Briel & Barry Intend to Marry
Wedding Party
Becca (Steinberg) Matloff
Sister of the Bride
When Becca was brought home from the hospital, Briel's life took a real left turn - and she can't imagine it any other way. Becca has always been a constant source of support and generosity - she literally gave Briel her car and Briel just...never gave it back. She has a hidden talent for rewriting pop song lyrics, and we're hoping that she'll use that superpower for our wedding. We're also grateful that she produced our two favorite teeny tiny people - Briel’s (and soon to be Barry’s) nephews Ari and Elliot - and makes it look easy.
Ira Polinsky
Brother of the Groom
Barry met Ira very shortly after he was born and was told "Barry, this is your older brother." Needless to say, Barry idolized Ira from a young age and can't remember a moment without him, but he can remember many many hours of playing games - card, board, video, you name it. Ira's love of games and of cats is only outshone by his love of his son and Barry's nephew/favorite wrestling partner Mason.
Gerald Abt
Co-Officiant
Gerald and Barry met at the University of Rochester and became close friends when Gerald moved to NYC. They have shared many long bike rides and Gerald and his wife Nancy are adopted members of the Polinsky family for Jewish holidays. Briel knew things were going well with Barry when he told her that Gerald approved - and so we asked if he'd help us make it official!
Jed Resnick
Co-Officiant
Jed first roller-bladed into Briel's life - and playwriting class - her freshman year of college. He has been a fixture in her life ever since - she even traveled around the country as his RENT tour groupie. We're lucky that Jed currently lives ten blocks away from us and is our favorite Manhattanville date and Harlem exploration buddy. It felt very logical to ask him to help us become legally wed.
Lauren Handwerker
Wedding Party
Lauren and Briel either met through CCS (where Briel used to work) or several years earlier at a Net Impact conference in Baltimore. Or maybe they hung out at Brown. Who really knows?! All we know is that Lauren is one of Briel's dearest friends and some of her favorite memories of laughing until she can't breathe have occurred with Lauren everywhere from Austin to Westport to Porto. Lauren is also pretty much solely responsible for getting Briel transferred back to CCS's NYC office - so Barry owes her a big one too.
Dmitriy Babayev
Wedding Party
Barry and Dmitriy met at a street fair one fortuitous day in Midwood, BK and they became fast friends. From many hours of walking in NYC to adventures in Atlantic City and D.C., Dmitriy is our favorite person to grab an Italian dinner with - next year, in Italy!
Kate Kishfy
Wedding Party
Kate and Briel met Freshman year at Brown University, and the housing lottery schemed to force them into becoming roommates and lifelong friends. Highlights of Kate and Briel's friendship include running (walking?) the Disney Princess half-marathon with Becca and lighting things on fire at her house in Rhode Island. Kate got married on a pirate ship, so we weren't entirely sure she'd sign on to participate in a landlocked wedding ceremony, but she said as long as it was water adjacent she'd sign on.
Sanjay Doraiswamy
Wedding Party
Sanjay and Barry met in Karate Club Barry's freshman year at the University of Rochester and quickly hit it off. They continued to train together in NYC with adventures in Iceland, Montreal, and Mexico City in between. Sanjay can always be counted on to be the life of the party - and his amazing wedding in April was no exception!
Lyndsie Levine
Wedding Party
Lyndsie and Briel worked together but also kind of didn't work together but a deep friendship was born regardless of the technicalities. Lyndsie is Briel's content guru (check out the Bechdel Cast immediately), voice of reason, and fellow obsessive dog parent. Their adventures have led them from Citifield to Storm King to Portugal to Vietnam - and now Battery Park. She knows us well enough to not have been at all surprised when we called to tell her we were engaged!
Nicholas Palmaro
Wedding Party
Barry and Nick's eyes met across St. Marks Avenue when they realized they were both attending Bronx Science and lived across the street from one another. A deep friendship was born on the long commute on the 4 train and Barry was honored to be in Nick's wedding just a few years ago.
Josh Matloff
Wedding Party
Josh is a very smart man who played the long game to get into this wedding party by marrying Briel's sister Becca and having two adorable kiddos. Josh is a brother to Briel and an Uncle to Rocket, and he's even managed to get over the fact that we live a short walk away from Yankee Stadium. Barry also owes Josh his current profession, as his obsession with online chess was introduced and encouraged by his soon-to-be Brother-in-Law.
Alyssa Polinsky
Wedding Party
Alyssa is Barry's sister-in-law and the resident astrologer of the family. She gave Barry (a Capricorn) the green light on Briel (a Libra), and pointed that Barry's mom and Briel have the same rising sign, as do Alyssa and Barry. Coincidences? We think not!
Hannah Miller
Wedding Party
Hannah is Briel's go-to person for....everything. Trip planning, wedding planning, life contemplating, you name it and Hannah has carefully explored every avenue and is always willing to impart her wisdom. Hannah and Briel became close friends on a Birthright Israel trip and never looked back. She and her husband Donni and their two kids Ezra and Cora are four of Briel and Barry's favorite people to hang out and eat deeply fried potatoes with.
Michael Perlman
Wedding Party
Mikey was the production manager on the first show that Briel worked on in college - and the rest is history. He's inspired not one but two extraordinary trips to Disney World, his home in the Berkshires is a breath of fresh air, and he is the only one who can lure her to Marie's Crisis on a school night. He gifted Briel and Barry a dance lesson to prepare them for the big day - which is symbolic of his gift for knowing exactly what people need.
Tiffany Reed
Wedding Party
Briel and Tiffany worked together at CCS, but it wasn't until the COVID pandemic that they struck up a close friendship - a pandemic silver lining if you will. They spoke almost every day (still do), and Tiffany told Briel not to cancel on "Barry from Hinge" just because there was an insurrection going on that day. So we really have her to thank for everything. Tiffany and her daughter Maggie are not only two of our favorite people - they're also and more importantly Rocket's favorite people!
Erica Rotstein
Wedding Party
Erica and Briel have been best friends since their sophomore year of college. Erica's apartment was Briel's home away from home when she didn't live in NYC, so there's a through line in there somewhere re: Briel being lost and likely homeless without her. From karaoke in a trailer in Nashville to lobster bakes in Fire Island, Briel's life without Erica would be confusing at best. Erica and her husband Ian and their dog Levon were the first friends of Briel's that Barry met, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.
Ari Matloff
Flower Boy
Our very favorite three year old who is ready to throw a few petals around and get wild!
Elliot Matloff
Flower Baby
Our favorite almost one-year old! His mom is in charge of securing the wagon, Elliot is in charge of looking adorable in it. And not eating the flower petals.
Mason Polinsky
Ring Bearer
Mason is our favorite 7-year old. We're asking him to treat our rings like they're a prize Pokemon card and think that will do the trick.