Wedding Party
Corey Pruett
Groom
A gentle-hearted Gemini, Corey John swept Eric off his feet with his charm and wit. You'll never find a more sparkling smile. Hilarious and thoughtful, creative when he wants to be, and a supportive teammate, he's the whole package. Corey's a fan of cheesecake, Adele, hazy IPAs, and baby elephants--not to mention cows. Don't get him started on baby cows. His dream is to own enough land for a cow of his own, and he has the perfect name picked out: Moolissa.
Eric Shoemaker
Groom
One look from Eric's shimmering blue eyes cast a spell on Corey. No, really, Corey believes Eric has bewitched him and that he secretly dumps love potions in their coffee and hides charmed crystals in Corey's things. But when someone writes love poems so suavely, how could you not be enchanted? He's sweet, caring, and holds the family together. Eric has more publications than Corey could ever keep track of and more books than he ever wants to move again. He loses every board game to Corey but loves playing with him anyway.
Brittney Pruett
Best Woman
Nicole Shoemaker
Best Woman
Nicole Renee Shoemaker, fka Nikki, is Eric's sister and best person. When she's not secretly running Wall Street and plotting to rule the world, she's often busy watching or playing some sport and screaming at the UK Wildcats. Our mom is so proud. Ask her what book she's reading; odds are it's more than 600 pages.
Allie Kudlinski
Officiant
Count the years since Allie and Corey met in AP calculus and you’ll also have about a third of the number of BTS concerts Allie’s been to. Allie is loquacious, witty, and thoughtful, so she was a natural candidate to officiate this party. We’re taking bets on her hair color, but we’re pretty sure she’s dressing either in a rainbow suit or as the Pope. Come find out!
Alexandra Mathews
Wedding Singer
Alexandra's much more than a wedding singer--she's a triple threat, highly educated, sophisticated New Yorker with a can-do attitude who takes no shit. She and Eric have a psychic bond that telepathically alerts them when they think of each other, resulting in multi-hour phone calls about art, work, and all the things we love. Alexandra is the Sylvia Plath to Eric's playwright, meaning she played Sylvia Plath in Eric's musical. She still knows the tap routine and, lucky for us, she brought her dancing shoes.
Jessica Bonanno
Groomswoman
Jessica and Corey met working together at Petco, a shared toxic work environment and source of endless friends (and trauma). Jessica is a pop culture fanatic and can recite the full Kardashian and Coppola family trees. Ask for her recommendations for sexiest werewolf movie and sexiest Patrick Swayze scene.
Ruth Campbell
Groomswoman
Ruth is Eric's forever cast-mate (though this is not a cast party, Ruth; behave!). How many productions have they made together? Who knows! There's always adventure on the horizon with kosher bombshell baddie Ruth, whether she's shouting her lungs out at a storefront wrestling match or crying her eyes out at a storefront theater. Her love of weird films runs the gamut, from Toxic Avengers to beavers by the hundred. She even starred as a scantily-clad member of Rocky Horror: the Comeddia show, but that's a story for another drink.
Alana Cyrus
Groomswoman
Alana and Corey go all the way back to high school and their days wrapping burritos at Taco Bell. She's a dedicated friend and a most excellent gift-giver with an obsession for Taylor Swift that stretches far beyond the norm, even for Swifties. Ask her how many Swift sweaters she owns; yes, just sweaters, the rest is too much to count.
Sarah Escue
Groomswoman
Cassie Jordan
Groomswoman
Cassie was once Corey’s employee and, together, they closed down both Petco and Bar Louie with more five dollar buckets than they could down today. But who knows where the after party might take us? Cassie is a sweet, sensitive soul who loves babying her cats and painting at Pinot’s Palette. She and Corey have a mutual affection for book clubs in which not much reading is done. Don’t believe us? Ask Allie.
Maxine Hopkins
Groomswoman
Olivia Powrozcek
Groomswoman
Olivia and Corey met during orientation at UIC. She's a pierogi queen with a penchant for baking and gaming. Olivia's been dreaming up ingredients for a cooking channel with her dad, Wally, though she won't give away their family recipes. She's obsessed with wieners--ask for a photo of hers. His name is Oswald and if you're lucky she'll have the baby cam pulled up so you can watch him sleep.
Olivia Welsh
Groomswoman