Thom& James
Wedding Party
Thomas Panto
Groom
Thom was born in Atlanta, Ga and has two siblings. He and his family resided there until they relocated to New Mexico where he lived until 2000. He then moved to New York to join SAB and New York City Ballet. After graduating from SAB he attended UCLA and the Fashion Institute in Los Angeles and graduated with a degree in Business in Marketing and Merchandising with a minor in fashion. After his graduation his heart still yearned to dance where he returned full time and started his career back with the Atlanta Ballet for 9 seasons. During that time he started acting and modeling which eventually turned into a second career for him. He still continues to model and perform as a guest artist with companies across the world and is excited about his future endeavors with his new husband.
James Hay
Groom
James and his brother Robert were born in Australia but his family moved to the United Kingdom when the two boys were 5 years old. After graduating from law school, James moved to Hong Kong when he was 21 to qualify as a corporate M&A lawyer. Despite a profound interest in the law, James decided he needed to pursue a more meaningful career and saw the opportunity to deliver far-reaching impact through the sustainable investment industry. For a year prior to his MBA, James dedicated himself to pro bono work at an anti-slavery and counter human trafficking NGO in Hong Kong. After a transformational education at INSEAD he landed a job at MainStreet Partners in London where he currently works as an investment associate, backing businesses providing solutions for the environment and society.
Allison Lee Aslaksen
Best Woman
Ally and Thom have been best friends since they met in 2008 while Tommy was dancing with the Atlanta Ballet and Ally was managing the gym he went to. Talk of burpees and yoga classes turned into "Grey's Nights" and jumping out of an airplane together! They have been inseparable ever since!
Lesa Wilson
Maid of Honor
Thom and Lesa met while modeling for a gym brand in Atlanta in 2009. They had so much in common, like being represented by the same agencies, high energy, former beauty queens :-P and could talk for hours. They have been there for eachother through some of lifes toughest challenges and through some of their own great triumphs! Lesa is a beautiful soul and Thom is so glad to call her one of his best friends!
Robert Hay
Best Man
Robert is James' younger brother - twin brother to be precise - and younger by a forever important 20 minutes. James and Robert met each other pretty soon after birth and decided unique names were out of fashion because each referred to the other as "Bobbett". After attending college in Switzerland, Robert made his way to Australia where he started his career before pivoting to the United States where he runs our family-owned occupational and speech therapy business in Wilmington, NC. Robert can usually be found together with the family dog, Rafa, who he had trained as a licensed therapy dog.
Shea McCort
Groomsman
James and Shea met at their gym in Hong Kong in 2015 a few months before James moved to Singapore for his MBA. Shea was working for FedEx as a pilot. James was working for an anti-slavery NGO. Both worked flexible hours and made the most of an empty gym at 3pm in the afternoon. After striking up conversation, James finally asked, "Shea, what the hell do you do for work to be in the gym in the middle of the afternoon?!" And thus, a gym-bro relationship began. Shea still lives in Hong Kong with his fiancee and soon-to-be wife Betty.