Sarah & Damiano
Wedding Party
Tiana Ferrante
Maid of Honor
Tiana was my very first friend at Elizabethtown College and we have become inseparable! From trips to Lancaster for farmers' markets, swing and blues dancing, and international food, trying to rid my apartment of squirrels, our mutual love of Italy and puns, choreographing Bollywood dances in the dorm hallways, and driving overnight with our fellow Stamps Scholars from Pennsylvania to Atlanta for a conference, she has been at my side as my friend and role model.
Alessio Lanfaloni
Best Man
Alessio and I met randomly during a high school summer camp for Youth for a United World. It all started from a random fooseball game and soon, although completely opposite in so many things, we became inseparable due to our common feel for life, strive to make the world a better place starting from little things, constant good humor and willingness to not take ourselves, each other, nor the rest of the world too seriously. After all of these years, he is still persistently and obnoxiously late, I still make fun of his struggles with Italian grammar and so he does with my antique approach to life, technology, social networks and travels. When I asked him to be my best man, he escaped in Poland to study abroad. He is still there, but he thinks he will make it for the wedding...
Theresa Starceski
Bridesmaid
Theresa and I shared many classes together in high school, but our love for dancing gave us a chance to get even closer after college! The strength inside of this girl, the fire that drives her, and her endless ability to love and give make me strive all the time to be more like her. I'm so blessed to have this dear one next to me on my wedding day. Theresa is fearless, empowering, and just as beautiful inside as she is outside! She always keeps me calm and composed throughout life and especially during this season of wedding planning!
Alessio Giovagnoli
Groomsman
I met Alessio in the same setting and time as the other Alessio: at a fundraiser. We soon became good friends and shared many summer camps, holidays, moments of reflection and so much more. The more I knew him, the more we enjoyed sharing each other’s stories, plans and free moments with common groups of friends; he is a very kind and open person, friendly and amenable to make new friends. He is possibly one of the most important Italian experts on rap music, especially American rap. He is two meters tall (which in inches should be 6’ 6’’, but in any case you will see him from afar) and used to play basketball semi-professionally. You are wondering, "What is this guy doing in Italy; he belongs to the US!" That’s something we’ve also being saying for some time...
Nancy Nie-Fuller
Bridesmaid
I first heard of Nancy when Matt (my brother) texted me late in the night and said "So I'm dating this girl!" When I met her, I knew I was looking at my future sister-in-law. Sure enough, Matt and Nancy married in October 2018 at a beautiful wedding in New York City. Nancy has been a source of laughter for me and a constant reminder to have fun and to try new things, while also being a role model for me of a hard-working woman with high goals and a go-getter attitude. I couldn't imagine a more perfect sister-in-law.
Matt Fuller
Groomsman
His mother says of him that he is a different bird, his sister says of him that he is something else, right now his dad is still at work and I will ask him later what he thinks of his beloved first scion….Anyway, Matt and his wife Nancy have been adorably kind to me during my first visit in the US, hosting me and Sarah in New York and providing exceptional guidance through the city and hints about nice places to see and things to do in the big city. Truth to be said, I still have a long way to discover him as brother-in-law, but I can highly recommend his commitment to family, witty sense of humor and openness to different cultures and cuisines. Thus, if you happen to need to be taught how to use chopsticks, definitely look and him (and Nancy) and not me!
Julie Halterman
Bridesmaid
I met Julie at Teachers College, Columbia University when I moved to New York, and she quickly became the older sister I never had. Although we only spent a year in the same city, she helped to make that year one of the best of my life! We've shared stories over glasses of wine, early morning yoga classes, subway rides to the Lower West Side, and attempts to find a good place for dancing. I'm so glad that a group assignment turned into such a beautiful friendship.
Giacomo Lecci
Groomsman
“Jack”, Gieka, Woody and all of the others nicknames that we, other friends or he himself created, has been the center of my dear group of friends from high school. In a class where it wasn’t that easy to make friends, he and the others “Good Fellas”, our tight group of brotherly friends -yes, we went through that “we’re kind of gangsta” phase and felt that the name was fitting- were a family to me. Nowadays, even if we see each other not that often anymore, we are still a family and any time we gather, there’s still that magic that brings us back to our golden years and every time it seems like time has stopped for us.
Katie Deats
Bridesmaid
I met Katie in middle school at York Catholic, and our friendship grew even stronger during our year as lab partners in chemistry. She is the perfect balance to my "type A" personality and is maybe the only one who fully understands and shares my love for cats! We've celebrated proms, graduation, and birthdays together, cried together over breakups, shared life advice, and managed to stay in touch through the years and the distance.
Marco Ciagli
Groomsman
My very first friend, literally, Marco is in my memories since I have any memories at all! We met in pre-school and were inseparable, then we lost trace of each other for a bit and then, around middle school, his family magically moved to the neighborhood where I was and we were again always together. Marco is the kind of friend who is always there when it matters, whatever it takes, whether it is to give a ride when needed, celebrate graduation or visit at the hospital after an accident (I’ve had some, being very accident prone by nature). His services as close friend have also been very appreciated during our college years, when he worked part-time as bartender downtown in Perugia and I would regularly pay visit enjoying secret discounts and a regularly lavish treatment!
Brittany Lorgeree
Bridesmaid
I first met Brittany when we both participated in America's Distinguished Young Women program in high school, she as Massachusetts's representative and I as Pennsylvania's. We've only met in person four times, but our bond is inseparable. Her wisdom and her appreciation for all of life's beauty has been a constant source of sunshine for me, and her marriage to her husband Tim is truly an example for me and Damiano of how to love and honor each other.
David Cuppone
Groomsman
I was more or less two years and a half when my parents brought him home the first time and it seems that after some initial inspection of the freight, I asked quite astonished to my mom “So, who is this one?!”. But with some more time I managed to get acquainted with him and few years down the road we would happily destroy mom’s realm, the living room, playing any sport that we could create. Growing up curiously we “switched characters” and styles of personality, for as kids I was way the more pensive and serious and he the light and playful one. Now he is finishing is Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, aiming to work in the skiing industry in Austria and …becoming Austrian (or German) outright -his own words, I promise.
Poorvaja Prakash
Bridesmaid
Poorvaja was my very first friend at Columbia University, but I didn't know our friendship would become so deep in such a short time. Watching her survive such a long period of long-distance in her marriage while pursuing her academic goals was a constant source of inspiration as Damiano and I "dated" from across the ocean. She is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met but also one of the most humble. We've spent just as much time on other sides of the world as we did in the same city, but she constantly makes the effort to be present and to let our friendship continue to grow!
Federico Cuppone
Groomsman
Our older cousin from Gubbio, back when we were kids, was something like a guide for us in discovering the world and one of the very few close relatives in Umbria, whom we would visit regularly and happily. Visiting him and grandpa in Gubbio used to be and still is a regular pleasure for the lively company, infinite dishes of pasta and walks in the green and fresh mountain air. We also enjoy the honor of having his (and his wife’s Lucia, of course) lovely little daughter Alessia as flower girl and we couldn’t be more grateful for that!