Wedding PartyWedding Party
AshleyAshley
Matron of Honor
I met Ashley while I was working at PR's Sports Bar in Apple Valley, MN. I had just been promoted from day bartender to nights, and Ashley worked the pull-tab booth (for you non-midwesterners, pull-tabs are like scratch-offs but they're sold in bars, and the proceeds go to charity). For a while, we only knew each other to say hello to, but that all changed one night when I just so happened to take out the trash while she was outside taking a break. Business was slow, so I took a few minutes to sit and chat with her, and as we talked about the state of our lives, we realized that we were both in the process of divorcing almost identically terrible men - same narcissist, different font. I honestly can't remember how we went from cordial acquaintances to platonic soulmates, but pretty soon we were having dinner at each other's houses every week and taking our kids on vacations together. Ashley is kind of like if a Disney princess, a yoga instructor, a kindergarten teacher, and a spiritual guide were all one person... and that person was also your best friend. I don't know what such a kind, gentle Taurus sees in a wry, outspoken Scorpio like me, but I'm so grateful to be someone she wants to hang around, because I don't know what I'd do without her.
PhillPhill
Best Man
I have known Phill for going on 22 years. A comedic talent, excellent storyteller, and gifted writer, Phill has been producing and acting for the better part of two decades. He’s such a talented actor that he’s fooled me into believing he’s my best friend for years. We’ve been friends since high school, where Phill pursued acting but was cool enough that we let him hang out with the tech crew. Phill and I eventually both ended up in Southern California and get together to hang out whenever we’re in each other’s neck of the woods. By day, Phill is a mild-mannered Trader Joe’s employee. By night, between producing and starring in comedy shorts and nerdy podcasts like Dream Dudes, he plays a multitude of games such as Magic: the Gathering and long-form RPGs. Phill and I have bonded over the decades in our love of RPGs such as Vampire: the Masquerade, Dungeons and Dragons, Mutants and Masterminds, and Honey Heist. Beyond his comedic talent and our shared love of weaving stories for our friends, Phill is just a tremendously good guy who has been there for me for our entire friendship. Phill currently resides in North Hollywood with his longtime partner Karissa... with whom he will beat me to the altar by a few weeks, that son of a--
ShanonShanon
Bridesmaid
I’ve known Shanon since the year of our lord, 2009, when we volunteered for the Coffee Corps, Green Apron Division. We were both trained and assigned to serve at the district’s most harried garrison. I took my post before dawn each day, readying the fort for the coming siege and fielding rapid-fire exchange at the window of first contact; she manned the central post within the walls during the late-day offensive, when the daily Frappuccino fait d’armes pushed the cannons (read: blenders) to the edge of their endurance and our fellow soldiers to the edge of their sanity. Even though we only crossed paths at guard-change, those brief interactions were enjoyable enough that we began to seek each other’s company off-duty. We soon bonded over shared pursuits (such as reading, writing, music, poetry, period films, and mad libs) and common traits (such as stubbornness, being fiercely loyal to and protective of our friends, hyper-focusing on and developing encyclopedic knowledge of niche interests, and the inability to keep our inside thoughts from marching directly across our faces). Neither distance nor time apart has ever been able to divide us. I am her Watson, she is my Holmes.
BenBen
Groomsman
I met Ben when he was a freshman in high school. It was my junior year, and he had just joined Liberty High School’s theatre department and was interested in getting into technical theatre. Long story short, I took Ben under my wing and taught him about audio, staging, and lighting. We bonded over paintball, board games, and tabletop RPGs. Ben’s parents, Big Ben and Wendy, welcomed me into their home (which came to be known as the Baczenas Base) like another son and we’ve been family ever since. We’ve spent decades spurring each other on to do bigger and better things in the entertainment industry and sharing our knowledge and experiences with each other. Today, Ben leads a multinational team at L-Acoustics, the manufacturer of the finest concert speaker systems in the world. Ben is fiery and opinionated. He’s also incredibly loyal and will fight at the drop of a hat for his family - a group I'm honored to be counted among. Ben currently resides in Las Vegas with his wife Cassie (Hi Cassie!) and his indomitable co-pilot, Wash (featured in his photo)… a very good boy.
AllieAllie
Bridesmaid
Here's a fun fact for those of you who aren't already aware: Allie was John's friend long before she was mine. She was in the same group that regularly gathered at the Baczenas Base in high school, and has remained close with them ever since. Desire for a change of scenery led her to move from California to Texas (not far from where I lived) in 2023, shortly after John and I had started dating. Worried that she was moving to a completely different part of the country where she wouldn't know anyone except a handful of family members, John asked me if I would befriend her. I said, "Of course! I've got a friend group ready-made for her, I'll drop her right in." And I ended up falling so sincerely and completely in love with her that John and I ultimately ended up arguing over whose side she would stand on in the wedding. (Not to put too fine a point on it, but whose side of this website is she on? Exactly.) Allie is such a special soul. She is warm, funny, introspective, empathic, nurturing, and the rarest thing of all: a true friend. Her emotions are always near the surface, and I suspect she sometimes wishes they weren't, but that's actually one of my favorite things about her. It's honest. It's sincere. It's vulnerable... and brave. Our story began when John asked me for a favor, but the truth is, he did me one. It didn't take me long to know that I was going to love this girl for the rest of my life.
