Wedding Party

Nidhi Pugalia

Maid of Honor

After almost a decade of friendship, Reina has a hard time figuring out where her brain ends and Nidhi's begins. From poring over each other's essays in college to poring over their novels today, the two have shared practically every part of their lives. When everything else was in flux, Nids has been a constant in Reina's life. The two have laughed, cried, and talked on the phone for more hours than are truly possible in a day. Nidhi is a bright light in the dark--quick to joy and always ready to plan a party. She is a celebration of a human, and Reina can't fathom how lucky she is to have Nidhi as her maid of honor.

Ben Fisher

Co-Best Man & Officiant

Ben met David through the UCLA Chorale's weekly eat-snacks-until-you-vomit club. After receiving his degree in Spanish and German, teaching in Germany on a Fulbright scholarship, and generally making David look bad on the scale of life accomplishments, Ben is currently a Spanish and German teacher in Seattle. His hobbies include pedagogy, board games/escape rooms, polyglot studies, his doggo Goose/partner Brent, and pouring chocolate syrup directly into his mouth.

Bret Noël

Co-Best Man & Sartorial Advisor

Bret met David after numerous back massages distributed through UCLA Chorale and Medleys A Cappella. Bret received his MA in French Horn Performance at UCLA, with hobbies including camping/exploring every state park in the US, board games/escape rooms, nerdisms (Zelda, LOTR, chanting Bon Iver lyrics under the full moon), cheese, sampling fine whisky, and leather shoes for Red (cat) to rub against.

Sarah Shirley

Bridesmaid

Sarah has known Reina since the embarrassing teen years (which is to say, she's got ALL the dirty secrets). They met in theater class on the first day of high school, and—much like they did in those pivotal early years—have been holding onto each other for dear life ever since. Through different colleges and different states, Sarah has always been a place for Reina to call home. They'll never ever remember to take a picture together because they're too busy celebrating, and that's just fine with them both (but someone remember at the wedding, okay?).

Shane Wallace

Groomsman

David's cousin but, if we're being honest, far more competent younger brother. While his hair is not a souless ginger, his beard definitively is. Hobbies include board games/escape rooms, sucking at Call of Duty, reruns of How I Met Your Mother, and knowing how to build an entire house from the ground up. His wife, Alisse, is smarter than him, and his dog Max is obsessed with humping David's leg.

Arielle Cartmill

Bridesmaid

Reina is constantly astounded by her big sister's bravery and resilience—As an activist, Elle has lived in and traveled to countless foreign countries. She's always been a source of encouragement for Reina, inspiring her to take risks and live passionately. Not to mention she's absolutely hilarious—she never ceases to make Reina laugh when she desperately needs it. Even from all the way in Australia, Elle continues to be there for Reina, even if that means just listening to her grumble about the stress of planning a wedding ;)

Nicholas Primo

Groomsman

David's oldest friend among the groomsman. Nick and David lived on the same floor at UCLA freshman year, then became roommates and, in time, intimate lovers (citation needed). Nick got his MA in Public Policy from Pepperdine; hobbies include politics, history (particularly American civil war era), and sleeping like a vampire on his back in a perfectly rigid position. His family owns LA's best donut shop, Primo's Donuts, which will be part of the dessert table at the wedding.

Rory Glenn

Groomsman

Reina's brother and soulful ginger. Rory's currently attending UC Santa Cruz studying for a degree in computer science. His hobbies include being a master guitarist, playing competitive ultimate Frisbee, gaming, music composition, and having a far higher pain tolerance than David.

Sam Noël

Bridesmaid

Sam and Reina met one fateful evening in the UCLA music building, while a nervous Bret waited expectantly, hoping his new girlfriend and his friends would get along. Turns out he didn't have much to worry about, because fast forward a few years (along with countless escape rooms, board games, group feasts, and movie nights) and Reina would be helping Sam into her wedding dress. Equally happy to gripe as to celebrate, Sam has always been Reina's listening ear, and has never ceased to provide a snuggly soft item for her to curl up in.

Holly Shuter

Bridesmaid

Reina met Holly while working for a god-awful recruiting company in Columbus, Ohio. She was desperate to make friends, and felt superbly blessed when Holly took her under her wing. Though she was supposed to be answering the phone, Reina spent most of her work days hanging over the edge of Holly's desk, laughing about anything and everything. Since then, Reina and Holly have adventured together in Chicago, Atlanta, and San Francisco, with many more trips to come.

Kennedy Goldenbagen

Bridesmaid

It started in 2013 with a shared guilty pleasure for Vampire Diaries, and blossomed into a friendship full of ridiculous nicknames, inside jokes so dramatic we can't even remember how they started, and a mutual love for dance. While Reina was living in Ohio, shivering and being perplexed by football, Kennedy took Reina under her wing and showed her that the Midwest wasn't all snow and cornfields. She even forgave Reina for kiiiiiind of lying about being an OSU student so she could get into the school dance group. Since then, they two have toured the swamps of New Orleans and traipsed through castles in Spain.

Red

Best Cat & Nap Coordinator