Emma & Alex
Wedding Party
Charlotte Krohn
Maid of Honor
Since 2006, Charlotte and Emma have been forcing relatively the same group of people into dressing up and making small talk with each other at their separate, yet annual, Friendsgiving and Christmas dinners. At some point along the way, they became best friends. This was most likely due to Emma needing to hitch a ride everywhere as she didn't get her license until she was 24. Charlotte and Emma have survived living together in college and dream of traveling together once again. It amazes Charlotte's mom to this day how these girls can video-chat all night despite talking everyday.
Thuy Bui
Best Woman
Thuy introduced herself to Alex, back when she wore jeans, by being quite frank about her sexuality and some other things you wouldn't necessarily tell someone you've just met. They then went on to become housemates, "frands", and finally "bras", when you talk primarily via text despite being in rooms next to each other and can tell the other person "I don't care if you show up to my defense" and not only not be offended but understand. Nonetheless, many friendly favors were exchanged that probably accumulated to Alex carrying Thuy's whole closet and medicine cabinet to campus.
Kaitlyn Kliewer
Bridesmaid
Kaitlyn and Emma met during the rough and tumble days of Bates Middle School. A defining feature of their young friendship was Kaitlyn's mom's pasta salad which was the BOMB DOT COM. Emma attributes her rediscovered love of reading to Kaitlyn and greatly enjoys commiserating about graduate school with her. It was a dream come true for Emma that Kaitlyn took a job in NYC after getting her doctorate, because this meant that Emma finally had a friend who "lives in the City" which she thought was pretty cool to brag about.
Chris Hammerly
Groomsman
Chris and Alex had an office together for all five years during grad school at UMass, a place to complain about classes, stress out about deadlines, and share the latest funny YouTube video - and a third free desk for their future wives. Their respective catch phrases "sure" and "interesting" may still be written on their office door. There's a bit of a fantasy Alex has about getting to introduce each other as speakers at a conference one day, and in the meantime go on a couple's cruise with Esra and Emma once that's no longer the epitome of being irresponsible.
Jayeon Park
Bridesmaid
Jayeon and Emma dimly remember meeting each other at a balcony get-together on Carey St in Willimantic, CT, two weeks before the start of their graduate program at UConn. Emma's strong sense of camaraderie meant that Jayeon had to endure a cohort picture every semester which, as predicted by everyone, only got a little sad as time went on. Living and going to school in CT was a delight because Emma had Jayeon's friendship. Let's hope for more wine and pork belly in their future.
Gabriel Martinez Vera
Groomsman
Gabriel entered Alex's life as a friend of Emma's at UConn but was quickly won over by the opportunity to talk about soccer, semantics and video games with the same person. (Emma may still be salty about this turn of events.) Eventually Gabriel took a job in Frankfurt some 40 kilometers away from Alex's hometown, which added translating German academese to the list of usual topics, but made it imaginable to attend a soccer match of Eintracht Frankfurt - Alex's club - together one day.
Case Rinard
Officiant
Emma and Case met in high school, which has been rated by multiple people as one of the most unfortunate things that has ever happened to her, and which other friends of Case have described as "what?" They managed through school, and have kept in touch with each other since, listening to each other and dispensing bad advice, though their paths have separated them physically. They currently run a fictional podcast whose audience consists solely of the hosts.