Wedding Party
Jessica Pyrkowski
Bride
Why are you looking here? You know who I am Weirdo.... And if you don't know us-
Daniel Heinz
Groom
Yeah really what did you think you would find here? You should know me! Tough nuggz! you'll meet us at the wedding!
Andrew Shaw
Man of Honor
Best friend of the bride, Andrew and Jess met in High School in a weird way. Jess was google earthing her house when Andrew leaned over and said, "I know where you live". A normal person would say, "please leave me alone" or just leave, but not Jess. After finding out they lived across cicero from each other, they became besties. This gained him the nickname "Stalker" for many years to come. After around 4 years of not seeing each other, Andrew and Jess showed up to the same party, Jess immediately recognized him and the two were reunited once more. After that they played a lot of D&D together, had tea parties, late night trips to Walmart, Nonnas and even Downtown Chicago and have also helped each other through moving, relationships and so much more! Even though they don't get to hang out as much snapchat has been a good way for these two to stay connected!
Julian Ramirez
Best Man
Best friend of the groom, they met when they were about 4 or 5 years old. Being a neighbor to his grandparents, at first the two did not get along. This included Julian throwing Dan into a fake fireplace on day 1, but with no one else to hang out with, they realized they were stuck together. Their friendship has grown from enemies to brothers. He is one of the reasons Dan got into movies, introducing him to some of his most cherished movies/series such as Sin City, Firefly, Kevin Smith movies such as Mallrats and even Dan's prized possession: a Fight Club dvd signed by Chuck Palahniuk. While they may not always hang out Dan knows Julian is someone he can always call for anything!
Robert Pyrkowski Jr.
Groomsman
Robert, or as many in the family call him Bobby, is Jessica's younger brother. The two shared a room for years, and shared great times playing Super Mario and Mega Man on the Super Nintendo, hanging out with our neighborhood friends and going on many an arcade adventure with their dad. As the two got older they started to realize they enjoy a lot of the same things! From anime to Celtic music; Musicals to estate sales, it was amazing to find out how cool her brother was. What made this even better was finding out both Dan and Robert are into Magic and have often hung out to play magic together! What Dan has noticed about Bobby is how laid back he is and how kind he is to everyone around him, bringing good company, joy and laughter wherever he goes. Even though he is a dirty blue player. (IYKYK)
Caroline Staszak
Bridesmaid
Meeting in 2000 Caroline was a game changer when she grew up. Until Caroline was born, Jessica thought having siblings was easy, Caroline changed that very quickly. Being the spitfire of the 4 siblings Caroline will always have your back whether you need a shoulder to cry on or to help get rid of the evidence. Jessica was given the honor of being Caroline's prayer partner in grade school as well as he confirmation sponsor. The two have bonded over their love for DIY projects, such as home construction, trying new recipes and their rebellious spirits and of course the week is not complete without at least one video call together!
eM Noonan
Groomsman
eM and Jessica met in college and have always found a way to have a good time. Most of the time they would just drive around and stop at random places like the park, spirit Halloween, random smoke that ended up being a controlled burn, no matter what, it is always a fun time. Some of the best times would be singing together at karaoke which was always a blast or driving to Chicago for random waffle excursions. One of the funniest things eM has ever said to Jess was, "I thought your soulmate was gonna be a woman, and then you met Dan." M and Jess have helped each other through a lot of difficult things and Jess will always look back on those times with gratitude! Dan shares that eM is a good friend to have a serious conversation with and when you are not having a serious conversation they will always put a smile your face and a laugh on your lips. while Dan and eM both have short social batteries, Dan can always trust that it will be...an experience ;-)
Serena Staszak
Bridesmaid
Serena has been the baby of the family for long time and while Jess will always see her as her baby sister, she is so glad to see how much Serena has grown! When Serena was younger she would always be around wanting to hang out with the big kids, this created one of the first memories of Dan and Serena. At a Disney themed party, Dan was dressed as The Beast and Serena came down in a Belle Costume. Without a second thought Dan scooped up little Serena and danced with her. It was Adorable! While Serena and Jessica have had their differences it's very clear the two love each other very much and are always teaching each other different things! Aside from being an amazing sister, she will also be our amazing Hair and Make-up Artist, and an artist she truly is!
Ryan Hebel
Groomsman
Jess and Dan met Ryan as they have met many of their friends, through Dungeons and Dragons in Shaw's basement! The three have spent a lot of time getting to know each other and when they first started hanging out, outside of games, Jess referred to Ryan (and Laura) as "The cool kids" which Dan will never let her live down. But honestly Ryan is one of the kindest, most down to earth people they know. And they are so happy to have him in the party! One of their favorite memories to share is when the 4 (Ryan, Laura, Dan and Jess) shared a room while attending Acen where Jessica made and unhealthy amount of fishbowls for everyone which may have added to the amount of laughs the group shared that evening.
Laura Hebel
Bridesmaid
When Laura showed up at Ryan's pool party Jess went and made a new friend. The two immediately clicked and started talking about their love of the musical "Wicked". They have gone to the Wizard of Oz festival together and also learned that they both have a love of making costumes and worked together to make costumes for different events and helped each other even write backstories to go with their costumes! Their friendship has taken off since, and now the bride and groom play D&D with Laura and Ryan often!
Matt Crenshaw
Groomsman
Known as the forever DM or Shaw, Shaw has a special place as he is the reason we have met many of our current friends, including how we (the bride and groom) met! Dan met him at Moraine while Shaw was playing Magic the Gathering, which they still play to this day. From there they grew their friendship through their love magic, history and mythology. While Dan has always wanted to play it wasn't long before Shaw talked Dan into playing D&D which has become a part of the fabric of Dan and Jess' lives. Forever jealous of his long growing hair, while he hates pictures we blackmailed him into getting this selfie. jk ;-P a few years later, Shaw then talked Jess into playing D&D, and well...we see what happened then! The bride and groom want to thank Shaw for helping build worlds and letting them be a part of the adventures!
