Wedding Party
Tasia Mamiya
Officiant
Tasia is what you might get when you mix Jason's chaos with Cass' weirdness. While she's known Jason twice as long, she claims Cass as the better friend. A wild child that dances to the music in her own head, there's never a dull moment when Tasia is around. Which is why she's the perfect person to help the two say "I do!".
Kristina Ota
Bridesmaid
Kristina has known Cass ever since she was born! No, she is not her sister, but everyone who isn't family thinks they are because they have the same build, height and length! Kristina is Cass's eldest cousin and has been very close to her since they were children. It's not fair to say she is Cass's favorite cousin because she loves all her cousins, but it is safe to say Kristina is the closest. They would always go on Disney adventures together along with Kristina's boyfriend and Cass used to visit Kristina at her old job Starbucks where she would get free coffee (but Cass says wasn't there for the coffee of course š). Now, since no more free coffee or Disney pass, their hang outs became more mundane as they go grocery shopping together, talking about new recipes and shows they watch. Kristina loves to call Cass at random times to talk, and she is also understanding when Cass tells her she hates calling people. Kristina still does it anyways but at least she does it with good intentions! Cass enjoys their talks and is glad that she also has someone to vent to during the wedding process as Kristina also knows where Cass is coming from since she is newly engaged herself. It's great having a close relative because that also means that Cass has someone to hang out with at family functions. Thankfully this "family function", they will both be present and celebrating together!
Suzanna Kwak
Bridesmaid
Suzanna and Cass met in high school in none other than marching band! Yes, that one time at band camp... they hit it off through trauma bonding in hot summers days, having to listen to inappropriate jokes made by the brass section and getting horrific tan lines. They love F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and would always joke around that Suzanna is the Phoebe of their friend group; slightly crazy but will always have your back. At the time, Suzanna wasn't very good at speaking English, since it is her second language, but that didn't stop she and Cass from hitting it off. When they met, Suzanna said that she felt so comfortable around Cass because she was so outgoing, blunt and never cared about the language barrier that Suzanna thought they had. But in Cass' memory of Suzanna, she was just as loud as Cass was and so outgoing that if someone did make fun of her, she would retaliate right back! Although from different backgrounds, Suzie never let it bother her and welcomed Cass into her and her family's lives. One of Cass' favorite memories of Suzanna was during the holiday season, when her family would go door to door Christmas caroling. They would come to Cass' house and always brought a cake while singing! Cass used to go to Suzanna's church with their friends and have thanksgiving dinner with her, her family and church members, too. They never have a dull moment and Cass can't wait for Suzanna to be sharing her special day!
Stefani Hirata
Bridesmaid
Stefani is Cass' oldest friend. They have been friends for so long, they both have no idea how they actually became friends. But they can both agree that it was because they were on the same basketball team, Blue Magix. They never went to the same schools nor lived in the same cities, yet always found a way to stay in touch throughout the years (thank god for facebook and texting). From asian league basketball, to rivalry schools and eventually landing in the same college club, Nikkei Student Union, Cass and Stef always found a way to be together. Not to mention all the Disney adventures, music festival, college parties, or just lounging around and drinking boba. If you were ever near them, you would always here the two bickering like an old married couple (or laughing like hyenas). Even Cass' grandpa called them "the odd couple"! Cass' favorite thing to do was go on car rides, singing at the top of their lungs and pretending to be djs while their friends sat in the back seat, yelling for them to stop. Cass hopes they bring the same level of energy to the wedding, but they may have used it all up in our pasts! Stef is Cassidy's hype woman. And Cass can't wait for Stef to be right by her side, bringing the energy on the big day!
Mariella Batacan
Bridesmaid
Mariella is the "Monica" of the high school friend group. Cass met her in the early years of high school through marching band (cue the American Pie jokes). Mari is the "neat freak" of the friend group. Cass being the "Rachel" of our group, Mari never liked going into Cass' room because it was always so messy and she would get the urge to clean everything up. Cass doesn't know how she ended up being friends with Mari because they have such different personalities. Although Mari fits the "loud" characteristic, she is also very considerate and soft spoken, (unlike Suzanna and Cass who speak their minds and are very blunt). Although their personalities never matched, it never stopped the two from having a great time together. From singing Taylor Swift, going to fashion district, or even getting lost in DTLA (which happened often), theh always had the best time together! Maro is a cheerleader in Cassidy's life and always tries to bring her spirits up. Cass can't wait to share this experience with Mari!
Kevin Oyama
Groomsman
"CPA. Golfer. Former-president." Jason and Kevin met back at USC when jason was president of the Japanese American club ("Nikkei") and kevin was still just an "aspiring" member. In typical kevin fashion, kevin just showed up one day and made it his new "thing", eventually becoming president himself 2 years later. And this happened several times over: with Nikkei, NCI interning at JACCC, LTRoots (a young adults org than Jason was a part of), and golfing - all some of Kevins favorite things, all (most likely) because Jason did it first! Jokes aside, all these things helped these two become great friends. And there's no one else that will regularly wake up for 6am rounds before going to work.
Jon Kawaguchi
Groomsman
āGambler. Wolf and Crane regular. Panko Princeā Jason honestly can't remember the first time he met Jon. Jon has always just been around. But if he had to guess, it was probably one of the times he went to visit Jason and Kevin at USC after graduating. You might ask why Jon, a Pomona student at the time, was hanging out at USC so often - but that's something we'll never know. Even if he didnt go there, he's still a main part of the USC Nikkei crew, going to football games and music festivals. But thatās not all, Jon also knew Cass and Jason separately before the two started dating. Itās hard to pinpoint the exact time they met, since all Cass remembers is seeing Jon at every hangout at CSUF and pouring very big shots. Heās also one of the reasons why Cass hears "do better" when she's losing at games.
Jason Adachi
Groomsman
ā Father. Dancer. Stitch totem-holder." This could get confusing fast, so we'll refer to this jason as "Papadachi" - his newly upgraded name as a first time dad to Jaxson. Aptly named, as he's probably the most responsible figure in our group of friends. Jason met Papadachi back when they were students at USC and a part of Nikkei. Going to meetings and attending late night practice forthe annual culture show as students turned into texting about USC football and going to music festivals as adults.