisters from day 1. Gianna honestly can't remember the details of most of the time they spent together because of sleep deprivation and caffeine overdose brain damage, but she knows that Isi was always there for her. Isi somehow found the energy for camping, a wilderness medicine trip, and exploring South America in between shifts at the hospital, and is now pursuing her passion for global health
Michael Gutierrez
Groomsman
Guti was another member of the Chapman University Beta Theta Pi Chapter and lived with Alex and Merck for several years where he was always the life of the party. He is currently working in the film industry, living in Los Angeles trying to make it big.
Marina Fote
Bridesmaid
Marina is Gianna's closest cousin! Gianna has learned many new things growing up with Marina, from karate moves to the inner workings of MLB. Marina is an expert at organizing all kinds of chaotic situations including in her career in events at the USC Coliseum and at Fote family gatherings.
Adam Fote
Groomsman
Gianna and Adam grew up surfing in Malibu together, but Adam found his way from our small town to America's biggest cities, from Washington D.C. where he earned his business degree and played college soccer, to New York City, to Los Angeles, and finally settled in Irvine close enough to catch up with Gianna and Alex for breakfast burritos. Adam ran his first marathon with Gianna and Alex, is an apres-ski expert.
Karthik Prasad
Groomsman
Karthik was another classmate and good friend of Alex and Jacob during medical school. He appears externally to be very serious and focused, but he loves a good whiskey. He's currently an Otolaryngology resident at Yale.