Nikole Stonis
Bridesmaid
In the weird years of college, Nikki and Jess managed to find each other through mutual friends. It wasn't long before they both realized they were peas in a pod with an affinity for being their weird selves. During college Jess and Nikki did many things together, such as hosting philosophical tea parties where they questioned if being slapped with swiss cheese makes you blessed because it's holy, jumping in rain puddles when it monsooned at Moraine and even formed a "cover band" called "Girls in plaid pants" that sang at open mic night at Ashbary coffee house. While the band was short lived they still enjoy music together often, including Nikki convincing Jess to see Jesse McCartney in concert who she then became obsessed with. We look forward to seeing what new philosophical discussions, musical discoveries and many more adventures are made!
Robert Powers
Groomsman
Dan met Bob through Jessi Grigoletti and Tara and immediately embarrassed them by jumping on Bob's back before any formal introduction was made. Dan is so lucky that Bob stuck around to become one of his best friends. Bob being the deep thinker and literal philosophy major he is allowed Dan to engage in intellectual discussions and topics that were previously unexplored. These conversation were always fierce and passionate, but never judgmental. Dan would also call Bob the greatest dreamer he has ever met. Someone who always chases what he believes and what he wants. Dan looks back at when they started their sparring group as one of the most impressive things he has ever seen of someone asking, "why not?" and just doing it. Jessica also looks back on sparring Tuesdays, now on Wednesdays, with fondness and can often hear Bob in the back of her head saying, "I'm gonna bop ya." while teaching her the way of the sword.
Rachel Heinz
Bridesmaid
Cousin of the groom Rachel has always been someone that Dan and Jess love to kidnap any chance they get! The trio have fun going to new experiences such as the masque macabre, as well as watching new comedy specials together after letting their hair freeze while sitting in the hot tub on cold winter nights! She totally called Dan and Jess' relationship very early into their friendship. Rachel is the type of person who gets along with everyone and is great at being her quirky self. Always great for a laugh and a great hug, and maybe even a song! The bride and groom wish they saw her more often she didn't live so far!
Frank Radochonski
Groomsman
While we thought about starting this descriptor off with a joke, like Frank the Tank, Ooh Frank and Brosephius, we thought he deserved more than that. Frank, with a laugh that could shake the heavens is one of the chillest and most generous people the bride and groom have ever met, both with his time and compassion. Frank met Dan and Jess through a mutual friend Davey at Shaws, there was something about a Gamecube and backwards visor. Over the years the three have bonded over their love of board games, D&D, midwestern goodbyes, recipe sharing and in Dan and Frank's case pizza. The original plan was to have Frank be a flower bro, which he'd rock at, but Dan couldn't imagine not including him in his wedding party.
Jenn Mrumlinksi
Bridesmaid
As Dan's older sister, Jenn was Dan's biggest protector and was always there for him and that has carried through into adulthood. Jenn has been there through thick and thin and Dan and Jess are so happy she is part of their lives. Jenn is like Jess, also very crafty and they have bonded over that mutual hobby as well as being Disney adults and Potterheads. While there is only a 3 1/2 year difference Dan has always viewed Jenn as a sort of second mother. He is still not sorry for stealing her rosebud leftovers, but one day, maybe, she will forgive him. Just like how Dan is forgiving Jenn for steeling his graduations and birthday, though the shots were nice, by stealing Halloween mwahahaha :-p
Matt Nienhouse
Groomsman
Dan met Matt at work while both being part of the clerical support department. While starting out as discussion of video games interest turned into, "we should meet up and play games." and so began the adventures of usually going over to Matt's, cracking open a few drinks, and playing some games. Matt then introduced Dan to first person shooters, which was a genre he had never explored before with Pubg. This would lead to Dan playing overwatch and the Call of Duty with matt. While Matt would much rather have been playing Halo, Dan and Matt still played Modern Warfare 2019 several nights a week growing closer and closer. While there are not as many games they play together nowadays, Dan is sure there will be an explosion (like a new Halo maybe?) that will draw them back to gaming multiple nights a week together to which Jess will walk in to and say, "you guys playin' Halo" and "Ranga Danga!"
Kaile Pyzynski
Bridesmaid
Dan's youngest sister, who Dan thinks has taken way too much after him, in years past, he is proud of her decisions such as going away away to school. Dan is also incredibly proud at how far and how successful she has pushed through life and he cannot wait to see where it takes her next. Kaile is someone, who despite having horrible allergies, has taken after her family for an insane amount of love for dogs and cats. Another person in the bridal party with a booming laugh, Kaile is another person who brings joy wherever she is, when she isn't being crybaby ;-) Kaile will always be his baby sister no matter how old they get. sorry K. Dan could not imagine such a momentous occasion without his sisters by his side.
Jessica Cusumano
Officiant
Jess and Jess (J^2) have been friends for over 27 years! Their adventures started in grade school being paired as gossiping angels and Dorothy's in the school musicals as well as many other duets. The two have become more than friends they are like sisters! So much so that when they would go out people would ask if they were related, to which they would kindly reply, "Well, not by blood." They two have introduced each other to many different things from contemporary Christian music to renaissance faire and so many things in between. When Jess P. started dating Dan, it wasn't long before she became part of their family, this created a good 3 person costume set as Ketchup (Dan) Mustard (Jp) and Relish (Jc), to which Dan now affectionately refers to her as "Our little Relish". The three make a habit of seeing each other whenever they can. Dan and Jess are so glad that Jess C. agreed to officiate their wedding and couldn't imagine the day without her!