Christina & Bruno
Wedding Party
Maria Genovese
Maid of Honor
The Posh Spice to my Sporty Spice (This probably doesn't seem accurate, but when we were kids she claimed Posh so I had to be Sporty) My sister, friend, and roommate for a brief 1.5 months during one fateful, hot Chicago summer in 2012, I owe several of my favorite memories (and epic sisterly arguments) to Maria's passion, determination (*cough* stubbornness *cough*) and wit. After spending several summers together in GLP eating ice cream at the Casino, discussing our woes and triumphs on Main Beach, and splitting our first beer while the rest of our family was sleeping, I'm so excited to have this Mystic wedding with Maria by my side. Sisters do this.
Arthur Werneck
Best Man
The Ness to my Fox McCloud. One of my most cherished memories is waking up pre dawn in what must have been 2nd grade before Diloreto to my big bro putting the finishing touches on a 99-0 win in All-Star Baseball '99. I only came to realize years later but in a big way it was Arthur who unwittingly taught me many of my earliest and most important lessons around compassion, dedication (even if only to beating arcane video game records), and embracing self-weirdness. N64 jokes aside, I'm so pumped to have Arthur as my best man; decision made even easier by the fact that he's casually an epic speechmaker (no pressure!)
Julia Werneck
Bridesmaid
I met Julia in the halls of SHS -- I was the cool senior dating her older brother (read: she was cooler than me already and we only talked in the hallway ~3 times). This summer I was lucky enough to spend some time in Brazil with my SIL-to-be and we bonded over "1" (3?) pre-museum Caipirinhas and a mutual love of Psychology. Can't wait to call this creative, kind, and beautiful lady family!
Jack Genovese
Groomsman
I believe I met Jack on the mean basketball courts of 242 West Mountain in 2008 where I laid down uncommonly little perimeter shooting knowledge on my-then-prepubescent-now-full-grown-soon-to-be brother-in-law. Though our streetball days are in the archives, it's been awesome watching Jack grow up into a great dude. Please note we will not be serving any of Jack's specialty recipes at the wedding but they are available upon request at the Casino at GLP: https://www.instagram.com/p/BCzUAOMnPns/?taken-by=thisisasocialmediaprofile https://www.instagram.com/p/9X2lQBHPuT/?taken-by=thisisasocialmediaprofile https://www.instagram.com/p/gslUmXnPhf/?taken-by=thisisasocialmediaprofile
Katie Adams
Bridesmaid
When Katie's Tory Burch school bag caught my eye in Logic class sophomore year at Notre Dame, I knew she would be a big part of my life. After exchanging a series of Facebook posts about getting lunch outside of class for a year to no avail, we became close when we studied abroad in London our junior year. Post-college, we shared a 1 bedroom NYC apartment because 2 bedrooms would have been too spacious. Katie is currently a brilliant student at Northwestern Law, and I look back fondly on humble Logic class beginnings.
Taylor Benjamin
Groomsman
Taylor is the living definition of positivity. From basement sleepovers (8th grade - adulthood), weeklong roadtrips (e.g. Manchester, Chicago, Salem), and infinite lame jokes (please demand a smattering at the wedding) in between, Taylor practically tutored me in how to have a good time. Most of my zingers are still straight out of the Benjamin playbook and will continue to be so for the forseeable future. We're serving Lotsa Gin at the wedding TB.
Chelsea Dunlevy
Bridesmaid
After a rough start at a 2nd grade birthday party, Chelsea and I connected again junior year of high school. Chelsea's humor, kindness and compassion made it impossible to hold on to that 2nd grade grudge any longer. We became BFFs over lunches in the SHS library (we were very cool), questionable high school parties and countless sleepovers at her house (thanks Mr. Campbell for all the pizza and Dunkin'), and when I moved to NYC after college Chelsea let me sleep in her actual bed for 2 WEEKS because that's the kind of friend she is. Note: Our friendship was also strong enough to withstand Chelsea beating me for Best Eyes in high school (though I am still recovering).
Todd Faulkenberry
Groomsman
Todd and I once drove from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Denver, Colorado by way of St. Louis through blizzardy conditions blasting The Promise Ring's 'Nothing Feels Good' and other assorted second wave (Midwest) emo albums in two days. We'd graduated from college six months earlier and spent a preponderance of our four years prior time hanging out and consuming a not-insignificant percentage of the Pioneer Valley's PBR inventory. Please reference below link for additional fun facts on Todd, including his early ambitions to join the esquire ranks and his candor around his desire to acquire a Skee-ball court. http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=4678
Jessica Fay
Bridesmaid
When I met Jess week 1 of freshman year at ND, she was doing the dougie in the halls of our dorm building, PW. At least that's how I remember it. Jess is cheerful, fun-loving and thoughtful, and life as her freshman and sophomore year roommate was beautiful (even though she's still mad at me for not letting her listen to country music). After you meet Jess you'll probably want to become her friend due to her exotic Boston accent and unending supply of random anecdotes, but unfortunately her social calendar is likely booked through 2019.
Matthew Lerner
Groomsman
Matt Lerner once categorically arranged several dozen iPhone applications on his home screen by color--from plum purple to canary yellow--in what felt like under ten minutes. Matt has been one of my closest friends since freshmen year at Amherst and I can always count on him to trade nutty ideas, proffer sage advice, casually deliver a few half-baked bromides, and just generally be the chillest guy in any given room.
Sarah Griffin
Bridesmaid
I met Sarah through our mutual BFF Chelsea (see above) and came on strong by asking her to drive me to Chelsea's bridal shower in CT, then asking her to drive me to Chelsea's bachelorette party in DC, and then rounding out these requests by asking her to drive me to Chelsea's wedding in RI. Sarah obliged, and after countless candid conversations, bouts of laughter, and 472 replays of the Nigerian classic "Who You Epp", I knew Sarah's warmth, humor, and strength were the real deal. I admit that my parents were right (AGAIN) when they said you CAN make lifelong friends after college.
John Nathanson
Groomsman
There are two things folks generally think of when they first meet John: 1) This human being cannot possibly be this nice; am I on Candid Camera?, and 2) What a formidably strong jawline As I found out, both are entirely genuine and it's been a boon to the Werneck-Genovese family to have the Nathanson-Blancos along for our NY ride and hopefully out in CA soon! See you guys in Siberia.
Christie Uipi
Bridesmaid
Christie and I became friends in 8th grade art class, making her my oldest BFF. Growing up, we were together 90% of the time, and people often confused us since we were both tall and blonde. We've been together for the good times (Borders Happy Hour) and the bad (breakdancing Shakespeare auditions), and she has been a true friend every step of the way. After raising 2 sets of fish together (4 fish total! RIP), I trust Christie deeply and feel lucky to have such a loyal, intelligent and emotionally present friend (read: professional Psychotherapist ) in my life.
Grant Zyskowski
Groomsman
As luck would have it, Henry James Memorial School sorts its homeroom assignments by last name. 10+ years later of best friendship, numerous jam sessions (of widely varying quality), and a few thousand beers / deep chats Grant still keeps it as real as he did back in Forlivio's. Can't wait for the west coast move. We'll see you in Dogtown.