Jessica & Barry
Wedding Party
Kirrilee Berger
Maid of Honor
Kirri met the bride when they were both competing for Miss New Jersey-- Jessica as a Miss, and Kirri as a Teen. They both sang Don't Rain on My Parade and both ended up winning awards for talent and interview. Kirri has since moved to LA, where she has been seen on everything from The Handmaid's Tale to shows on Netflix, CBS All Access, and Disney. She has powered through everything, even filming a full day on a broken foot! Though they live on opposite sides of the country, Kirri and Jess haven't let that stop their trips to Disney (both Florida and California), especially for their love of Dole Whip!
Steven Velez
Best Man
Steven and Barry met their sophomore year at Rutgers, where first in their fraternity, and then after pledging finished, they realized they actually lived in the same dorm! They went from fraternity brothers to roommates to best friends. Since finishing college, Steven has managed both bartending at some of the highest ranked scenes in Manhattan while working in software sales, and training to be a professional wrestler. All of his hard work has paid off and with a recent move to Georgia, he can be seen wrestling for AEW (All-Elite Wrestling) under the ring name Michael Martinez. No matter where they are in life, Steven always picks up the phone when Barry calls and he couldn't imagine his life without him in it!
Melissa Graves
Matron of Honor
Fourteen and a half months: depending on how you're looking at it, this could be a long or a short time. For planning a wedding, it sounds long, but it's really not. When it comes to how long you're in this world before your baby sister is born, it's not that long at all. Mel and I have always been close, though claiming we've always agreed would be a Gumby-level stretch. We both grew up loving theater, traveling near-annually to Disney World once I graduated high school. We've always loved Harry Potter, even on the days where my Slytherin side beat out my Hufflepuff and it fell on Mel to drag me back into line. Her love of theater has led her to it professionally, working on Broadway shows such as Be More Chill, King Kong, Shrek the Musical, Dear Evan Hansen, The Little Prince, Hadestown, Moulin Rouge, and many more.
Alexander Preziosi
Groomsman
Alexander is single-handedly responsible for Barry's love of Star Wars. After one of his many soccer related injuries, eleven-year-old Barry was relegated to a full leg cast and moving around his middle school in a wheelchair. Sitting alone at lunch, Alexander came and sat down next to him and almost immediately a bond was forged. The next days and years were consumed with debates & video games about Star Wars, DC, and Marvel comics. (Can't forget the countless hours playing Halo where they eventually ended up playing against the game's actual developers). In high school they simultaneously discovered their love of acting and had yet another love bonding them together; a craft which Alexander is still studying to this day!
Jennie Davies
Bridesmaid
Jessica and Jennie's friendship started as many do: with an incredible amount of drama over a boy whom only one of them knew existed. Since then, they've survived living together, fostering a litter of days-old kittens, both the swine flu and e. coli, adult sleepovers, and a whole lot more. When the bridal party does Taylor Swift themed activities, Jennie will always be assigned the Reputation Era because 98% of her wardrobe is black. (Or maybe she'll get Lover, just to see her bedazzled in pink for a change. Those of you who know Jennie understand how funny this is.) Jess wouldn't have survived college without her, from that very first misunderstanding to the morning they walked out of graduation as the security woman screamed.
CJ Feinroth
Groomsman
Coming up with fake names for each other to give to random people whilst out & about, and then refusing to call each other anything different for the following decade accurately describes the tone of Barry & CJ's friendship. CJ was Barry's first high school friend where they met on Hackensack High School's soccer field the summer before finding out they also had homeroom together! (Which went on to happen again their senior year). CJ has been a rock for Barry to the point where even after college, they spent most of their weekends still trying to stay out of trouble and reveling in their brotherhood-- they even lived together for a few months. Now all these years later, they're Groomsmen in each other's weddings proving that Cody Jacobs & Dean Chambers will keep going strong for years to come.
