Darya & Matthew
Wedding Party
Harley Schwing
Maid of Honor
After meeting in the bathroom of their freshman dorm the first weekend of college, Darya and Harley's friendship became one of the defining features of their college experience. Harley's current job is keeping the Rutgers Medical School afloat and is therefore directly responsible for Matt's medical degree. She has previously indicated that she would not come to the wedding unless she was the maid of honor, one of several reasons she will fulfill that role.
Dr. Michael Fastiggi
Best Man
Known internationally amongst surgeons as "a modern cross between Halsted and Billroth," Dr. Michael Fastiggi is already considered the greatest surgeon of his generation. He is best known for inventing the "Roux-en-Fastiggi" gastric bypass, a variant of the common procedure with a staggering 0% complication and 100% success rate. His message to wedding guests is that he's sorry he didn't stop the groom from choosing a career in surgery but that past mistakes should not take away from celebrating Darya and Matt's big day.
JT Holtway
Bridesman
Is best known for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for remaining Darya's friend during her energy drink phase in high school. The strong foundation of this friendship has endured ugly sweatpants, energy drinks, Rutgers Camden and moving to Miami. As an aspiring sommelier, he is probably going to be disappointed by the cheap wine at the wedding, but he would never complain.
Dr. Ankur Dalsania
Groomsman
The editor-in-chief of JAMA and the president-elect of the American College of Cardiology, Dr. Ankur Dalsania is the youngest medical doctor to ascend to these positions. He is also the first to do it while simultaneously maintaining a lucrative career as a professional ping-pong player. He wants wedding guests to know he could medically optimize them in a heartbeat, but that he's off the clock and looking to party instead.
Katie LaPorte
Bridesmaid
Always the life of the party, Katie is arguably the most vibrant and energetic person in the dark and mundane halls of The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine RMSB. A graduate student making advances in the cancer immuno-therapy field, Katie works just as hard in the lab as she does at forcing Darya to occasionally go out and have fun. You can catch her moshing at the latest alternative/punk rock concert in the South Florida area.
Brendan Flanagan
Groomsman
After turning down multiple division one football scholarships, Brendan took his talents to Marquette State University, leading wildly unsuccessful efforts there to create a liquor-free campus environment. Widely considered a renaissance man, when Brendan Flanagan isn't creating art with a canvas, he's creating it with biomedical engineering design breakthroughs. He hopes wedding guests consider occasionally putting out their cigarettes and putting down their drink to focus on sharing in the love between Darya and Matt.
Sofia Pavlenko
Bridesmaid
The sister of the bride, Sofia is busy being a full-time college student and a part-time sorority Instagram influencer. She hopes to one day avoid the family curse by not choosing a career in science and medicine. In terms of her academics, she is focused on using the lessons learned partying while the Rutgers professors were on strike and applying them to Darya and Matt's wedding.
Dr. Aaron Kahlam
Groomsman
Dr. Aaron Kahlam has a natural talent for providing culturally competent healthcare to underserved patient populations. Arguably though, his greatest talent is on display on the basketball court, where he currently averages 15 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Brooklyn Nets. His advice to guests is to use the joy of the wedding celebration as fuel to pursue your passions, but ideally don't choose a career in medicine as your passion if you can help it.
Ayush Rana
Bridesman
Ayush is both a graduate student and a mouse gynecologist-oncolgist at The University of Miami School of Medicine. He remains a great friend to Darya despite the death of almost all of his fish while Darya and Matt were house-sitting for him. When he's not in lab, you can find him partying with the who's who of Miami at club E11EVEN.
Ryan Tracy
Groomsman
Student doctor Ryan Tracy made a massive fortune working in Big Tech, where he selfishly put profits over people. Remarkably though, he grew tired of this and decided to pursue the medical profession as a way to overcorrect for his past misdeeds and to selflessly serve others. He recommends that all guests text him fantasy football advice during the ceremony, as he is not emotionally invested in the wedding and expects to be bored.
Jamie Roder
Bridesmaid
Jamie is one of the kindest souls Darya knows. She is a science teacher at an elite NJ high school who helped guide her students through the pandemic. Perhaps the best display of her kindness is that she suffers from facial blindness and only knows Darya by her personality, yet still decided to stay as Darya's friend.
Dr. Vishnu Venkatesh
Groomsman
Dr. Vishnu Venkatesh has contributed to groundbreaking discoveries in the medical field, including the mortality benefit of rectal lidocaine in the treatment of acute liver failure. However, many in the scientific community wonder what prompted him to ever pursue these highly specific lines of inquiry. What cannot be denied is that Dr. Venkatesh is a true friend to the bride and groom, and he advises that all guests to turn their pagers off and be in the moment.
India Woodruff
Bridesmaid
India and Darya's friendship first blossomed during their useless Latin class in high school. Their bond is built chiefly on being the most annoying people in every room they enter. An engineer by trade, India has declared that she could never design a building big enough to contain the love between Darya and Matt.
John Young
Groomsman
After an NJ state record 27 receiving touchdowns with the Madison Dodgers, John Young continued his athletic achievements as a tight end at the University of Maryland. While most of his teammates were dreaming of making it to the NFL, John hit the books, graduating in 3 years with a neuroscience degree. He asks that wedding guests get sufficiently hype on the dance floor when grunge and pop-punk classics are played.