Lauren & Kiya
Wedding Party
Lisa Creatura
Maid of Honor
Lisa is Lauren's younger - and cooler - sister. They grew up randomly bursting into songs from Les Miserables and attending Harry Potter midnight premieres (given the opportunity, they still would do so). Lisa always brings the entertainment -- whether with her top-notch rendition of "Dreams" by the Cranberries or her Ravenclaw-worthy wit. A Hufflepuff at heart, though, Lauren has learned a lot from Lisa's loyalty, kindheartedness, and dedication her loved ones. Lisa truly is one of the best people that Lauren knows.
Babak Hosseiniyar
Best Man
Babak is Kiya's first friend. They met at a daycare when they were both still in diapers and have been BFFL since! Paramount to their friendship is a love for raunchy action comedies and video games. The many hours spent getting into high jinks around the neighborhood only served to further solidify their eternal amity.
Andreana Arsene
Bridesmaid
Andreana and Lauren are sorority sisters, meeting when Lauren was a shy, new transfer student. Andreana's quiet, gentle demeanor was very welcome to Lauren during the sensory overload that came with rushing. As college students are wont to do, they frequently stayed up through the night talking about philosophy, theology, psychology, and silliness. Over the years, Andreana has been one of Lauren's most steadfast friends, being present in some way shape or form despite the obstacles of geography.
David Creatura
Groomsman
Kiya has long been a sports aficionado and much to his dismay, he ended up with Lauren who is sports-averse. Enter Lauren's younger brother, David. The two share no sporting allegiances and often find themselves rooting for opposing teams. Occasional digs are made but in the end it's always civil and Kiya is all too delighted to have another member in his family to talk sports.
Auzar Kashanijou
Bridesmaid
Auzar was the first person in Kiya's family to learn that he was dating Lauren. He let it slip while they were at the mall, mentioning he needed to pick up a birthday gift. When they met in person, Lauren and Auzar bonded easily. Between writing Auzar's college essays, salsa dancing lessons in Cuba, and teasing Kiya with vegan food, they have definitely formed the "sister" part of "sister-in-law." Auzar has a wise, kind soul and Lauren already has a bunch of big sister pride for the woman that Auzar is and is growing to be.
Brad Nishina
Groomsman
Kiya and Brad met in high school on the first day of band camp. Since he was a year ahead, Brad took Kiya under his wings and showed him the ropes to high school life. As early risers, they would always be at school well before the start of class to bonded over all things nerdy.
Nika Kashanijou
Bridesmaid
Nika was the first member of Kiya's family to meet Lauren. Upon flying up to visit Nika at Stanford one weekend, and they immediately bonded over their shared wine pretension and continued loyalty to Grey's Anatomy. Lauren has felt truly welcomed to the family by Nika, as she has been a parter in crime for a number of festivities and teasing of Kiya (with all the love in the world, of course). Having gone on such adventures as feeding ostriches, wine tasting, visiting tiny horses, exploring new cities, and swimming through caves in Cuba, Lauren is thrilled to be able to call Nika "sister."
Swagat Sahu
Groomsman
Kiya had the extreme pleasure of attending both high school and college with Swagat. They were even roommates for a spell. Because of this, there are numerous inside jokes between these two and if you listen carefully, you might even uncover what they are. Swagat is a fiercely loyal friend and adored tremendously by Kiya's family.
Vibhuti Nanda
Bridesmaid
Lauren met Vibhuti when she moved to West LA. Not knowing anyone outside of work locally, Lauren signed up for Bumble BFF and met Vibhuti shortly thereafter. Bonding over happy hour in Santa Monica, they became fast friends. Every time Lauren and Vibs get together is an adventure, whether catching a play at the local theatre, touring India, or staying in to test the boundaries of hot sauce tolerance (Mad Dog 357 is the limit). In fact, Vibs was the person who encouraged Lauren to use Coffee Meets Bagel, the app that first connected Lauren with Kiya.
Scott Stokell
Groomsman
Kiya became friends with a set of twins in middle school jazz band. First up is Scott, piano extraordinaire. Countless memories were made messing around before and after class just jamming and singing about why "my baby done left me." During those adolescent years, Scott served as the moral compass of the group and even today, he is sometimes called into action.
Germaine Vogel
Bridesmaid
Germaine was the first friend that Lauren found while attending University of Redlands. Both being somewhat shy transfer students, they met in a class entitled "Modern Paganism in America." It was not long before they were taking care of each other when they were sick or hurt. In fact, Germaine taught Lauren how to cook and introduced her to kale before it was trendy. Over the years, they have come to refer to each other as "wifey," while eating decadent food, escaping mean chickens, being radical feminists, and developing more inside jokes than can be recounted in this paragraph.
Zach Stokell
Groomsman
Zach is the second member of Clan Stokell in the wedding party. Like Scott, he and Kiya met in middle school jazz band. He is responsible for introducing Kiya to delightful sounds heavy metal. From Judas Priest to Iron Maiden, the two have traveled across California to see countless iconic bands.
Mary Weise
Bridesmaid
Mary is Lauren's sorority sister, and they lived in the house together during Junior year. Mary is one of the most loyal and fierce friends that Lauren has ever encountered -- she will take you to the doctor when you're sick and even run a half marathon with you. Lovingly referred to as "Demeter" by Lauren and Mary's soon-to-be-husband Jon, Mary will always show up for the people she loves and ensure they are happy, healthy, and nourished. Over many trips to Disneyland and preparing Friendsgiving dinners over the years, Lauren is incredibly grateful for everything that Mary is and does.
Brandyn Way
Groomsman
Kiya's never had any but apparently Brandyn is famous for his breakfasts. These two met at UC Irvine in a freshman level physics class. Many adventures were had in their collegiate years, however the one that will forever be cherished is the Quarter Club. The pair's names have been immortalized on the wall of the UCI pub for having accomplished the great feat of drinking a pint every day of that term. Much to the dismay of Big-Alcohol, neither turned into an alcoholic.
Marcee Wickline
Bridesmaid
Lauren's earliest memory of Marcee is from a birthday party between the summer of second and third grade. Growing up down the street from each other, Lauren and Marcee were virtually inseparable through high school. That is not hyperbole. Between ballet classes, rehearsals for musicals, shared school schedules, and even multiple puppetry programs, Lauren and Marcee did virtually everything together. Being one of her longest-running and most loyal friendships, Lauren could not imagine her wedding day without Marcee by her side.
Jimmy Wilcox
Groomsman
Rounding out Team Groom is another high school band friend, Jimmy. In the years immediately after college Kiya and Jimmy were living and Thousand Oaks and trying to find their way in life together. In the interim Jimmy taught Kiya the art of homebrewing.