Disha Osika-Dass
Bridesmaid
Disha came into Jessica's life in middle school, and Jess hasn't been able to shake her since! They bonded over a love of musical theater, eventually performing together in middle school, high school, and then the county's professional theater, bergenPAC. Disha even got dragged into Jess' love of pageants, competing with her for two years at Miss New Jersey (and winning the overall educational achievement award each year). They've shared much over the years, from Mamma Mia to the gowns Jess had that somehow also fit Disha! Nowadays, you can find Disha out in Seattle with her spouse Megan and their rescue dog Maggie.
Langdon Braden
Groomsman
When Barry moved to Philadelphia, he left all of his friends and family behind. Before long, he met Langdon, and they quickly went from friendly coworkers to hysterical friends. Langdon was there throughout Jessica and Barry’s relationship, even popping by for a few drinks on Valentine’s Day! When it came time for Barry to move back to New Jersey and moving took FAR longer than expected, Langdon was the one who showed up at 7am, happily volunteering to haul furniture, boxes, and garbage for hours on end.
Talia Heldenmuth
Bridesmaid
Talia and Jess have always been sisters, even before they pledged the same sorority. They learned of their shared love for Harry Potter during their Stagecraft class, where they later learned of their love for lighting and stage management. After graduation, Talia did a fair bit of traveling, but made it back in time for Jess' final year competing at Miss New Jersey. After that, they tackled a road trip to see Miss New York up in Buffalo before visiting Jennie on a show in Vermont. You know that someone is your best friend when they can tolerate not just living with you, but spending 6 hours straight in a car with you and your music!
David Aveta
Groomsman
As one half of the reason of reason this wedding is happening, Barry owes David a debt of gratitude for not only giving him the opportunity to finally realize how madly in love he is with Jessica, but another because he seamlessly slotted into Barry's life as the reassuring presence he never realized he needed. Making *new* friends as an adult is hard, but David and Barry quickly bonded over Pokémon and now message each other about it daily! A good man, great friend, and even better father, Barry is lucky to count David amongst his closest confidants.
Magen Aveta
Bridesmaid
A year younger than her cousin Jessica, Magen was the catalyst for this entire wedding when she had one of her own! It began when Magen asked Melissa and Jessica to be co-MOHs and Jessica immediately burst into tears, and it did not end until the very day she was married. It was there that Barry and Jessica truly reconnected— there’s even a video of them dancing, where Magen can be heard saying “right, and they’re not in love” as her mother laughs along with us. Magen is a vivacious spirit who isn’t afraid to kick some tush for her loved ones, including her husband David and their young daughter, who have both been such incredible blessings in everyone's lives. The entire Milne clan would be lost without David and the littlest princess. "Believe me when I say fear her when she looks into the fire and smiles."
Vincent Lione-Napoli
Groomsman
The oldest friend Barry can remember, there was a period of their lives from ages 8-18 where they were inseparable. It didn't hurt that they lived 3.5 blocks away from each other either. Countless hours were spent in basements playing video games, watching movies, and even perfecting their British accents. (Update: neither of their accents have gotten better). Vinnie was the closest thing Barry had to a brother growing up and all those years ago, a teenage Barry told Vinnie "when I get married, I want you up there with me." With a keen business sense, Vinnie has forged a successful career in the Manhattan marketing scene, sharing his expertise with a wide variety of food companies, and Barry is excited for that teenage promise to come true.
Sarah Torpie
Bridesmaid
When two of your three broken arms occur at one friend’s house, perhaps it’s a sign that you spend far too much time together! Throughout the years, that did not change, though Jessica learned to control her more breakable impulses. Sarah is now a specialist working with big cats in zoos, having worked everywhere from South Dakota to Ohio! They’ve gone through everything from attempting to invent their own language (an instant failure) to breaking into Sarah’s window because they locked themselves out… again.
Chris Vasquez
Groomsman
You can tell from Barry's core friend group that Maywood, New Jersey is a small town. Chris and Barry went to school together from first grade through senior year, and yet nobody can deny the fact that it wasn't until somehow /after/ college that their friendship blossomed. They ended up reconnecting at the gym and (with the patience of a saint) Chris chose to be one of Barry's closest friends. From that point on, it's hard to remember a weekend of antics without him. Chris has always been there, occasionally correcting Barry's retelling of a story, (which Jess loves) and it fills Barry with pride that he'll also be there on the most important day of his life.