J.J.J.J.
Groomsman
J.J. is Ben’s little brother, and mine from another mother. We met because, for some reason, he was always hanging around… you know… at his house where he lived. J.J. has always been a personality that people naturally gravitate towards . His humor is infectious, his care and consideration for others admirable, and his ability to effortlessly charm his way into any group truly awe inspiring. For years we’ve bonded over nerd culture, inside jokes, and hiding ridiculous Easter Eggs in our sound designs. We would go on to be roommates, coworkers, and eventual enemies… wait, no, I meant enemies. Sorry - enemies. Is this thing broken? J.J. is the type of person who does and says things so ridiculous, outlandish, or weird that you can’t help but say… JESUS, J.J. (a mantra he is very familiar with). Despite all of that, he was somehow the first of the gang to get married, and even more bizarre, the first to reproduce. Yeah… we don’t get it, either. J.J has one of the biggest hearts you can imagine and is just a tremendous amount of fun to be around. Today he has gotten away from the theatre business and spends most of his time raising his two awesome kids, Jack and Charlotte, with his wife, Tina, and doing SCIENCE at the lab!
ZullyZully
Bridesmaid
Unbeknownst to me, Zully decided that I was for her during an open house at our kids' school. I walked in with Finn, didn't make eye contact with anyone, admired his portfolio of work, said "Great job, honey! Let's go," and walked out. Zully clocked me right away and said, "I want THAT one." She had recently moved from New York. Our kids had become best friends at school. We exchanged pleasantries when we dropped them off or picked them up from each other's houses. Then one day we met up for lunch at Mi Cocina. Halfway through our first Mambo Taxi (a margarita-sangria swirl for those of you so unfortunate as to have never tasted one), I could see her carefully considering her words as she assessed how I would receive them: "I've had a hard time finding my people here." I nodded, pausing to take similar care in formulating my thoughts before I replied: "Women in this area can be kind of fake." The veil immediately dropped as she exclaimed, "They CAN!" and we ordered another Mambo Taxi. From that moment on, we were each other's people. She likes to say that I'm stuck with her, but I know who has the better end of the deal here - it's the one who actively avoided interacting with anyone that day at open house, but still ended up with a friend. She has effortless confidence without a drop of conceit; she brings peace with her presence but will do battle for you at a moment's notice; and she actually appreciates my bluntness when others only tolerate it. I win.
MarkMark
Groomsman
Mark and I have been friends for 23 years. I fondly remember him as the scrawny little acrobatic kid with the bowl cut who just started hanging around the scene shop one day with his friends. Mark would later go on to become a bit of a playboy, becoming a leading man in multiple productions (each one more risque than the last), earning a degree in theatre at UC Davis, and moving to New York. There, he worked off broadway for several years as an actor and honing his skill as an acrobat, aerialist and dancer. Eventually, life would bring Mark back to the sunny state of California when he moved to Los Angeles. Mark and I have an unspoken (but also often loudly spoken) bond; he’s the type of friend I can go months or years without seeing, but immediately feel comfortable with. Today, Mark continues to perform, choreograph, dance, and perform stunts in the Los Angeles area while also moonlighting as an independent craftsman. He’s also the only one of us that can do a backflip without breaking something… probably.
LauraLaura
Bridesmaid
Laura and I met when we were both working dayside at PR's right after it opened. I was the lunch bartender, she was the server. New restaurants are notoriously slow. It was me, her, a manager, a food runner we absolutely did not need, and two or three guests over the course of 6 hours... on a good day. Consequently, we had a lot of time to stand around and chat - and pretty soon we were watching movies, doing each other's makeup, going on mall excursions, and having either too many or exactly the right number of margaritas, depending on who you ask. She's the kind of friend every woman should have: the kind who's there for you every time without waiting to be asked, lets you exist in your lowest state and still sees you at your highest, and shows you how easy it is to love you and treat you well, so that you don't buy it when some dumb guy makes it seem hard. She's the Gillian to my Sally, the lime to my coconut, and the salt to my midnight margarita. And if you ever see us jumping off the roof on Halloween night and suspiciously sustaining no injuries, mind your business.
JoshJosh
Groomsman
Josh Mangold, aka Tosh Dudebronze, aka Yosh Brosilver, aka Bosh Guybrass, was a friend of JJ’s from when they were very young. Despite being in the theatre program together for only a year, we ended up hanging out constantly at the Baczenas Base. Soon after high school, I brought him on board as a lighting tech at various venues where I worked. We would go on to have some great adventures together: road trips to Southern California, training classes, carpool commutes along the levy roads to work in Stockton, and others that our lawyers have advised us not to disclose. Josh is a really great guy, and over the years we’ve gone from being friends of convenience to friends with intention. He’s funny, exceptionally thoughtful, and always goes out of his way to support his friends. One of my favorite memories of Josh happened years ago while playing a tabletop RPG. One of Josh’s characters exclaimed (loudly and a little too defensively), “We have GIRLFRIENDS.” It was tooooootally believable. Now, with my wedding, we’ve officially moved into the “We have WIVES” era - which, again, is totally believable. Today, Josh lives near the beach in Pacifica with his wife, Andrea (Bills for those that know her). He works for IATSE in San Francisco, primarily as a lighting tech at the Chase Center. I’m really proud of how far he’s come in his career, and that I got to help him get his start.
