Taylor & Stephen
Wedding Party
Jaymee Harvey Willms
Maid of Honor
Jaymee is a dedicated friend, prolific art maker and fuels herself by lifting others up. Taylor and Jaymee met during their 1st year at U. of South Dakota's College of Fine Arts. Their shared belief in the power of creative expression, devotion to absurdity and persistent dispositions have woven them together ever since. They even started a podcast together during the pandemic! Jaymee lives in her newly purchased home in Wisconsin with her husband Kurt and their doggo Dakota. By day she is the CEO of a nonprofit and by night you can find her teaching at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design or pulling a long night at her art studio.
Stanley Gutiontov
Best Man
How to describe Stan? A man of dichotomies - a radiation oncologist in Chicago with a sincere interest in the written word and travel who will quote a literary figure immediately after making a Borat impression. Stan and Stephen met during their sophomore year in college where they lived in the same hall and quickly learned that they had a shared love of absurd humor and late night musing. Stan used to burst into Stephen's dorm room à la Kramer from Seinfeld on a daily basis. Since then they have kept in close touch, living together Senior year, traveling, and yes, still dropping the occasional Borat impersonation. Stephen wouldn't be who he is without Stan's support and friendship.
Alyssa Amstutz
Bridesmaid
Aly is a deeply compassionate spirit who met Tay in middle school and they instantly bonded over silliness, romantic comedy films and music. Aly and Taylor have stayed close for 18 years, through many a bonfire at Taylor's parents house, dance party at Aly's parents house and now a catch up hang when Taylor is back in town! Aly is a gifted singer who leads her church's children's choir and patiently teaches music at a local elementary school. Aly lives in West Omaha with her husband Geoff, children Henry and Layla and 2 cats.
Andy Thomas
Groomsman
A Cambridge-based software engineer with a thirst for adventure and obscure music, Andy lived in the same apartment building as Stephen during their senior year in college. Killing time while looking for jobs after graduation, they discovered a common love of indie music, collecting records, and video games, and soon Stephen was heading up the back stairs to hang out with Andy on almost a daily basis where they did things like play Gran Turismo 5 and listen to old records. Although they live on opposite coasts, it’s never too long before Andy and Stephen get into some trouble together - be it ski trips, hiking in Utah, or just going to record stores while visiting each other.
Kayla Harris
Remote Bridesmaid
Kayla is an adventurous and joyful soul who met Taylor on the school bus heading to their off-site photography course in high school. They instantly bonded over quirky humor, swapping mix CDs and watching far too much reality television. Kayla's delightful combination of low-key light-heartedness and optimistic enthusiasm has comforted Taylor through many a life trial and they love videochatting eachother whenever possible! Kayla is a curious visual artist who likes riding bicycles and teaches English in Chengdu, China where and her partner Eric live.
Lee Mason
Groomsman
Lee is a lawyer based in Chicago who first met Stephen during Sophomore year. Their bond solidified the following year trading messages back and forth from afar about experiences studying abroad, and it wasn't long before Stephen fell into the gravitational pull of 714 Foster St., the apartment where Lee lived and the de facto social hangout spot for the rest of their college experience. After graduation, Lee and Stephen moved to a coach house in Chicago where they navigated young adulthood together with a healthy dose of record collecting, neighborhood exploring, and street festival excursions. Lee and Stephen can often be found at a dive bar or concert together in one of their respective cities. Lee and his wife Jenny just celebrated the birth of their first child Samuel!
Erin Feltman
Bridesmaid
Taylor and Erin met during college via their Pi Beta Phi sorority. Erin is a voracious music, book and movie consumer and loves a good awkward situation thanks to her quick-to-laugh energy. First sharing and then swapping stories for many a year now, Erin and Taylor were each others lifelines when they lived in Chicago. Erin works as a Clinical Research Project Manager for a hospital in Sioux Falls. She lives with her husband Brandon, playful pup Enzo and first born child Natalie in their beautiful house in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Austin Tenn-McClellan
Groomsman
Long before he was a biotech researcher in the Bay Area, Austin attended a small Floridian high school with Stephen. They didn't get to know each other until a fateful decision they both made to travel to Boston on a school trip to visit colleges junior year. As the only two boys, they roomed together, and quickly discovered a mutual love of music and a sense of humor. High school exploits included numerous musical performances together, as well as starting a band with some other friends. After graduating, Austin and Stephen didn't live in the same area again until Stephen and Taylor moved to the Bay Area in 2017 - but visits and shared adventures over the years have kept them close.
