Wedding Party
Kevin Stewart
Best Man
Kevin is the brother of the groom, loves long walks on the beach, and can dunk a basketball. He currently resides in San Francisco!!
Taneene Jahanbani
Maid of Honor
When cooing strangers would ask baby Neda what her name was, she'd say, "Haneene Massadeh," which is incoherent baby Persian gibberish for "Taneene is at school" because clearly, that is all that was important. Besides being Neda's older sister, former roommate, and her absolute best friend, Taneene is a walking encyclopedia of film and television, a highly skilled crafter & beanie knitter, and a Halloween connoisseur.
Koryn Naylor
Bridesmaid
Koryn is what would happen if a Nora Ephron main character came to life. She and Neda met while working together at the College of Arts and Sciences at NYU (along with Catherine and Grace). Koryn is a writer, a fashionista, and objectively the best storyteller in the world. While working together, Neda and Koryn took their tradition of "burrito Monday" very seriously, and Neda spent pretty much all of her time in Koryn's office.
Evan Bergman
Groomsman
Jason and Evan met at their fraternity while in college at Iowa State (go Clones!). Evan loves golf, the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, and is known as "Big Time Berg" amongst his closest peers.
Tyler Graves
Groomsman
Tyler and Jason met at Pike at Iowa State. He is the father of the cutest kid, Coleman, and is a legend when it comes to three-point basketball shots and beer pong. Tyler is a licensed botanist.
Rachel Buckland
Bridesmaid
Rachel was Neda's little in their sorority at the University of Washington. The two connected immediately and got into all kinds of shenanigans together over the years. Rachel and Neda bond over their immense love of reading trashy books (as well as the good ones), their hate for Aristotle (who, despite having a wife, apparently never asked to count her teeth), and their immigrant parents. Rachel currently lives in Philadelphia, where she just finished her law degree at U Penn.
Catherine Coats
Bridesmaid
Catherine was the only beacon of light for Neda at a terribly lousy temporary job in the affordable housing sector. The two became fast friends after learning they were both off to get their master's degrees at NYU at the end of the summer. From there, Neda took on a second job (in addition to school) just to hang out with her. Catherine is an avid lover of all things spooky and "woo woo." She loves fine dining, a good Negroni, and close-up magic. Neda bakes Catherine a pumpkin loaf every year for her birthday.
Vosh Asadi
Groomsman
Jason and Vosh first met through their high school football team. From there, Jason followed Vosh to Iowa State, then the Pike fraternity, and then to California many years later. Vosh was Jason's first introduction to the Persian culture, thank you, Vosh!
Christopher "Toph" Lamphier
Groomsman
Jason and Toph met eons ago, aka 5th-grade football. Since then, they went to Iowa State together, studied abroad in Rome together, moved to Kansas City together, and worked together. Funny story, Hannah, Toph's wife, was actually Jason's replacement when he left Kansas City for law school at USC. P.S. Toph is a big fan of Italy's universal healthcare system and the 2008 Katy Perry banger "Hot N Cold."
Shadi Roueenfar
Bridesmaid
Shadi and Neda have been friends since they were three years old! In middle school, they would call every day after school and then do a Skype call before bed. They went to high school together, did a brief stint living together in college, and have been like sisters their whole lives. Shadi is an elementary school teacher and knows her stuff when it comes to Harry Styles, women's soccer, and her cat, Nala.
Grace Oller
Bridesmaid
Grace and Neda met at NYU while working at the College of Arts and Sciences together. The two traveled to India together, baked Catherine and Pratik's wedding cake, and spent many long hours discussing life over shaken martinis with extra olives (Neda likes vodka, Grace likes gin). Neda likes to joke that Grace is secretly Persian because of her quick acquisition of Farsi and over-the-top politeness (or taroff) despite technically hailing from Ohio and being American. Grace is a curator, a lover of John Coltrane, and even guest-lectured in Neda's class one time!
Brandon Sheeder
Groomsman
Jason and Brandon met in middle school. Sheeder loves EDM music, "pumping his guns", and big trucks. Brandon and Neda love taking green tea shots together.
Weston Navratil
Groomsman
Weston and Jason have been friends since the Pike days. Weston is the father of Parker, the sweetest little kiddo. Weston is an avid snowboader, NHL video game player, and Timberland wearer.
Ananya Gouthi
Bridesmaid
Ananya and Neda met in the class "Masculinity and Visual Culture" at NYU. It was academic love at first sight; however, soon after meeting, Ananya got busy, and the two never hung out. Until Neda had a few too many Coronas at Eddie's end-of-year BBQ and told Ananya, "We were meant to be best friends," despite not hanging out even once. It's a good thing Neda was right because the two of them have been inseparable ever since. Ananya loves a good sunset photo and is a skilled thrifter of clothing. She loves to take long walks by the Brooklyn promenade and enjoys napping with Neda and Jason's foster dogs.
Kenzie Yedlin
Bridesmaid
Kenzie and Neda became friends while they were in India! Kenzie is a scientist who studies mosquitoes and has an eye for the best things on the menu at any restaurant. Kenzie is well-traveled and loves a good audiobook
Ben Trewyn
Groomsman
Ben was the kicker for the Northwest Missouri football team! But, before all that, he and Jason met at Pleasant Valley High School. Ben just welcomed his baby, Vincent, to the world last November. He loves huntin', fishin', and lovin' every day.
