Man of Honor
Robert's Younger Brother: Ryan is a talented designer and salesman in home interiors, furniture, and custom window treatments. He resides in Altoona, Pennsylvania and works at Fiore Furniture. Growing up, these brothers loved all things performing arts and also loved the great outdoors in the beautiful mountains and woods of PA. Once, while fishing on a lake, Robert failingly cast his fishing line and caught Ryan's big toe. That fishing trip ended quickly. Nowadays, we stick to the family Pontoon Boat and to kayaking. A highlight of doing theatre together was just before Robert moved to Los Angels, when the two brothers had the honor of playing twins separated at birth (Mickey and Eddie) in the hit British musical "Blood Brothers." Their oath recited onstage will always resonate true with them: "This means we're blood brothers and that we'll always have to stand by each other."
Woman of Honor
Robert's Best Friend: Ellen and Robert met in 5th Grade at Washington-Jefferson Elementary School in Altoona, Pennsylvania. They performed together in plays and musicals throughout Junior and Senior High School and in Regional Theatre. Once, while they performed a scene in the musical "Meet Me in St. Louis," an elderly woman in the front row yelled out quite loudly, "She's a pretty girl, isn't she?!?" In another play, as Pip and Estella in "Great Expectations" inside a barn-theater (in a secluded wooded area), a loud chainsaw started up outside, during their most emotional and climatic scene of the play. So... they are well-practiced at keeping a straight face together. They also had an absolute blast in their college years living in New York City. Ellen is a talented actor, writer, songwriter, producer, (the list of talents goes on and on), and she lives in Los Angeles with her amazing husband Dave, who is the West Coast Bureau Chief at TVLine and quite a classy gentleman.
Groomsman
Robert's Best Friend: John and Robert met in the performance space at Casita del Campo in 2008 when they were cast in a campy "Golden Girls" spoof which performed and toured in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Miami. Together, they sang a rendition of "Bosom Buddies" in that show, which set the tone for their long-lasting friendship- through the ridiculous and hilarious times and through the heartbreaking and tough times, "We'll always be bosom buddies, If life should reject you, There's me to protect you." They've been there for one another through almost 15 years of hard times, family deaths, pet deaths, personal dramas, and also through the good times, celebrations of birthdays, holidays, many happy hour catch-ups, friend's performances and improv shows, Halloween parties and parades, and an undeniable trust- that we'll be there for one another in a heart beat. John is a very talented actor, producer, yoga-instructor, real-estate developer extraordinaire, and he lives in Los Angeles with his handsome husband Felipe, who runs his own business as a Court Reporter in the Los Angeles legal system.
Groomsman
Christopher's Brother: Keith says: Hi all, I’m Keith, Christopher’s younger brother. I live in Lakewood, California with my beautiful wife and 2 children, Kali Lola (9) and Korbin Kirk (7). I pride myself as a family man, hauling kids to hockey and gymnastics practice as well as coaching 2 soccer teams. I have worked for Kaiser Permanente in the specialty scheduling clinic for the past 10 years. Christopher is 7 years older than me so growing up we were on different timelines. I have many amazing memories when we were younger, going up north to visit family, and Christopher always dancing and being his goofy self. If there was music, you could count on Christopher to be dancing! A funny memory I have is Christopher dancing on a table, getting “whiplash”, and having to wear a neck brace. In our later years, Christopher and I developed a relationship sharing the passion for everything Halloween and Horror. Every year I look forward to another horror maze/escape room/Halloween event with him. He has been the best Guncle (gay uncle) to my kids and passed his love of horror movies on to my daughter.
Groomsman
Christopher's Best Friend: Ryan says: I’ve been friends with Christopher for over 10 years when we met on the rough streets of Orange County. It all began when he asked, from his white windowless van, if I wanted to come watch a scary movie at his house. We’ve been friends ever since. I never loved scary movies until Christopher and now I fall asleep to low budget, 2 star, horror flicks on Amazon Prime. Even though we have only known each other for a little over a decade, we’ve grown up together. We’ve experienced drama and serenity, love and loss, good times and bad times, and a level of comradery few get to experience. I’ve had the pleasure of going on numerous vacations with Christopher, we make great traveling partners..our mid afternoon nap time is always in sync. But, the best vacation was when we decided to let his boyfriend tag along with us to Hawaii. I got to see how great a guy Robert truly was as we explored the island, ate malasadas and Christopher watched the two of us pretend to be in the cast of the Golden Girls. Congrats boys! I love you both and I’m excited to celebrate your union!
Best Man
Christopher's Best Friend: PART 1: My name is Mathias Alan-Livernois and I have had the pleasure of being a BFF of Christopher Martinez since the year 1995. We met on the Dance Floor of our youth at a club in Orange County called OZZ and quickly became lifelong friends. In the fall of that year, I was asked to join the cast of drag queens at this club and I knew that I wanted to create a weekly performance featuring backup dancers so I was on the hunt for a couple of tall, handsome, fierce men to accompany me in my performances. I immediately took to Christopher’s humor and his rhythm on the strobe lit dance floor and asked if he wanted to join me on the adventure. He excitedly agreed, not knowing at the time that it was for no pay, and that I would be choreographing us in the carport of my apartment structure 2-3 times per week trying not to get too much attention from my nosy neighbors. LOL Christopher became the Sonny to my Cher, the Kevin to my Britney, and we had an amazing time in the spotlight for a couple of years until I retired my early 20’s drag ambitions in the late nineties. I moved out of Orange County, and we didn’t see one another quite as much for a few years however whenever we bumped into each other at LA Pride or the occasional bar hopping night in West Hollywood it was like seeing a long lost brother and wishing that we were still stuck at the hip together 5 nights a week.
Best Man
(Continued) I eventually turned to sobriety in 2003 and our friendship hiatus grew even deeper because my clubbing days were over, though I missed him very much. Boyfriends, jobs, and new friends in my sober life came and went during the 2000’s, but I never met anyone else quite as loyal and honest and purely unselfish as my little Christopher. To my surprise and great delight, the one and only Christopher reached out to me in 2012 and asked me about sobriety and getting sober. He was done with partying and wanted my help and friendship again to aid in his quest to forge a new path in his life. That was one of the single most important phone calls I have ever received because in that moment I realized that I had made an impact on this man so many years ago and I had enough value in his life that he wanted to ask me for help. That was a tremendous gift and I will always cherish that opportunity to help him on his journey. After 10 years back in each other’s lives, I have grown to truly love Christopher as not only a dear friend but as my brother and when given the opportunity to invite him to LA as my roommate in 2013 I jumped at the chance. He was the best person I’ve ever shared my home with, outside of my husband Tom of course, and to this day I still miss our weekly tv binge nights and horror movie parties we would throw with all our new friends in LA.
Best Man
(Continued) Chris has been instrumental in the majority of parties and events and movie nights that I am a part of and his gifts for connecting people is unparalleled. Everyone that comes into contact with him falls in love with his bright energy from the moment that they meet him. I wish I had half of his positive attitude and sheer joy to be of service to his friends and especially his family. I am so thrilled that he and Robert are taking this step towards committing to a life of love, honor, dedication, and devotion to one another because Christopher deserves the world and I know that Robert, being the kind soul that he is, will offer him that. Though our nearly 30-year friendship had a brief 12-year hiatus, I am forever grateful for the friendship I have developed with Christopher and I am honored to be a part of he and Robert’s wedding day this November. I wonder if they are going to ask me to choreograph their first dance for them. Groove is in the Heart is always a great choice, right Chris?