Wedding Party
Ariel Smith
Maid of Honor
My college roommate from freshman year at WIU! We ate lots of ice cream and pizza and binged way too much TV for our own good (so, basically not much has changed except now there's wine involved). From the very first day of bonding over our love of Panic! At The Disco to walking down the aisle with me, I know she'll always be there for me when I need her. ROOMIE LOVE!
Katie Palazzolo
Maid of Honor
Katie is one of my best friends for going on 24 years now! We've been though thick and thin, highschool, long distance colleges, and plenty of accomplishments together. Most importantly though, she's been someone I can always count on to lend a shoulder or an ear whenever I need it. There's not a whole lot we *don't* know about each other!
Meghan Pettit
Bridesmaid
Mine and Ariel's next door neighbor our freshman year in Bayliss Hall at WIU (Go Bay 8!). She went home every weekend, but we still found a way to convince her to be our friend! Once you survive your freshman year of college together, you're basically inseparable (and you form fake ghost hunting teams together lol).
Ashley Bozman
Bridesmaid
I met Ashley my Sophomore year at WIU when she came home from ECOEE to join the friend group that her boyfriend (now husband, Alex) had made in Higgins Hall. We bonded over a love of ice cream, sick dance moves and general weirdness :] She's probably one of the kindest, most genuine people I've ever met.
Paris Flores
Bridesmaid
Paris is one of Matt's best and closest friends who quickly became one of my best and closest friends as well! She has one of the biggest hearts and we're incredibly excited for her to be a part of our wedding! We tend to drink too much together and then proceed to have deep conversations near or in bathrooms together lol
Matt Anzilotti
Best Man
I met Matt when I first moved to Oak Lawn and didn't know anyone. We were 7ish and found out we had the same name! It was awesome! We quickly became best friends and were usually seen together causing a ruckus or competing at anything we could. We found more common ground in sports, video games, Lord of the Rings, both sucking at talking to girls, and being beaten on by his two older brother since I lack sufficient siblings. Years later we could be heard in a bar screaming Game of Thrones references or arguing if the Lannister army could battle that of the cavalry from Rohan. 25+ years after that initial shock of finding out we have the same name we are still friends, still arguing nonsense and laughing all the while. We are the Kings of the North!
Andrew Kastenbaum
Groomsman
I met Andrew at WIU as we lived on the same floor where we quickly realized a few things about one another. Neither of us liked our roommates, we both smoked (no longer), listened to loud, raging music, and most importantly, I was old enough to buy that elixir from the God's, Keystone. We quickly became friends, and he became close friend with Meg as well, and would roam around Macomb laughing as we went. He lived in Orlando when not in Macomb for school, and Meg and I would regularly fly down to visit in the summers when we could. Andrew would eventually assist me in my proposal at Universal Studios, taking pictures and videos of the whole event, even if we overslept after a long night of drinking....well everything!
Alex Bozman
Groomsman
Boz and I were neighbors in the dorms at WIU. He was a quiet neighbor who politely put up with my loud music, dorm parties, and general annoying personality with all the prose of a future teacher. We quickly realized we both read the same type of books, like the same kind of music, and have a similar, if disturbed, sense of humor. Boz and I became quick friends and as a bonus, Meg was good friends with his then girlfriend, now wife, Ashley! We all hung out in college and once he graduated, we always made and still make attempts to see one another a few times a year. Meg and I were honored to be asked to stand in their wedding, and we were honored to have them be a part of ours as well!
Ronnie Braun
Groomsman
Ronnie looks like the unibomber in this photo, but he is much nicer! I met him in middle school but we did not begin to hang out until high school. We regularly found ourselves in trouble in one or another class for talking or laughing about something. I remember marveling how Ronnie ate the same crappy, greasy pizza everyday with BBQ sauce and never gained a pound. Ronnie and I would play Call of Duty and some scary game for hours in his basement or steal my old mans gross beer with Anzo. OldStyle. Ronnie instantly hugged Meg upon meeting her years ago and told me I needed to marry her because he would if I did not, which was sound advise. Years later, even though we can't get together as often, when we do, the days disappear and all is fun and laughs once again.
Zedd
Dog of Honor
While Zedd unfortunately won't be present, we thought he deserved a shout out. Because he's the best boy.