Chelsea & Anthony
Wedding Party
Kerri McGee
Matron of Honor
Kerri was my first friend when I moved from FL to RI in seventh grade. We bonded by preparing for seventh-grade basketball tryouts together. Neither one of us made the team. Since we didn't have basketball practice to attend, we had plenty of time to kill after school. I think we hung out every single day of seventh and eighth grade. Most times, it would just be us watching a movie with our boyfriends, "Ben & Jerry." Kerri was and still is, drop-dead gorgeous with a heart of gold. Our times together are some of my favorite childhood memories, and I will cherish her and those forever.
Patrick Michaud
Best Man
Patrick is my brother and best friend since birth. We had a unique relationship growing up in that we never fought and always looked after eachother. Years after highschool Patrick and I lived together in Newport, RI where our friendship grew even more and was home to countless hilarious moments like when Patrick made "pumpkin spiced chicken breasts" for dinner one night. We ordered take-out shortly after. Patrick has a heart of gold and would do anything for me...except eat vegatables.
Shannon Murphy
Maid of Honor
Cousins by default, best friends by choice. I have literally loved this girl since the day she was born! I remember being so excited when Shannon finally got to high school as a freshman when I was a junior. It was so nice to have a blood relative at school. We spent many days hanging out before basketball practice (yes, I somehow made the team in high school). High school felt so much more tolerable with her by my side. Truthfully, she has always felt more like a sister than a cousin, and I am extremely grateful for our relationship.
Max Ponte
Groomsman
I met Max on my first day of highschool in a new town my family had just moved to. This isn't a heartfelt story about how I had no friends and since Max was the cool, popular kid he took me under his wing. Nope, Max was able to get me detention for something I didn't do on my first day. Max and I became best friends shortly after though and spent most of our younger years either playing football, Halo, or making movies in his Mom's basement and causing general mayhem in Southampton, MA. From highschool football to college shenigans to living one town away from eachother now, Max has never been able to get rid of me.
Madilyn Royer
Bridesmaid
We both grew up in the boondocks of Burrillville and built a bond playing high school volleyball and basketball together. She was always better at basketball than me (shocking I know). Madi was and still is the ying to my yang and the nim to my chow. She is not only beautiful on the inside and out but HILARIOUS. My favorite memories together are many that can't be named, as well as our long drives back home from practice listening to CDs, laughing until I ended up in the fetal position, her falling down the tallest flight of stairs at my brother's wedding, and eating peanut butter and fluff sandwiches at 2 AM to go to sleep and wake up at 5 AM for work. I am sure I can speak for both of us that we do not miss working at Dunkin Donuts. We have grown up together and will continue to grow old together.
Rob Tougas
Groomsman
Rob was the third person in the triumvirate that was Max and my highschool life. When Rob and Max went off to college at a different school we would alternate weekends hanging out and after a while Rob and I somehow became roommates. Rob has always looked out for from helping me in college to getting me a job at a company I still work for today. He has always looked out for me and I still don't know why. Maybe its because we share a love of all things nerdy and no one else in our friend group does.
Emma Dinnerstein
Bridesmaid
We sat next to each other first year of law school and realized we grew up only a town over from each other in Florida. We quickly became best friends after enduring long study hours, cold calls, and finals. Emma is my biggest cheerleader. Emma, Chris (below), and I truly wanted each other to succeed above ourselves. It's rare to find people like this in every aspect of life but especially in a competitive environment like law school. As much as Torts scared the absolute hell out of me, I am glad it brought us together. I can't wait to follow her legal career, watch her succeed, and be broke public interest lawyers together.
John Norman
Groomsman
John or more intimately known as "Norm" met me when I joined the Mudville gang. Norm like his counterpart Juan is sensible and has common-sense which is a great counter balance to Max, Rob and myself. Whether it's playing board games or watching football John is always hosting the friend group on any given weekend. Also he recently has helped me discover a new love (and hate) for golf.
