Matron of Honor
Holly and I met freshman year of college. We lived on the same floor in the dorms freshman year, lived together for 2, and now here we are 8 years later. Holly is incredibly funny, her comedic timing is amazing and never fails to make even the most harden of people crack a smile. She is the outgoing personable one in the friendship, so she makes up for my awkward and introverted personality. I am so excited Holly will be next to me on this big day, and she has been a god-send leading up to it!
Bridesmaid
Ariana and I also met our freshman year of college, living on the same floor in the dorms. Ariana was my ride or die in college, as we were both Mechanical Engineering majors, and lived the struggle together. Without the study sessions and group projects together, I don't know if I would have made it through. Ariana is the one who introduced me to BRAVO and the many shows it offers. David can thank her for my love of drama and for our binge sessions of Below Deck :).
Bridesmaid
Sarah is my sister-in-law, and we didn't actually meet until early 2020, almost 6-7 months after David and I had started dating. Sarah and her husband had been living in Arizona and had just moved back to the area in time for COVID lock-downs. While studying, working full time and taking on the role of a mother, Sarah has been amazing through it all. She is incredibly smart, caring, and someone who I am not afraid to look to for advice.
Bridesmaid
Sam and I met my freshman year of college, and yes, we lived on the same dorm floor (a common theme). Sam and Holly were roommates the 2nd half of freshman year, and then Sam, Ariana, Holly and I for all lived together for a year. Sam is a badass and I always look forward to hearing about her stories as Officer McNulty. When not on duty, Sam is life of the party and her energy is contagious!
Groomsman
Jordan is my second oldest friend. We first met in Mrs. Jenkin's kindergarten class in 2000. It first started with the 3 amigos; Jordan, Zack Baker (who we later found out was a distant cousin of mine), and myself. we all remained friends through grade school and through Indian Guides. Eventually Zack left for private school in Junior High and Jordan and I continued being close friends all the way through Junior High and High School. Jordan and I both Joined the bass drum in marching band with myself playing drum 4 and Jordan playing drum 3 (we were always next to each other and screwing around constantly. Jordan lived across town but we never let that distance stop us. That distant meant that we started in different Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops but eventually Jordan came over to my troop and we booth became Eagle Scouts in troop 387. After high school graduation we went to different colleges but still remained in close contact, even today we still text and call frequently and play call of duty online from Ohio to Pa (even though I know he prefers playing with Emily because she is much better than I).
Groomsman
I met Jared through our mutual friend, Connor. Jared came to our school district when we were in 7th grade but we really didn't become close until high school. We started hanging out in the morning before class and had many engineering /drafting classes together with Mr. Silvestri. Following high school graduation Jared, Connor, Nathan, Joey, and I went on summer trips to Kelley's Island, some of the best times and we look forward to doing something like that again. I was along side him for his wedding to his high school sweet heart Tiffany. Since then we frequently keep in touch in our multiple group chats, online Call of Duty playing (again he prefers playing with Em because she is much better than I), and traveling back and forth to go on fun adventures and try breweries. We are hopeful for a fun trip in the near future with the old Kelley's Island group and our new families.
Best Man
Joey and I have been friends since our friend Connor brought him around to boy scouts when he came to our school district in 7th grade. We were very close through high school from hanging out before class, to boy scouts, and to being co-lead carpenters for the Revere Players. Through out high school we all loved going to Joeys house and swimming in their pool, or making a bonfire, or working on his jeep. Joey and I started working together building and doing handyman projects on the side. One of our favorite projects that we reminisce about was putting drainage tile in a swampy crawlspace beneath Joey's old bosses house. Following high school, we remained very close friends. One of our fun past times was camping all the time, I would keep my truck decked out with sleeping bags, tents, food, and all sorts of equipment so that we could go camping anytime. Once, Joey, Nathan, and I left work at 4pm on a Friday and drove straight to North Carolina where we climbed up high into the Pisgah Mountains at 1am and camped, just to return home the next day. Once I started working at Hendrickson Joey came and moved into the apartment with me. The apartment was cheap and crumby but it allowed us to fall in love with T-county, Ohio where we would fish and hunt all the time after work. When I found my now farm for sale Joey was along side me, from the front hill he and I counted 21 deer and knew that I needed to get the realtor out. We both live in T-county now and hang out all the time.
Best Man
Dale and I met in boy scouts. We had a decent age gap but Dale was persistent about hanging out with us. He and I both came from similar families and have great fathers who have taught us a lot in carpentry and home repairs. I eventually convinced Dale to come out for stage crew where we built the sets for the Revere players. We became closer friends through my later years of high school. Once I came back from OSU to attend Akron (apparently you need to attend class to pass) Dale, Joey, and Mark were my close friends hanging out, shooting, fixing cars, and camping became a common occurrence. We get into some crazy adventures and from camping to blowing things up. There is nobody else I'd rather be next to while handcuffed on the side of the road (not that that ever happened, "wink-wink") Dale was with me on our back packing trip and was the photographer along with his girlfriend Juliana when I proposed to Emily. Hopefully we can get another backpacking trip in before the wedding so hopefully we'll have some fresh stories come October 22nd.