Cast of Characters
Rahim & Fariba Younai
Parents of the Bride
Originally from Iran, Rahim & Fariba have both maintained successful careers in the U.S., while never sacrificing the family’s cultural traditions through home cooking, stories, and Persian-Jewish values. Just ask Brian, who on their trips to visit LA can usually be spotted next to Fariba in the kitchen skewering kabobs, or sitting beside Rahim passionately debating the size of the Persian Empire. As of last year, the rest of the Winters were indoctrinated into the Younai Clan after attending one of their infamous costume parties (where rumor has it, Bin Ladin and the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz were for the first time spotted in the same room).
Greg & Donna Winter
Parents of the Groom
Call it growing up in large, Catholic families in St. Louis, but Donna and Greg are among the most giving, hardest working, and most gregarious (pun intended) people you'll ever meet. They raised Brian with these values, and they couldn't be happier to see the same in Ariana and her family, who have come to embrace new and beautiful things in their lives like Christmas, target practice at the family lake, and fried potato skins. Though they officially welcome the Younais to the family on February 23, Greg and Donna joke that Ariana de facto became their Daughter-In-Law when a series of a events forced them to snuggle in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan.
Renee McVey
Best Maid
Brian's little sister Renee has said yes to being our "Best Maid", aka Ariana's Maid of Honor. Renee is known for her sweet demeanor, sparkly personality, and for blowing us all away with her ingenious inventions to help patients in need. A super-star school nurse in St. Louis, Renee is a role model for so many kids, who look to her to both fix their ailments and to answer their disarmingly honest questions/concerns about the birds & the bees (ask her for some gems once she's had a few tequila shots at the wedding). Ariana is so excited to finally have the sweet little sister she has always dreamed of!
Ashkaan Younai
Man of Honor
Ariana's older brother Ashkaan has graciously accepted the prestigious title of "Man of Honor", aka Brian's Best Man. Ashkaan is the '↑↑↓↓←→←→BA' of brothers (a video game reference that Ariana did not understand either) -- a bad-ass PhD chemist with a sense of humor that Ariana and Brian love (well, at least Brian). Fiercely loyal and protective of his family, Ashkaan made Brian run the bar-room-basketball-game-gauntlet to win his approval to date his little sister. Ashkaan and Brian often joke about hanging out more together in SF than they do with Ariana, a joke that isn't getting old at ALL.
Eric Scott
Officiant
There was no debate between Ariana and Brian that Eric should officiate the wedding. As Brian's best friend and on-again off-again roommate since meeting at Claremont McKenna College in 2007, Eric can speak to Brian's numerous (mis)adventures. Before meeting Ariana, Eric would always joke with Brian before he left for some crazy trip by saying "Don't die." Nowadays, he's had to amend it to "Don't die, you two.", as he throws his hands into the air in exasperation that Brian found someone as similarly reckless as he is about exploring the remote corners of the globe.