Wedding Party
Jeff Stewart
Best Man
I've known Jeff for almost 30 years, stretching back to the beginning of high school, where he (and I, to a lesser degree) ran with the goth/computer science/theatre tech crowd. We lost touch after college but reconnected when I moved to California in 2006, and I ended up living with him for about a decade before he moved to Seattle. Thankfully, he saw the errors of his way and has returned to California, albeit with a fiance to replace the domestic partnership we spent years cultivating. Jerk.
Natalie Zuletta
Maid of Honor
My longtime BFF. Natalie and I met in kindergarten. What a blessing to have shared 38 years of friendship with one of the most loving, kind, funny, passionate, creative, generous souls I've ever known. Sadly, we lost Natalie unexpectedly in 2021, but the space of Maid of Honor at my wedding has always been reserved for her. We will leave a physical space during the ceremony for Natalie. She would have loved Joe and she would have been over the moon for us. We know she will be there in spirit.
Beth Mulnix
Groomswoman
I've known Beth as long as I've known Jeff, getting to know her through the theatre program at high school. We both returned to Northern Virginia after college and for the four years or so before she and Brian moved to California I probably spent 80% of my weekends with them playing pool or poker, watching football, going to Outback Steakhouse and generally having a hoot. Since moving out west, I've spent most Sundays of every football season camped out on their couch cheering on the Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills, and cursing the names of remaining NFC and AFC East teams.
Anita Hutchinson
Bridesmaid
I met Anita in 2006 through our boyfriends at the time. We clicked immediately. Months later we had dumped the boyfriends, moved in together, and formed a special bond that keeps growing to this day. When she met her husband, Mark, in 2010 I could not have been happier for them. Theirs is a great love story and a marriage I aspire to have. Anita is a what I call a "shiny person", she quite literally glimmers, and people want to be around her. She makes you feel like you can do anything and is always on your side. Creative, funny, beautiful, sophisticated, but also down-to-earth, I am so grateful to have her as a friend.
Brian Mulnix
Groomsman
I met Mulnix when he started dating Beth in college (my very first meeting was at the airport right before Beth and I went to Italy together for 10 days). I don't think I've ever met someone with more talent than him for written comedy. For years I saved the various missives he'd pen and share them around with my other friends. One of the great joys of my life is getting Mulnix and Smith in the same room and just listening to them banter for extended periods of time.
Rebecca Rose
Bridesmaid
Rebecca and I also met in kindergarten! Shoutout to Mrs. Egan's class of 1982. Through performing in our 6th grade version of "The Wizard of Oz" (ahem don't get me started), through high school, college, living together in our 20's with Natalie, break-ups, marriages, births, bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs, a global pandemic with many a night masked up in Rebecca's backyard, to losing our dear friend in 2021. We've been through it all. Love you and can't imagine my world or my wedding without you.
Nick Bognar
Groomsman
I met Nick while running tech for Sweeney Todd in my Sophomore year at Mary Washington. We were friendly but didn't really grow close until years later after I moved out to L.A. He's part of a group of college guys that I refer to as "The Boys" whom I've kept in touch with over the years and try to get together in person every 2 years or so. I also see him roughly every two weeks to play board games with him and Kelley McNeil (another Mary Washington alumni).
Denise Tarr
Bridesmaid
Denise and I met through our brothers in 2010. We've gotten to know each other very well over the past 14 years. I can honestly say that I'm a better person for knowing Denise. We've traveled together to Paris, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Croatia. We've navigated the difficult over-40 L.A. dating scene with each other's help. An incredible friend, her calm, confident, joyful spirit is always a welcome presence. Also, she's doing the Lord's work to leave the world a better place than she found it, one LAUSD student at a time. Teacher of the Year (no joke!), my beautiful friend, Denise.
Brian Smith
Groomsman
Smith is one of the many friends-turned-family that Jeff introduced me to when I moved out here. Like Jeff, he shares our love of board games, computer games, and general nerdery. He also got me my first job in television, and industry that has sustained me ever since. I see him and his wife Susie usually at least once a week for board games, if not more, and often pepper him for work/life advice, which he has always been generous in sharing.
Taryn Andreas
Bridesmaid
I met the lovely Taryn (Titi as I call her) through Anita. She drastically changed her life and moved to Los Angeles from Arkansas in 2013. And guess who had an opening in her apartment building? Me! The rest is history. We bonded through many a night in each other's studio apartments sipping tea, or painting Hollywood and Los Feliz red. She is a badass boss lady, and also does a mean angel card reading using her super spiritual senses. She has enriched my life in many ways and I'm honored to have her stand beside me at my wedding.
Robin Sheehan
Flower Girl
Robin is the actual cutest thing you ever did see. She belongs to our friends Kate & Derrick. She enjoys Bluey, speaking Spanish, not looking at any electronics, and bedtime stories read by Uncle Joe. We are honored to have her in our wedding party to bring the cuteness level to 11.