Allison Vander Bee
Bridesmaid
Ally is a quick-witted, thoughtful achiever. Stephen and Ally's husband Aaron went to middle school together, and when Ally and Aaron moved from Germany to Chicago, Taylor and Ally finally got to meet! Sharing tales of living abroad and then moving to North Carolina, Ally's bravery inspired Taylor to take the leap and move to San Francisco when the opportunity arose! Ally shares old school hip hop tunes, consumes library books faster than anyone and expresses her creativity through fashion, sewing, and scrumptious baking. Ally works as a pharmaceutical engineer and lives with Aaron and their sons Casper and Nicolas in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Matt Schmuttenmaer
Groomsman
Matt Schmuttenmaer, international man of mystery, has lived and traveled all over the world and is currently based out of the Boston metro. Matt and Stephen's friendship began as many college friendships do - over a fierce table tennis rivalry in their dorm rec room. As fate would have it, it was over that very ping pong table that they decided to be roommates the following year. Their dorm room, fondly known as "The Shire", was witness to many laughs, late night philosophical discussions, dance parties, and slices of Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. Since graduation, Matt and Stephen have traveled to multiple national parks, where Matt regularly encourages Stephen to go on far more strenuous hikes than he is interested in.
Veronica Kaplinskiy
Remote Bridesmaid
Veronica and Taylor met at their former workplace in San Francisco and from day one, Veronica welcomed her warmly. The two share a curiosity for life and desire to explore the Bay Area, while Veronica often reminds Taylor to enjoy life as it comes rather than to take life too seriously. Veronica is a talented cook and baker, British television enthusiast and recently earned her California architecture license! A fellow SF transplant (born in Ukraine and moved to Brooklyn as a child), Veronica lives in a swanky San Francisco condo with her husband Mike and their newborn first child Jacob. Veronica, Mike and Baby J will be sending us their wedding love and vibes from San Francisco during wedding weekend.
Brett Barstow
Groomsman
Brett, Taylor's older brother, is in the process of moving with his wife Claire from South Korea (where he has lived for the past seven years) to the Barstow hometown of Omaha! Despite the immense distance between them for most of recent memory, Brett and Stephen have become fast friends during a variety of Barstow family trips where they bonded over travel experiences and a shared love of film photography. Taylor, of course, adores her older brother and has long looked up to him for his leadership on achievement, living in new places, trying new foods and comedy. Taylor and Stephen are both thrilled to get to see Brett, Claire, and their dogs Minjae and Lupo more regularly with their move to the U.S.!
Claire Jang
Bridesmaid
After Claire and Taylor's brother Brett met, the Barstow family discovered how lucky they are to have gained such a fun-loving and witty member of the family! Taylor is grateful to finally have a sister, and especially someone with such a zest for life at that. Claire has lived in London, New York and Seoul thanks to her studious school days, obsession with the show Friends and resulting career in fashion. She loves to adventure around South Korea with Brett on the weekends, is be a great mom to their pups Minjae and Lupo and is currently organizing a cross-world move with Brett from Seoul to Omaha in September!
Bhavani Gannavarapu
Usher
Bhavani is a radiation oncologist based out of Napa, California. He and Stephen first me when they lived in the same dorm Sophomore year - in fact, Bhavani and Stan were roommates. Bhavani and Stephen have bonded over the years through trips to Europe and the Pacific Northwest, as well as attending music festivals together and participating in general tomfoolery in each other's company. Bhavani and his wife Teju are in the process of moving to Napa, where Stephen looks forward to seeing him more often and also having a couch to crash on after going on winery tours.
Joseph Dylik
Usher
Joseph and Stephen first met in class studying Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern, growing close as they worked together on team projects. Evidently unable to get enough of one another's company, they also started working at the same office after graduation, a lighting design company in Chicago where Joseph works today. Over the years, Joseph and Stephen have visited each other across the country, and to this day their friendship is fueled by a generous helping of sarcastic humor, love of movies, and waxing nostalgic about history and fashion.