Reggie Martin
Bridesman
We actually hated each other in high school. We soon realized it was only because we were so much alike. I'm sure he regrets befriending me now, though, because he has helped me move countless times since. When I decided to quit college after my sophomore year and move to Florida by myself, I felt pretty alone, but Reggie was always there for me no matter how far away I was. We probably spoke every day he was in the Marines. Our paths have always crossed in the most random places like Gulfport, Mississippi, and Fayetteville, North Carolina. Reggie was there when I accidentally flew into the wrong airport two hours away from the correct one. When I flew into Boston from Combat School without a ride, Reggie was there. Reggie is a true friend and I can't imagine getting this far without him by my side.
John Fall
Groomsman
John is practical, logical, and intelligent which makes for a great opposites attract friendship. John and I first met at a college party though neither one of us remember it. Shortly after John was living in Mudville when I moved in. John let me move in when I came back from Egypt and was the first friend to meet Chelsea. John and I continued to live in a very small house with Chelsea for a few months after that and still live only a few miles apart today.
Bobby Morel
Bridesman
Bobby and I were in the Navy Reserves together. He took me under his wing the first day I checked into the unit in 2014 and has been my best friend ever since. Bobby has always been someone I could rely on. When my car broke down, he was there to help, or when I wanted to paint our new home but had just had shoulder surgery, he was there to help. Most notably, Bobby was there for me during a more difficult time when I deployed for a year in 2016. He shipped protein snacks and books for me to read across the world every few months. Since he spent six years in Afghanistan, he could also relate to something I was going through that most could not. I will always be grateful to him for that. Now he and Anthony go shooting together, and I'm just a third wheel.
Elizabeth Williams
Groomswoman
Elizabeth and I met about 17 years ago when we both worked at our local hardware store and are still friends to this day. At one point in our lives we even went to the same college and had the same two jobs (hardware store and restaurant). She has always given sound advice to me and when she met Chelsea she secretly told me I had to marry her. Looks like she was right again.
Austin LaRiviere
Bridesman
Chilis brought us together. Our love for working out kept us together. Meet the male version of myself! We have been there for each other through waiting tables, college graduations, training to be Navy Seals (lol), a deployment, his graduation from the State Trooper Academy, grueling workouts, and so much more. It only makes sense that he stands by me on one of the most important days of my life. We share a similar sacrificial drive to succeed at everything we do that we fully acknowledge will be the death of us.
Mark Demaio
Groomsman
Mark is a one-of-a-kind friend that has a unique way with words. He can have a room laughing or silent with just one sentence and that is why we get along. Mark was the one that got me started with Jiu-Jitsu six years ago which we both are still terrible at today (he thinks hes terrible I know I am).
Chris Gauthier
Bridesman
Chris and I ended up in the same debate group our second year of law school only because another student had an emergency. We quickly realized that we were two of the most normal people in school. Chris kept me sane through the emotional torture of it all, edited my papers and statements for job applications when I needed his brilliant mind, and reminded me that you can still make lifelong friends at 30 years old. I will always be grateful that law school brought him and I together. I am even more grateful he will be a corporate attorney so he can afford to fly out and visit Emma and I.
Sean Sant
Officiant
The man, the myth, the legend!! To say the trajectory of my life changed the day I met Sean would be an understatement. Sean was my instructor in a basic security course I took for the Navy. I was the only female in that class, and Sean made me get OC'd sprayed first, just after the only officer in the class. At the completion of the course, Sean sat me down and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said some days I wanted to be a firefighter, some days a state trooper, and other days a sniper. I was obviously a bit ambitious. Sean looked at me and said, "meet me at the gym tomorrow morning at 0600." I instantly regretted my ambitious career choices and dreaded meeting him at the gym for the next 15 hours. Somehow I got the courage to show up and he put me through one of the most rigorous workouts I have endured to this date. After we got done and I miraculously didn't puke, he told me he used to be the pre-buds instructor for incoming Navy Seals. Had he told me this information BEFORE I decided to go to the gym, I probably wouldn't have shown up. Sean is an example of what outstanding leadership looks like. He took me under his wing and mentored me early in my career, transcending many of the attributes and qualities I have today. Sean has since retired and now looks like a caveman, but I still write his name down as my mentor on my career development boards. They insist I need a mentor who hasn't retired, but I won't be that easily swayed.