Daryn & Briana
Wedding Party
Laura Carroll
Maid of Honor
The official story: Laura and Briana met during high school. The unofficial story: they met at a Halloween middle school dance, where Laura and her friends showed up, dressed like witches, whereas Briana and her friends did NOT dress in costume. So, when Laura and her friends walked in, it felt as though the DJ scratched the music and it was silence, with everyone staring at them. Laura and Briana have gone through different iterations of themselves, and have constantly sought to stay best friends no matter what. She is the sweetest, funniest, most loyal, accomplished, empathetic human.
Suhani Vakil
Bridesmaid
Briana and Suhani met at a work retreat. They were roommates and one of the first things Suhani asked was: "Are you a fan of the show Friends?" Suhani's thoughts can be categorized as extremely random, her soul is one of the kindest Briana has ever met, her work ethic is beyond describable, her sense of humor is wacky and fun, and more recently Briana has seen Suhani step into one of her most amazing role's - a mother.
Michelle Sillechia
Bridesmaid
The story goes that Michelle met Briana during their college orientation...but Briana "somehow" doesn't remember, whereas Michelle does. Despite Briana's memory, they had stayed close from the beginning of college, originally majoring in Math and realizing how horrible of a choice that was. Michelle is empathetic, humorous, enjoys traveling, treats those she loves like family, and does a great "Drop It Like It's Hot" beatbox.
Sheryl Katz
Bridesmaid
Sheryl and Briana were both OVERLY excited to go to SUNY New Paltz that they joined a NYC meet up group and became friends through that program. Since then, they stayed friends - even joining a Hip Hop Cardio group, where one of the two were clearly WAY better than the other. Sheryl is a great listener, humble, kind, silly, and has become the best dog mom ever!
Steph Pina
Bridesmaid
The first time Briana met Steph in college, Steph's face was adorned in tiger paint for a "jungle party" called "Cabs" in New Paltz. Briana and Steph has stayed friends since. She has recently become one of Maris and Sebby's favorite aunts. Additionally, as a fellow educator, she is someone who is compassionate, thoughtful, intelligent, and a great person to talk too!
Christine, Jenay, Alexa
Bridesmaid
Christine - Oldest "Valentine" sister. Mother of two. Is the best caretaker around, has the biggest heart, and is always, somehow, able to answer the phone when anyone needs her. Fun Fact: She's a DELTA! Jenay: Middle Valentine Arguably, Sebby's FAVORITE aunt. She's a HUGE Broadway fan and a fantastic person to be around. Also, she slays at karaoke. Fun Fact: She about to move to the Netherlands to complete her graduate degree! Alexa: Youngest Valentine. She is extremely hilarious, has a great taste of music, and will constantly ask you random questions and then end her conversations by saying: "At the end of the day...." Fun Fact: She's a member of Sigma Gamma Rho
Sunny
Bridesmaid
Sunny is also one of Briana's sisters, and in the line of sisters, is the second youngest. She's a thriving Boston University undergraduate student that, with her activism, makes Gen Z proud! Fun Fact: Sunny has performed guitar at Lincoln Center!
Jessica Dahan
Maid of Honor
Jess and Daryn met in Hebrew class Fall semester of freshman year at GW. Though they had a mutual friend from before college, Daryn (accidentally) ignored Jess at first. Their friendship prevailed. While they no longer participate in the Hillel's Jewish Progressive Political Association (a group with a membership of 5 people) their love of food at Jewish holidays, Broadway, and dogs (Jess actually found Maris!) are just some of the many things they like to enjoy together.
Jamie Cohen
Bridesmaid
Daryn has known Jamie almost all of her life, as Jamie is her younger sister. While in many ways they are exact opposites (Jamie prefers sparkles and animal prints to Daryn's sports chic) they both have a similar work ethic and passion for helping others that connects them in many ways. And, Broadway. It just always comes down to Broadway. While their relationship like most siblings hasn't always been perfect, Jamie has always been a loyal, supportive, and important presence in Daryn's life and she could not ask for a better sister to stand by her side on her big day. Even if she though the Dear Evan Hanson movie was actually good.
Sara Ray
Bridesmaid
While the official records seem to have gone missing, it is believed that Sara and Daryn met in a mutual friend’s dorm room in Munson sophomore year at GW. While they would continue to run into each other through out college, including at Tuesday nights at McFaddens where Sara liked to comment on the insanely out of place sweaters Daryn would be wearing, or at the Green GW house which was better known for parties than for actually being Green, their friendship didn’t actually bloom until they started GChatting the summer after graduation. Once again the record is unclear how they ended up on each other’s lists, Sara and Daryn both found themselves with a lot of time on their hands between being a paraprofessional and being in Peace Corps and allowed their friendship to flourish in the land of Azeroth. While their friendship has shifted to a more earthly realm, the bond is as strong as ever.
Jordan Calhoun
Bridesman
Daryn and Jordan met through other memeber of the bridal party, Sara, when they both came to the city after Peace Corps. Through their mutual love of sports, TV, and music, Daryn and Jordan became inseparable. While they had many things in common they also tricked one another into liking new things. Jordan introduced running to Daryn where nearly everyone in the Wagner NYU running group assumed she was enrolled at Wagner and led to her running multiple half marathons. Daryn took Jordan to Broadway for his birthday until his winning of Mean Girls in a lottery led to his true love of Broadway, even if Wicked is better. While Harry Potter and baseball will always be a dividing line, they will always have Ghus.
Tony Walker
Officiant
In no way a reference to a song by a rapper we shall not name, Tony and Daryn met at Borders. Tony was Daryn's boss' boss but because Daryn was very good at getting people to sign up for Borders rewards and sorting calendars, Tony took a liking to her. Through 2-fer PBRs at Walters after Twilight Midnight Parties and fishbowls at Brother Jimmys, and one shopping outing to update Daryn's wardrobe, Tony and Daryn became friends. Tony continues to positively influence Daryn's Broadway knowledge through album recommendations and outings to Marie's Crisis while he learns more and more Sports Ball at Yankee Stadium baseball games.
Tracy Tran
Bridesmaid
When Daryn first ran into Tracy at her new school, she thought two things: 1) Great, there is at least one other queer person here and 2) I'm not sure she wants to be my friend, am I being too much of a try hard, not all queer people are friends, Daryn, that's incredibly problematic to think. Luckily, after some drinks at Dining Room, the nicest bar in Downtown Brooklyn, they crossed over from colleagues to friends. For Daryn some of the most meaningful moments in teaching have come through co-facilitating GSA with Tracy. Daryn has learned a lot from Tracy within the classroom setting but also on the women's soccer pitch, something that Daryn thought she knew enough about until she quickly realized she did not.
Katie Griffin
Bridesmaid
Katie and Daryn entered the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice in the same cohort, and on the same grade team. They had an immediate connection that led to work wife status. Their competitive nature led them to combine advisories to win every competition the 11th grade team had, and probably created competitions of their own that no one else knew they were a part of. Katie and Daryn always had matching and well thought out costumes for spirit days, and incorporated Harry Potter whenever possible. While Daryn believes herself to be an above average Harry Potter fan, Katie will always school her and you in Harry Potter trivia. Neville, her dog, would suggest believing this fact and never testing it.