Ken and Pema
Wedding Party
Deb
Maid of Honor
Pema’s 1st friend in NJ after her parents plucked her out of the city and moved her to the suburbs. They celebrated 20 years of friendship in San Francisco a few years back and are planning to make a 50th trip as well
Doll
Bridesmaid
Sisters and friends since 1989. Occasionally enemies but we make up. Best childhood memories: wrapping our pet cat and dog up as gifts to each other after a fight
Mer Bear
Bridesmaid
Mer and Pema’s last names serendipitously began with ‘B’ and ‘C,’ resulting in Pema sitting behind Mer in 7th grade math class. Pema would watch Mer sleep in class, it’s a wonder that she’s a CPA now
Jay
Bridesman
While on a plane ride for a NYU Stern trip, Pema needed a Russian playing partner for the game of Durak, so she yelled, ‘HEY, YOU RUSSIAN KID!’ And Jay turned around, pointed to himself and said, ‘who me?’ It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship
Brian Suchoski
Best Man
Brian is Ken’s younger brother and his best man in the wedding. Growing up, they did pretty much everything together, playing hockey and adventuring in the woods near their house. As most brothers do, they also have a history of clashing at times. Ken sometimes took advantage of Brian growing up (one time Ken dressed him up in ski gear and sent him to knock down a foot-long beehive while Ken watched from a distance). Brian has always been there for Ken and supportive of his endeavors, and Ken couldn’t ask for a better brother. Despite Brian’s younger age, Ken looks up to him in many ways. He has much better work-life balance than Ken, and on weekends he can be found skiing, fishing, hiking, camping, and coding software.
Michael Kretschmer
Groomsman
Michael went to Middlebury with Ken, and they played hockey together for several years. Michael and Ken would often find themselves in various pickles in college but managed to get out of most of them together unharmed. Michael has a unique personality, a very easygoing guy but sometimes afraid to branch out of his core friend group (luckily Ken is in that core friend group). He likes to stay on the island of Manhattan - going across the Hudson River to NJ sometimes feels like a cross-country trip. Ken is relieved that Michael is able to make it to the Jersey City wedding. Ken couldn’t ask for a better friend, and now that they live just two blocks from each other in NYC, they often hang out of the weekends, watching sporting events or eating dinner together.
PJ Kachmar
Groomsman
PJ and Ken first met in 8th grade and played hockey together throughout high school. They parted ways for college, but during the summer months, PJ and Ken would reunite, playing on the same men’s league hockey team and hanging out at PJ’s house where they’d watch playoff hockey. They reunited again in NYC years later, working at the same firm and living together for several years. PJ is known for his very detailed stories that occasionally veer off on tangents. PJ’s storytelling is so convincing that one time while visiting Ken at college, he convinced a group at a Midd hockey party that he was a hockey recruit. PJ is a great friend, he’s very open about his thoughts and he’s always there to listen if you had a rough day.
Trevor Dodds
Groomsman
Trevor and Ken first met in college where they were in the same freshman class and played hockey together. When you see him at the wedding, he’ll probably be putting in requests to the band to play his favorite country songs. Fun fact - he’s probably the only one at this wedding who can hit a 90-mph fastball. Our adventures extended to spring break trips, casino visits, country music festivals, and an intramural softball championship senior spring. Ken is very appreciative of his hospitality, as he and his family would always host our Midd hockey class for Thanksgiving, as he lived just two hours from campus. He’s one of the most humble guys out there, and he always has a positive attitude no matter the situation.