Wedding Party

Cody

Best Man

C Boogie....Jay's brother from another mother. Jay met Cody on their first day of boarding/high school. They have been besties ever since. He tells Jay like it is and always keeps it real. He's reliable, dependable, sincere, stylish, a phenomenal leader, and always puts his loved one's on to the hottest trends. Cody means more to Jay than words can express.

Megan

Maid of Honor

Katie and Megan have been BFF's since 2nd grade. They are partners in crime. Megan and Katie both studied Theatre at Iowa and lived together. Dirty Dancing Havana Nights is their soundtrack.

Abbie

Bridesmaid

Abbie went to boarding school at St. Marks with Jay and married Jay’s best man, Cody. They were high school sweethearts. Abbie recently welcomed her first child this year, CJ. Katie and Abbie became close during the pandemic during weekly Friday night zoom games.

Scott

Man of Honor

Scott is Katie's gay husband. They have been friends since birth. Scott and Katie ran the town of Gowrie and grew up next door to each other. Scott lives in Palm Springs, CA and works in set design. Scott is a talented athlete and artist. You can see his work here at https://www.scottpalmerstudio.com/

Paul

Groomsman

Paul and Jay have been inseparable since our days in the dorms at boarding school. Paul is one of the kindest and most caring men Jay has ever met. Jay is extremely happy to have his friendship and support in life. Jay really hopes that Paul's singing talent starts to rub off on him one day. If anyone of Jay's friends can make it in the music industry, it would absolutely be Paul!

Natalie

Matron of Honor & Sister of the Bride

Katie's older sister. Natalie has 2 kids (Rory & George). Natalie is a teacher and spends her time outside the classroom on TikTok as an influencer and content creator, making cooking videos for her 100k+ followers. Follow her @livinginmidwest. Katie and Natalie went to Iowa for college at the same time. They were both the top golfers in high school.

Danny

Groomsman

Jay and Danny met his freshman year at Trinity College, were fraternity brothers at Psi Upsilon, and were roommates for 3 years. Danny is one of a kind and makes the best microwavable snacks of all time. Challenge him to microwave snack contest! I dare you! He also taught Jay a thing or two about being kind, thoughtful, and most importantly how to listen better.

Suzanne

Maid of Honor & Sister of the Bride

Suz is Katie's younger sister and Irish twin (they are 18 months apart). Suz currently lives in the Phoenix area with her dog Coco (named by Katie after Coco Chanel). Suz betrayed the family by going to Iowa State University for undergrad, but she is currently getting her MBA at The University of Iowa. Suz is the calm one in the family and the karaoke queen!

Tom

Beer Bearer & Brother of the Bride

Tom is Katie's only brother and the baby of the family. Tom works for BackPocket Brewery, lives in Des Moines with his wife Courtney and son Maverick. Tom ran the Des Moines marathon this past year and he enjoys grilling out in his backyard with the family.

Courtney

Sister-In-Law & Bridesmaid

Courtney is an Iowa grad. She's married to Katie's brother, Tom and is mom to Maverick (age 2). Courtney and Tom met in college and have been married since 2017. Courtney puts up with the crazy Petersen family and frequently plays peacemaker. She's a big fan plants, weekends at the farmers market and dive bars!

Chang

Groomsman

Chang and Jay met as roommates their freshman year of boarding school. They loved and enjoyed each other so much, they were roommates for 4 years. Although Jay thinks he's the funny one, Chang has been known to create some knee slapping moments himself. I guess one could say we were the living embodiment of Rush Hour 1, 2, and 3. While Chang lived in NYC for a brief time, he gave Jay dating advice. It lead to Jay downloading the Coffee Meets Bagel app to met the love of my life.

Kris

Bridesmaid

KP + KP. Kris and Katie have been BFFs since Kindergarten. They passed notes, were in student council, volleyball, softball, basketball, band, musical and choir. Kris and Katie were trendsetters and partners in crime. Kris and Katie shaved their legs in 4th grade. All the other girls followed suit and Katie's mom got phone calls. Kris lives in Des Moines with her husband Matt and 2 boys.

Jabari

Groomsman

Jabari and Jay became a tandem when Jay convinced Jabari to join the wrestling team their freshman year of boarding school. He told Jabari they could become the Shadow Boyz and dominate the ISL. Ultimately, Jabari showed Jay how to be a warrior in battle and push himself to limits he never thought he could reach. No matter how far they've come in life and grown together, Jay still can't catch Jabari in a game of tag. #TooFast #TooQuick #DarknessBrothers

Kelli

Bridesmaid

Kelli is Katie's first NYC BFF. Kelli and Katie, otherwise known as "KK", met at a nightclub called Hudson Terrace and they were immediately inseparable. Katie and Kelli know everything about each other, have lived and traveled together. Kelli lives in NJ with her 2 kids and husband Jordan.

