Moriel & Jon
Wedding Party-Ish
Rudi Behar (he/him)
Maid of Honor
Moriel met Rudi when he was approximately a few hours old. Though they fought like siblings (because, in fact, they were) throughout their whole childhood, they always secretly liked each other. When Moriel and Rudi grew up, they realized they were 50% the same people and 50% opposites. Rudi insisted upon being Moriel's Maid of Honor instead of Best Man, because there are absolutely no rules here.
Dan Tascher
Best Man
It may shock you to guess, based on their last names, but Dan is Jon's little brother! Jon and Dan grew up throwing macaroni at the ceiling together and making their mother Debby very angry. Stay tuned - there may be a macaroni-throwing reprise on wedding day. Jon was Dan's best man at his wedding, and is grateful Dan was willing to return the favor. Thankfully, Dan lives in Connecticut, not too far away on the Metro North, so Jon and Moriel pay regular visits to Dan and his wife Erin, though it's really an excuse to see their kids Mila and Shay!
Michelle Hanneman (she/her)
Moriel's VIP
Moriel and Michelle met on the monkey bars the summer before Kindergarten. They quickly formed an M alliance and stood up to each others' bullies. The two of them were inseparable from Kindergarten through 8th grade (we don't mention 3rd grade when they put them in different classes). Michelle would call Moriel for many hours at a time for help with her math homework. While they never went to the same school again after middle school, somehow the 2 of them have remained best friends for the 25 years they've known each other.
Jack Rosok (he/him)
Moriel's VIP
Moriel and Jack met when they were both STRUGGLING through their freshman year high school Bio class. Not sure how they expected us to do well at Bio when we had so much chatting to do. Jack was way too cool for Moriel for the first couple of years of high school (Moriel's words, not Jack's), but eventually the two of them became close, and remained close all throughout college. Jack finally moved to NYC when he graduated and in with Moriel. He later peer-pressured (bullied) Moriel into running her first half marathon. The 3ish years that they were roommates were filled with some of the most fun memories Moriel has in her post-college life.
Tara Forseth (she/her)
Moriel's VIP
Tara is sitting in Moriel's living room as she's writing this. She joined Moriel's NYU musical theatre program their junior year where the two of them were quickly paired together to sing quite possibly the worst duet in Rogers and Hammerstein history. They became fast friends and affectionally call each other "Mom," though we don't quite remember how it started. Moriel was a bridesmaid in Tara's wedding to Trevor, so she was happy to return the favor!
Moira Hammel (she/her)
Moriel's VIP
Moira hated Moriel their freshman year of college for absolutely 0 reason. When she finally realized Moriel was cool, the two of them bonded in their Yellow Group (the ones who were horrible at sight reading music) and have been close since then. Moira and Moriel played the two rivals to friends roommates in their senior musical, which was both super fun and super traumatic (iykyk). They have a long history of people confusing their two names, happy hours at 5 napkin burger, and ordering dessert at restaurants. Moira was the photographer who captured the photos on the day that Jon proposed to Moriel.
Meghan Bowes (she/her)
Moriel's VIP
Meghan and Moriel latched on to each other in the first few days of college, when they were put in both the same acting classes and academic classes. They instantly bonded over their nerdy interests (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Star Wars, many dorm room Walking Dead nights). Moriel spent many nights sleeping on the couch in Meghan's Stuytown apartment after Halloween festivities, all-nighter study sessions, and late night rehearsals.
Zander Lyons (he/him)
Moriel's VIP
Zander and Moriel were paired together on the first day of acting class. Their teacher had them participate in a weird chakra-based exercise where they put their hands on each others' knees and felt each others' energy. After Moriel correctly predicted Zander's personality, Zander predicted that Moriel was quiet, shy, and didn't have a lot to say. He regretted his assessment immediately when Moriel spent the next few months chatting his ear off and forcing him to be her friend. Moriel spent 4 years of college making Zander do his homework. Jury's still out if Moriel has managed to entrap Zander into friendship, but he did say yes to being her VIP - so signs are positive!
Lars Lindahl
Jon's VIP
Lars and Jon met freshman year of college at Vassar. Lars was thankfully always around to be Jon's backup date to concerts whenever Jon got ghosted, or these days, when Moriel is out of town on a theater contract. The two of them lived together their senior year, and then again in the city together when they got robbed at their Queens apartment. There's no better bonding experience than getting robbed! Jon once pranked Lars by making a fake lotto scratch-off ticket, and though Lars eventually found out that he had not actually won $10k, we're so happy he agreed to attend the wedding.
Mike Colaneri
Jon's VIP
Mike and Jon are old buddies from high school, which for them, was a million years ago. They spent many night's in the Tascher's attic, playing a game they invented called hack-a-pack, and jumping around directly above Jon's parents' bedroom. They once set the smoke detector off in the middle of the night and graced the Tascher parents with the presence of local firemen. You're welcome, Marc and Debby! Mike and his wife Suzanne have spent the past 2 New Years Eves at extremely last minute restaurant events with Jon and Moriel, as both couples are seemingly terrible at planning.
Egidio Bianco
Jon's VIP
Also a high school friend, Egidio was also there the day the firemen came to the Tascher household. Egidio and Jon spent a ton of time driving around in Jon's 1988 Pontiac Safari with wood panelling, and speaking to each other on their walkie talkie phones, a concept that Jon had to explain to Moriel. Egidio and Jon went to Costa Rica together last year for Mike's bachelor party, which Jon lovingly refers to as Egidio's first time leaving Westchester in 20 years.
Pete Malinowski
Jon's VIP
Pete and Jon met in college, where they lived together as seniors and again as super seniors. They were the most mature adults who had to move back into the dorms during their 5th year of college! Pete and Jon once put their DVD player in the refrigerator so that they could keep watching 24 while it was overheating. Being from a family with an oyster farm, Pete has forced Jon to eat at least 3 oysters in his lifetime, an impressive feat, as Jon hates all seafood. Jon has spent many 4th of July weekends at Pete's parents' house on Fishers Island, and even got Moriel to go with him and sleep in a tent.
Trevor Bunce (he/him)
Officiant
Moriel and Trevor met when their voice teachers forced them to do a joint vocal recital. Moriel had to awkwardly ask Trevor, a person who she had never met, to sing a duet with her from Shrek the Musical. Then when Trevor's future wife, Tara, asked Moriel for any tea on Trevor, she had nothing but positive things to say, and takes full credit for their relationship. It was only fair to let Trevor take credit for marrying Moriel and Jon. Trevor, along with Tara, has since had many fun adventures with Moriel and Jon, including road trips, apple picking excursions, and Trevor's band gigs.