Wedding Party
Sam Johnson
Maid of Honor
Cat and Sam met at a neighborhood park when they were 4 years old. After they finished playing, they began walking home with their mothers when they realized, they were following each other! Turns out the lived on the same street and the rest is history.
Jen Aranyi
Bridesmaid
Jen and Cat have been friends since the 7th grade. Since then, there have been many car rides singing their favorite songs, mischievous nights, and supportive phone calls. We’ve come a long way as Jen now has the cutest little family with her husband, Bryan, and daughter, Callie.
Lizzy Wunsch
Bridesmaid
Growing up, Lizzy and Cat could be found on the phone (a landline!) talking for hours about everything and nothing or playing Super Mario Sunshine. They continue to bond over the ups and downs of life and their shared love for My Chemical Romance.
Britnie Goldberg
Bridesmaid
Cat knew Britnie's husband, Ben, from many years ago in the rave scene. They reconnected when he wanted to gift Britnie a massage for their anniversary. Ben declared that Cat and Britnie should be friends due to their overlapping interests and he was right! Britnie and Cat became fast friends.
Justin William Bonny
Groomsman
Justin and Isaac met in 2005: first walking through the engineering buildings at UMD (Justin is the reason Isaac first studied Fire Protection Engineering; that turned out okay) and later enjoying evening festivities at his place in Courtyards. It was here, this first night, that Isaac blanked Jackie in 6 straight shots on the pong table, never again to come close to such a performance. Jackie and Justin are now married with 3 kids (some of Isaac's favorite people), Justin and Isaac have since co-authored a paper in Fire and Materials, 'Measuring human perceptions of developing room fires...', and Isaac is happy that they are now family and regularly share good moments in life together.
Madeleine Helen Bonny
Best Maddie
Maddie is Isaac's oldest niece and most favorite Maddie. Born in Charleston, SC, she has since lived in San Bernardino, CA, and Baltimore, MD. Isaac is happy to have visited and watched her grow up throughout - she is fun, emotionally intelligent, an excellent big sister, and a wonderful niece. Maddie can swim and once spent *ages* over lunch talking about her fish-based-science project (ask her about it!). Maddie does not know how to fly a plane or juggle watermelons. Yet.
Joseph David Hwang
Groomsman
Joe is Isaac's oldest friend. Why he has tolerated Isaac for nearly 3 decades is unclear. They both moved to Long Island in late elementary school, shared the same excellent 5th grade teacher, and each year would cut down the park fence between their two homes to make it a 2-3 minute walk. Many hours were spent at Joe's place playing super smash bros or watching DBZ until there was just enough time to run home for dinner. After all our hope and promise in high school earning $6/hr working at the movies, Isaac is now technically a Dr. (who can't actually help sick people) and Joe has sadly reduced his ambitions to simply working as the COO of a hospital system just to pay the bills. How far we've fallen.. Isaac is happy when their paths still cross so they can catch up.
Byron Zachary Rom-Jensen
Groomsman
Byron and Isaac lived above one another in Freshman year (Wicomico!) and he inexplicably chose to share an apartment for parts of the next 3 years despite all of Isaac's failings. He is the reason that Isaac went to Denmark and, thus, he is responsible for many of the people, things, and places that Isaac is happy to have in his life. As per the normal stereotype for someone from New Jersey, Byron moved on from UMD to earn a PhD in History and he now lives, works, and teaches in Denmark, Finland, and/or Norway (though not Sweden, goodness no) where Isaac has been fortunate to spend time with his family and enjoy a few late night summer sunsets.
Raul Mercado Salazar
Groomsman
Raul and Isaac met in Denmark almost two decades ago - first with a Danish buddy then properly, leading a cookout for the rest of the international students living in shipping containers. After DTU, Raul returned to Germany to start a full life and earn another grad degree (Isaac's original consideration before wasting away for yet another fire degree in Maryland). Half of Isaac's music, when ipods were still a thing, and the best Swedish paella he's ever had can be attributed to Raul. On Isaac's last morning in Denmark - just days after Raul and everyone else in the DTU group went ice skating, the one time Isaac wasn't around to join.. - Raul would only say, 'see you later' and so Isaac has enjoyed visiting to catch up in Hamburg or Hungary most every year since.
Kenneth Knight Sharp
Best Man
Ken accepted the relatively run down house that we shared through grad school and also supported other questionable side projects like the construction and only use of our backyard oil-barrel-fire-heated hot tub. He once honked at Isaac on the side of the road while driving down the Atlantic City Expressway. Ken is simultaneously a great listener and person to share conversations with (on DNA sequencing, coding, or just life), someone who would distill his own extremely pure gin just for the challenge/fun of it, and willing to 100% commit to a slap bet earned after a comeback minigolf win in a Minneapolis warehouse.
Matthew James South
Groomsman
Matt and Isaac also met while living at the teen coffee house. The roof was fixed by then and we didn't need pots/pans in his room when it rained. Then, as now, Matt was an excellent preparer of chicken nuggets and he remains (as Amanda put it after first meeting him) "a nice fellow." Though one of the youngest members of the TCH, Matt is a calm, generous, and thoughtful person who naturally started a family first. We're happy that he remains close so that we can continue to see them grow and so we can spend time together at ball games, concerts, and, most importantly, Danish Christmas lunches. Matt may or may not still have a fondness for colorful ball pits.
Jeffrey Tom
Groomsman
Jeff and Isaac met in middle school, when mp3 cds and mini disc players were still a thing. Isaac can trace many good memories back to Jeff's red Pontiac - from MNF, to the first time hearing some albums that are still in the car today, to packing in a few too many people for a coupe on a trip to Flushing. Jeff is a thoughtful listener, a welcoming person, and quite a good cook. From bbqs to tailgates to bike rides, spending time with Jeff is a big reason why returning to New York still feels like home.
The Groomsmen
Diggers of ditches, haulers of sand, layers of brick
Thank you to my groomsmen who helped to build the Labyrinth where we will have our ceremony.