Bess & CJ
Wedding Party
Debby Dowlin
Maid of Honor
On the first day of Kindergarten, we said to each other "wanna be my best friend?" That was 30...[ahem, cough]...years ago. We've made a lot of promises to each other over the years. One was "we'll be each other's maids of honor." So Debby is just fulfilling her end of the bargain here.
Danni Goldstein
Bridesmaid
There are more pictures of Danni and me with wine glasses or red wine stained teeth than there are without. Now that we live 4 states apart, we send each other selfies while we drink wine together. I think that tells you a lot about our friendship. How long will it take us to get wine stained teeth at the wedding? Betting is open.
Lindsey Grundfast
Bridesmaid
At this point, Lindsey is effectively a professional bridesmaid. Like Katherine Heigl in 27 dresses, she’s worn them all. That’s why I hired her for this wedding. But also because I’ve known her for about 100 years. What will she wear for this wedding?
Laura Giorgetti Kozol
Bridesmaid
"It's a miracle in life you two found each other." "You two are dangerous when you're together." Both of these are statements that have been said about Laura (AKA Giorgi) and me. Come to the wedding to see us in action. No tickets required.
Nikki Philpot
Bridesmaid
I've convinced Nikki to NOT do of a lot of things in the years and years since we've known each other- from moving to Middle-Of-Nowhere, Kentucky for a not-so-great job to doing a 5 day juice cleanse because she gets hangry after 3 hours without carbs and, probably at some point, getting bangs. Luckily, it took no convincing on my part to have her be in my wedding. Now I just have to work on convincing her to not play with Jude all day long.
Katie Shanahan
Bridesmaid
Years ago, when my cousin Alec told our family about his new girlfriend (and now wife), Katie, he said “she’s a nurse, a runner and loves doing puzzles.” We all said “are you dating Bess?” From the first time Katie and I met each other, we’ve been soul sisters. We’ve only become more alike in the years since knowing each other and becoming family. Will you be able to tell us apart?
Alec Shanahan
Bridesman
I’d like to think that I’ve taught my younger cousin, Alec, a lot of things in our thirty years of knowing each other. But the truth of the matter is that he’s done most everything before me and better than me. He’s a wildly better athlete than I’ll ever be. When he was 5 years old, he taught me how to properly tie my shoelace. (I was 13 years old.) He’s been happily and wonderfully married for years. Hopefully, some of his married wisdom rubs off on me as he stands by my side as I get married.
Rich Klimowicz
Best Man
It is Rich’s goal in life to get me to have the alcohol tolerance that he has. It hasn’t happened yet, despite many many tries over a 20 year friendship. He’s surely going to try again at our wedding. Come see how that works out.
Robby Benton
Groomsman
Robby is a drummer. I’m a drummer. Robby likes to make home-brew beer. I like to make home-brew beer. Robby did these things first and then I followed suit. He’s taught me a lot and hopefully made me cooler. Robby is a cool guy and that’s why he’s one of my groomsmen.
Peter Duong
Groomsman
Every class has a clown and every wedding has a comedian. That’s how the age old saying goes, right? Regardless of the sayings, Peter will be the funny guy, cracking all the jokes with the perfect punchlines. He’s been the funniest guy I’ve known for decades, but also the greatest friend. We won’t charge admission for this performance.
Chrissy Kratz
Groomswoman
I’ve known Chrissy as long as I’ve known the rest of my groomsmen. She’s always been one of the bros. She’s much more hip and sophisticated than any of us guys have ever been. In fact, she’s always kept us crazy boys in check. Hopefully she won’t have to do too much of that at the wedding.
Matt Quaglia
Groomsman
When I started dating Bess, I had to break the hard news to Matt that our bromance would take a backseat to my new relationship. We’re still struggling through our conscious uncoupling, but our decades long friendship is strong. Hopefully as he stands next to me as I wed, he doesn’t hold any resentment to my new boo.
Fran Ryan
Groomsman
Every wedding has someone that stands with the bride and the groom and just bawls their eyes out. There’s no doubt that Fran will be that person. He’s always been that guy as long as I’ve known him. Please, if you have extra tissue or a bottle of water, bring them to him. He will need them.
Kenny Stringer
Groomsman
In order to tell me that he accepted my request to be a groomsman, Kenny sent an intricate TikTok of him chugging a beer set to music. I just had to Google how to spell “Tik Tok.” Kenny is infinitely cooler than I’ll ever be and that’s why I want him by my side.
Vicki Marchok
Officiant
Several years ago, Vicki said to me “I’m going to perform the ceremony when you get married.” Flash forward some number of months when I met CJ and on our 3rd date said “oh, don't worry, I have someone to marry us.” Unfazed, CJ continued to date me and went on to eventually meet the person who would marry us. Vicki is an immaculate professional, the greatest friend, and has performed exactly two weddings prior to this so, third time's a charm!