Maria & Benjamin
Wedding Party
Niels & Sonja Rydder
Parents of the Bride
We are the proud parents of Maria (still) Rydder. We love spending time with our family and friends in Disney parks and like to travel, preferably by ship. When Maria wanted to introduce Ben to our family, we were quite nervous, but he won us over right away. We really enjoy being with him and are looking forward to following him and Maria in their new life and continuing future adventures. We are sure they will make it very interesting.
Mark & Lisa Schwartz
Parents of the Groom
We live on Long Island, NY and have been married for 36 years. Benjamin is our middle guy who is bookended by a brother and sister. He values strong bonds for both family and friends. Ben first introduced us to Maria 5 years ago in Santa Clara, California. Since then we were able to see their relationship grow into a loving and fun couple on our East Coast/West Coast visits, family vacations and when Maria stayed with us while preparing for the NYS bar exam. We are very excited to welcome Maria, with love, to the Schwartz family.
Carina Rydder
Sister of the Bride & Bridesmaid
Carina is Maria's older sister and a mother of 3 adorable children. In her spare time, Carina likes to do online fitness classes with her son, Gunnar, and hang out with friends. Carina helped raise Maria (and Carl) due to the 12-year age difference and was there for all of Maria's achievements growing up. She even inspired Maria to play soccer and get into sports!
Alexander Schwartz
Brother of the Groom & Best Man
Hi there! I'm [Ron Burgandy], [Human Rain Delay], Best Man and passionate brother Alex. Ben and I met in the latter half of '92, and have been thick as thieves from day 1. What started with outrunning killer bee hives and purposefully crashing bicycles in the driveway, quickly escalated over the years to weekend San Fran / NYC outings and annual Vegas shenanigans (with largely the cast of characters you see in this beautiful wedding party). I met Maria on one of my very first visits to Santa Clara and after countless visits to popular West Coast sweets/desserts staples am excited to add an awesome sister to the family. With much love and anticipatory delays, Alexander
Martin Rydder
Brother of the Bride & Ring Bearer
Martin is the older, witty, handsome brother of Maria. Being 10 years her senior Martin was generally more reserved but as adults they have become true friends. You can always count on him for a quick laugh or sage life advice. Martin is married to Kaycee who is part of the wedding party.
Kaycee Young-Rydder
Sister-in-Law of Bride & Bridesmaid
Kaycee is not only Maria’s sister in-law but also her friend! They’ve been on countless trips together from wine tasting in Napa to eating pastries Denmark. Kaycee works at an advertising agency in San Francisco and has recently started learning to roller skate.
Carl Rydder
Brother of the Bride, Flower Man & Groomsman
Carl, 26, 6'4" and has been Maria's brother for 26 years. I was rank 4 protection warrior in World of Warcraft for a while. I like to dance and eat Kinder Buenos. I met Ben not too long ago at law school (I didn’t go to law school, we were just in an apartment complex near his law school). Ben and Maria introduced me to wing stop and changed me. So they did one good thing for me, so now I return the favor as flower MAN.
Stephanie Schwartz
Sister of the Groom & Bridesmaid
Hello! I’m Steph- the groom’s favorite sister/PIC and the bride’s future sis-in-law. Maria and I met the summer of 2016 where we quickly bonded over our love for Taylor Swift (to Ben’s dismay.) We’ve grown close over the past five years and I can’t wait to have her as a sister!
Allison Harf
Maid of Honor
Allison is from Sonoma, Ca. Maria and Allison went to Chapman together. Not only did they go to college together, Maria was Allison's Big Sister in their sorority. Since day one, they have become great friends and have always stuck together like glue no matter the distance between them.
Corey Grossman
Groomsman
Our protagonists Ben and Corey's story begins on the unforgiving streets of Syosset High School. On a bright, sunny morning, fate would pair these two unlikely heroes together as science partners. From then on, our champions would develop a deep friendship and bond over trips to six flags, iHop brunches, adversity of NY/NJ sports, and a shared love of Southern Californian blondes.
Delna Kealy
Maid of Honor
Delna and Maria met freshman year at Chapman and the rest is history. From long weekend trips in college to late nights in the city, these two have already made a lifetime of memories together and there's so much more to come! Delna is joined by her new husband, Patrick Kealy.
William "Bill" Sunshine
Groomsman
I met ben like most people meet these days...online. He instant messaged me that we would be best friends; that was 15 years ago. My closest friend to this day.
Samantha Martin
Bridesmaid
I first met Maria during my senior year of high school, through mutual friends. In the fall, Maria attended UC Santa Barbara and I attended Chapman University. After her first quarter at UCSB, I was pleasantly surprised when Maria informed me that she would be transferring to Chapman! I convinced Maria to join my sorority, and the next 4 years were pure bliss! Post-grad, Maria was my #1 wing woman in Orange County and together we navigated many of life's challenges as young professionals, and still do to this day!
Michael “Son of Earl” Tarulli
Groomsman
I am an aspiring Fanduel entrepreneur, hoping to one day retire on my private island with my Fanduel riches. I met Benjamin David Schwartz my freshman year of college, his sophomore year, at Lehigh while attending a Morning Cocktail Party at Delta Phi. What started as a random acquittance with cups of grain in our hands, quickly turned into a very solid friendship. From Ben ‘rushing’ me into Dphi and the years after as ‘brothers’ in the house, all the way to now, Ben and I continued to become better and better friends the more time we hung out.
Gunnar, Sofia & Olivia Rydder
Nephew and Nieces of the Bride
Gunnar is Auntie Ria's favorite godson, named after his great-grandfather and Maria's morfar. He is a happy go lucky high schooler who loves playing video games. His two younger sisters are Sofia and Olivia, who are two peas in a pod. They love Disney princesses and playing on Buzzfeed Quizzes with Auntie Ria.
Eric Chuanroong
Groomsman
I was introduced to Ben when rushing Delta Phi at Lehigh. I’m especially grateful to Ben for helping me find my niche in college, and making me feel like family beyond the brotherhood, especially when he and his family welcomed me during Hanukkah. Some of my favorite memories with Ben include laughing hysterically at Comedy Central and hopping around music festivals with him and Maria in Miami.
Matt Blank
Groomsman
The year is 1996. A four year old Matt and his baby brother head outside for a walk with their mom, where they'll soon meet another set of brothers living just around the corner. Matt doesn’t know it yet but two very important things are about to happen: 1) Lisa will correctly predict that The Gates’ new stop signs go entirely unheeded and 2) he’s about to meet his lifelong best friend Ben. Over the next 25 years, Ben and Matt made countless memories and inside jokes playing Mario Party/Brawl/Crash Bandicoot, eating too much Domino’s, riding their bikes around town, and toasting to toast.