Maid of Honor
Alana and Dana met the first day of our freshman music theory class at Case Western Reserve University in 2005. After freshman year, they began scheduling all of their music courses to take them together. Through many mornings sight-singing and harmonizing bass lines, long coffee dates, music history study sessions, and nights spent ordering Pacific East sushi to go and watching ridiculous YouTube videos, they became inseparable. Alana represents one of Dana's deepest, truest, and most enduring friendships. Whether catching up on episodes of Call the Midwife, playing Stardew Valley multiplayer and tending their virtual farm, or merely sending constant texts and gifs to each other, Alana and Dana manage to stay close and connected even while living in different states.
Bridesmaid
Dana actually met Rachel at a local school board meeting protesting cuts to the district's music program. But the two really connected when they saw each other at a Back to the Future night at the Side Quest nerd bar. After that, the two just sort of decided they were going to be close friends--meeting for coffee or having gluten-free dinners together, bonding over their experiences as classically-trained musicians. Rachel became a trusted confidante, and was one of the early champions of Dana's relationship with Joe, citing his loving, kind spirit and healthy dynamic with Dana as evidence that she had found one of the good ones. Rachel is an a great listener, an amazing, insightful person, dispenser of sage advice, a wonderful wife and mother, and a fixture in Dana and Joe's lives.
Bridesmaid
Although Kristen was a grade ahead of Dana, the two met in high school orchestra. Performing, rehearsing, and generally spending so much time in the auditorium together led Kristen to designate Dana as one of the "cool freshmen." Together, the two explored new music and wild, colorful, Harajuku-inspired fashions. They continued their friendship after college, through themed house parties (Kristen is a consummate hostess), late-night showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show, and continuing on to regular appearances at Friday Night Dinners. Kristen is a beautiful person who loves bringing people together and cultivating community, a quality that Dana has always admired and tried to emulate. She is also an incredible wife and mother, and Dana has been honored to watch the Bindels' family grow.
Flower Girl
Dana met Lorelei when she was only a few months old, over raspberry-chip ice cream at Mitchell's. Kristen captured a treasured photograph of that moment--Lorelei reaching for the pendant on Dana's necklace, Dana marveling over Lorelei's tiny hand in hers. Since then, Dana has loved seeing Lorelei grow into such a natural performer, creative spirit, and expert conversationalist. She connected to Joe right away--at one of the first Friday Night Dinners, the two donned blanket capes and soared around the living room while the meatballs and sauce simmered away on the stove. Lorelei was the obvious (and only) logical choice for our flower girl--such a special kid and somebody we are so lucky to have in our lives.
Requiescat in Pace -- January 10th, 2016
Eric was Joe's best friend of 6 years, meeting in Joe's first year of college when he went into his room and awkwardly offered to eat the food his parents brought to him. The two ironically didn’t have much in common beyond enjoying not doing much of anything. For awhile, that meant they simply sat in the same rooms together, playing different video games on their laptops. Eric quickly became Joe's best friend through multiple hardships. He taught Joe how to change the oil in his car. Without him, Joe would have driven himself crazy when he met Dana at their favorite bar and was freaking out a bit about this wonderful woman. Eric was Joe's brother, and nothing written for this brief paragraph could do justice to their relationship, but he will never be forgotten or absent from our lives.
Best Man
Thomas and Joe grew up across the street from one another. Between the two of them and another friend, they spent more days than not at each other's houses for over a decade of their young lives. While the two diverged when Joe became the "bad kid" (going to public high school) and Thomas remained at St. Angela Merici (followed by St. Edward high school), he still let Joe constantly drag him to movies that he never quite wanted to see as much as Joe did. Thomas was always much better at strategy games, and there was a brief period that Joe started to genuinely worry he was going to try take over the world in real life (and he still believes he has the capability to do so). Thomas attended Notre Dame and currently lives and works in Chicago.
Groomsman
Andrew is the closest to Joe in age out of 21 first cousins (!). Despite being a little younger, Drew was always an intellectual role model to Joe. He put his talents to work through his undergrad years at Cincinnati and is well on his way through medical school at THE Ohio State University. Drew has always been the most fun to talk to at holiday family gatherings and the person crushed the second most (after Joe) when they were young enough to take ridiculous family photos of every cousin piling on top of one another. Drew is also a very caring person that Joe has been lucky to know his whole life. When Joe called to ask him to be a groomsmen, it was in the middle of a 20-hour shift at the hospital, and he was still happy to answer the call.