Cheri & Kevin
Wedding Party
Brandy Roberts
Matron of Honor
Best friends for two and a half decades, Brandy and the bride went through the awkwardness of middle and high school, celebrity crushes, real love, real grief, and all the ups and downs life has to offer together. The bride was honored to stand beside Brandy on her special day, and there's no one she'd rather have standing beside her now!
Samuel Burke
Best Man
Sam has been the groom's brother for, I don't know, like 30 some years now or something, I lost count. We shared a room growing up, so you can imagine all the nerdiness this poor guy has been through, He-Man and the Ninja Turtles and the Star Trek and the depressive Weezer-on-repeat years. Somehow despite having to grow up with a giant weirdo for a brother, he turned out to be a talented, caring, hilarious person who might just take over the world one day. If he wants. He probably doesn't.
Virginia Fillers & Charlotte
Bridesmaid & Flower Girl
Bonding over a love of nerdy things and good alcohol, this friendship was cemented over a week together building a community playground. When you spend 80 hours repeatedly painting the same fish and eating nothing but takeout while alternating breakdowns in the crying room, you make a friend for life. Virginia's daughter Charlotte is serving as the flower girl, fulfilling this sassy little girl's lifelong personal dream.
Mark French
Groomsman
Once upon a time, in a faraway land called "Iowa", Kevin played Metallica's "To Live is to Die" to ease the transition to his first year of college. And the guy in the next dorm room, Mark, popped over and expressed interest in that awesome song played at an appropriate volume. And so began a decades-long friendship anchored in video games, jokes about violence committed against each other and, well, all of humanity (for legal reasons they are jokes and not "threats"), and often genuine enjoyment of each others' company or something, I don't know. If you don't recognize Mark as the second-tallest member of the wedding party, you'll recognize him as the loudest.
Joanna Law
Bridesmaid
Friends with the bride since middle school, Jo has logged the most hours watching trashy cable wedding shows with the bride, so she was clearly the most qualified to serve as a bridesmaid.
Ashley Dodge
Groomsmaid
What's a woman doing on the groom's side!? Gasp! Well, friends, Ashley is one of many female friends Kevin has had over the years who has meant a great deal to him, and she represents not just herself but all those female friends. Representing herself, though, she has meant a great deal in the past decade in particular, as the two met when Kevin was finishing his degree at Washington University in St. Louis and bonded over growing up in small towns, transferring from community colleges, shared interests in geeky things, and more. But most importantly, Ashley was there the most when Kevin went through his darkest days, and her unwavering support, even if it was from hundreds of miles away, will always be deeply meaningful.
Jennifer Daniels
Bridesmaid
Jennifer and the bride first met while working at Food City as teenagers. Over the years, they've shared a love of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, kitty cats, and awkward karaoke, as well as surviving trips to the mountains, the beach, and the Big Apple together.
James Maskew
Groomsman
Kevin met James many years ago when the latter moved to Kevin's tiny hometown of Fall Branch, and eventually the two hit it off. For a few years as teenagers, the two were something of a plague upon the basketball courts in Fall Branch, keeping hordes of other teenagers on some basketball court pretty much every day it wasn't raining - and a few days it was. Of course, the friendship continued long after Kevin's family moved away, and the two have supported each other through weddings, divorces, James raising a son, and much more. Oh, and James is the short one. We like to tease him about that in our family of giants. He'll be the one to help Cheri fit in.
Carissa Simpson
Bridesmaid
When the bride's niece Carissa was little, the bride would dream of one day getting married and having Carissa as her flower girl, alongside the bride's nephew Dalton as ring bearer. God had other plans in mind, so that dream was delayed a little. But this adorable little girl has grown into an intelligent, beautiful, and kind woman who will still be by the bride's side on her dream day -- and still have her favorite cousin Dalton as her escort.
Dalton Wise & Peyton
Groomsman & Ring Bearer
While he's the youngest of the groom's attendants, Dalton's been active in that role the longest, helping Kevin hide the engagement ring from Cheri the day it arrived from the jeweler. He may be the bride's nephew originally, but he and Kevin have bonded over superheroes, video games, movies, and more, including wry jokes about dead Avengers. Peyton is Dalton's younger brother and is an energetic bundle of inquisitiveness, DINOSAUR! knowledge, and sass. He is thrilled to join his bubby in the wedding party as ring bearer and frequently recites his exact duties as ring bearer to make sure we know exactly what his job is.
Jeremiah Vecchioni
Junior Bridesman
Serving as the junior bridesman, the bride's nephew Jeremiah is a precocious young man, who has kept the bride on her toes since his birth -- always questioning, always wanting to learn and understand more about life in general and how the world works, and also loving unconditionally.
Xander Williams
Junior Groomsman
Also known as "the Ginger," Xander is the son of Kevin's sister and represents the next generation of his family in the wedding party. Like many of the other members of the groom's party, he has bonded with him while playing video games, Halo in particular, and they have spent many hours shouting at each other over the best strategy for taking down the enemies of humanity. Aside from his interests in video games, art, and Lego, Xander is an excellent young man who takes the time to notice the emotions of others and may in fact already be a superhero, but we wouldn't give away his secret or anything.