Tamra & Sara
Bridal Party
Ben Whaley
Best Man
pronouns: he/him/his Ben and I have been friends since we were 9 years old when we met at St. Crispin's Camp. Over the last 23 years we've spent hundreds of hours making friendship bracelets, playing guitar and singing at the top of our lungs. Give us some string and ask us to make you a wompa bracelet. We've spent most of our lives as long distance friends. But that has not stopped us at all from becoming family. From every Christmas killing zombies and every facetime wake up call with his littles, Ben is an essential and permanent fixture in my life. In our favorite tv show, How I Met Your Mother, there's this vision among the core friend group of their old age playing bridge on their front porch together with their people. Ben is a given on my front porch, and now so is Sara!
Dr. Loraine Baraki
Best Woman
pronouns: she/her/hers Loraine is my best friend. We met in high school and I couldn't be more surprised or grateful for this friendship. Who, as super judgey jerk, expects the most brilliant, kind, popular, and stunning person in school to want to be their friend? But over A Midsummer's Night's Dream we bonded and the rest, they say, is history. Riri has been with me at every point in my life. When I called her about T, she basically said: "I just had this feeling you were going to call me about this." She just gets me. It's rare to find a person with whom friendship comes so easily, that their entire personhood is a complete gift to be around and be with, and who loves you unconditionally. That's riri. She's that perfect. Also, I'd be remiss to not say REALLY BRILLIANT BADASS DOCTOR!
Cole Stephenson
Bridesman
pronouns: he/him/his Cole and I met at the University of Oklahoma as we both majored in Religious Studies. The RELS program became a close group of friends. A group of us would get together to try out our best cooking and mixology skills. The photo is a throw back to one of those great nights! More than anything, Cole was a saving grace in some of the hardest times. His friendship and his love for the best bourbon are two necessities in my life. Thank god we both ended up in Boston! We can still gather around a grill and Cole makes the best cocktails. He's one of the smartest people I know and his kindness lifts me up; I'm endlessly lucky to have him in my life.
Lizzie Garrard DiQuattro
Sister of the Bride
pronouns: she/her/hers Lizzie/ Lizard/ Munchkin/ Munchie/ Little One she's been in my life, earliest of all humans (except parental units). Until college, we were so similar but as we have gotten older, I have realized that so much of who we are is a compliment to one another, and learned to appreciate our differences. Lizzie and I are great together. Yall want to see two people travel well together? We're amazing. Lizzie is my buffer (for all that I don't want to deal with), my shadow, along with my inspiration. She is the perfect travel partner - with both of us balancing one another's anxiety and expectations to ensure the other one is set. Munchie was and is my first friend. She offers stunningly hilarious commentary on everything & always causes me to think, reflect, and laugh.
Claire Kelly
Bridesman
pronouns: he/him/his Claire and I met at the crossing my first year in Boston and instantly became close. We bonded through our spiritual transitions and found a deep friendship. While our graduate programs took us away from Boston and each other, Claire's remained a very important person in my life, and especially in the beginning days of my relationship with Sara! Through our relationships and career journeys, Claire has been a stabilizing support solidly anchored and I'm so freaking honored to have him with me on our wedding day. He is an amazing social worker, kind, compassionate, an expert at smashing some patriarchy, and producer of some of the best slam poetry I know.
Eric Emanuelson
Sara's Best Man
EIEII & I met the night before our final PoliSci 100 exam. E hadn't studied (per usual), I tutored him, he scored better than me (also per usual). It was the state of a beautiful friendship. Add in our only argument (about how we met, fixed by thai food), a bout of food poisoning (also by thai food) toss in an ER visit, & we're now more than a decade into an incredibly honest & wonderful relationship. I always knew E would be in my wedding. Thankfully he didnt freak out when I told him this at 18. He's my touchstone for who I am & who I want to be. E taught me how to take life a LOT less seriously & loves me despite all my crazy. He really is the best of me. I also explained to E we would retire together, a la, front porch theory from HIMYM. It’s a very full, very wonderful front porch.