Nat

Groomsman

Nat and Jay have been friends since freshman year of high school. They lived in the same dorm and the moment Jay realized that Nat would become one of his friends for life was when he beat Jay in Madden with the Cleveland Browns (and the Browns were trash at the time). He's a great man and Jay's so glad he's by his side today and everyday.

Justine

Bridesmaid

Justine and Katie had mutual friends at Iowa, but reconnected years later in NYC. Katie is the best wedding date Justine has ever had. They have tested their friendship and remain friends even after 9 hour drives from Cape Cod to NYC. Justine and Katie both love corn, crab legs and Iowa football. They've had many adventures in NYC and have remained close even though Justine lives in Cambodia and is a nurse and Muay Thai fighter.

Mike Phillips

Groomsman

Mikey P....Jay and Phillips met at Trinity College. They both pledged Psi Upsilon fraternity together. Although was a better pledge, Phillips became President and Jay was his Vice President. Jay and Phillips have a special high school connection because they went to rival boarding schools (St. Mark's vs. Groton). Although Jay is a lion and eats zebra meat, he ultimately admires Phillips' quick wit and charisma and is glad he has at least one zebra in his life.

Dana

Bridesmaid

Dana is Katie's first Jewish friend. Day met K during a college internship and "Lead America" in the Bronx at Fordham University. Dana's parents Bob and Linda had a huge impact on Katie's life. They took Katie in when she moved to NYC and taught her how to be a New Yorker (said with a Brooklyn accent). Dana and Katie love sushi and diet coke dates, old school Italian food, and they were both theatre majors.

Mike Oppong

Groomsman

Jay met Oppong in college at Trinity through Danny Pelo. Oppong went to Tuffs. Jay and Oppong became friends over a mutual adoration for Drizzy Drake Rogers. Ever since, they've only grown closer and Jay considers Oppong to be one most genuine and caring person in his life.

Molly

Bridesmaid

Molly and Katie met at Iowa as Theatre Majors and became best friends living in NYC. Molly and Katie's favorite activity together is eating great food. Here is a list of their places Ordering "Sush" to Stuytown, Five Leaves, ABC Kitchen, ABC Cocina, Stone Barns, Tarrytown, Ella, Kat'z Deli, Madam Geneva, Cucumber Gimlet's at Saxon + Parole, Nolita (basically everywhere). Russ & Daughters. Molly is a farmer in Iowa City.

Stephen

Groomsman

Freedom Rico and Jay met their freshman year of boarding school. Jay always admired Steve for his bold nature. Upon initially meeting, Jay noticed that Steve wore an all white belt that had a name on the buckle. The buckle spelled out..."STEVE". At the time, Jay only knew of folks from NYC, specifically the Bronx who wore such attire. Ever since, Jay has admired Steve and knew he was a real one. They've only grown closer and found more commonality since those early days. Katie is also undefeated in darts and board games against Steve.

Annie, Pallavi, Ami

11G Cava Bridesmaids

Annie, Pallavi, Ami and Katie are former roommates. Katie hand picked each of them and is responsible for creating the friend group. Favorite memories include fighting while playing code names or Catan, staying up late talking on the mezz, Central Park birthdays, Iowa Football Game watches, Wine nights, and too many shenanigans that aren't appropriate. Annie is from Czech Republic and has the best abs Katie has ever seen. Pallu is from Pune, India. She's a Dentist and loves Katie's homemade ranch dressing. Ami is from India and Berkeley, CA. Ami has 2 birthdays and Katie once accidently made her eat beef (she's vegan).

Anna

Officiant

Anna met Katie at work in the fall of 2016. In the office, Katie could often be telling hilarious (wildly inappropriate) stories in her vivacious style. It was love at first sight — Anna knew they had to be friends. Anna met Jay when he joined Katie at a NYE party in 2017. The only person in the room to be even more stylish than Katie herself, she could not imagine a better match!

Aurora "Rory"

Flower Girl

Rory is Katie's niece. Rory loves ranch dressing, costumes, dancing, makeup, pizza, McDonalds, Starbucks Macha Frapps, shopping, wearing black, playing with her friends. Rory is very excited to be a flower girl for Aunt Kiki and Uncle J's wedding.

George

Ring Bearer

Maverick

Nephew & Ring Bearer