Bridesmaids

Rebecca DeMaria (Maid of Honor)

Rebecca (Becca) and I met on the first day of Colonial Inauguration (read: college orientation).  We became fast friends when we quickly realized everyone else in our orientation small group was from New Jersey and did not want to talk to anyone that wasn’t from New Jersey.  Becca and Allison have been extremely close ever since.

Becca is currently attending Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.   Her boyfriend Max will be joining her in the city when he graduates from law school this spring.  Becca has a cat named Buster and can knit better than any Mennonite I’ve met.

Allison Phillips

Allison Phillips came into my life after I graduated college. I have deemed her my first official adult friend. She began dating my good friend Kirk Larsen (see below) our first year in New York City. Kirk and I are both very picky people. But Allison won us over and made the cut. She quickly became one of my best friends and the perfect partner in crime (crime meaning watching the Food Network and drinking wine on weekdays).

Allison is a Project Designer at a Manhattan-based architecture firm. She lives in Brooklyn with Kirk Larsen.

Ally Silva

Ally Silva is one of my oldest friends.  I believe our friendship dates back to the prehistoric year of 1994!  She likes to joke with me about the “lost years,” which apparently consist of grades 2 – 7 when we were not friends.  However, I maintain that I was only out getting more friendship experience so I could be a more enlightened companion when our paths did cross again.

Fun fact: Ally is a great singer and dancer.   You will want to hang out with this girl at the reception!

Ally is in graduate school at the USC School of Social Work.

Sarah Tacke

Sarah and I been best friends since 4th grade.  She has been decidedly better than me at everything we did growing up (academics, athletics, social life, etc.) There is nothing like having a friend who will always push you to be better as well as have your back at every turn.  I consider myself amazingly lucky to have had such a good friend over the past 17 years.

Sarah coaches softball at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY.  She has an excellent boyfriend, Tom Potts.  Sarah has amazing parents, Sam and Jayne Tacke, who have always been there for me when I needed them.

Katelyn Mayo

I met Katelyn right before freshman year of high school when we began playing volleyball together.  Like Sarah, Katelyn was better than me at volleyball and was put on the more elite team.  However, our friendship remained strong.  She has always been there to support me, keep me grounded, and keep me laughing.  I was honored to be in Katelyn’s wedding 5 years ago when she married her husband, Richie.  They both tell me that marriage is really easy.  I’m very excited.

Katelyn lives in Central California with Richie and their two beautiful daughters.  Katelyn also works and attends grad school.

Eva Kivley

Eva is my cousin.  Along with her two brothers, Ben and Nate, I have three of the best little cousins I could have ever imagined.  Eva came into my life when she was born in 2002, and I loved her from the second I met that little baby girl.

Eva is smart, funny, polite, athletic, and beautiful.  I have loved watching her grow up, and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for this world.  A big thank you to my Uncle Kirk and Aunt Rita for raising such excellent kids!

Groomsmen

Josh Miller (Best Man & Ceremony Officiant)

Josh and I met when I was born and he was my brother. I know, boring story. But life’s been far from boring since then. We’ve been best friends my whole life, and I’ve proudly pestered and exploited Josh for great times, valuable advice, and unwavering support. I’m well aware of how lucky I am to be stuck with an extraordinary older brother. After spending most of our childhood beating me left-handed in 1-on-1 Wiffle Ball in the backyard multiple times a day, Josh went on to college, then business school. He co-founded 3Play Media, a video captioning company, where he still works today. He started dating his wife Melissa around the same time as Alli and I, and she soon became the best sister-in-law I could ever hope to have. They live in Charlestown, MA with their son Eli, The Best Ring Bearer In The World™, who will turn two years old the day before our wedding.

Daniel Houbein

I am certainly not the only one in this marriage with a great older brother. I first met Daniel, along with the rest of Allison’s family, when visiting for Christmas one year. Daniel is a perfect example of the kindness, support, loyalty, and sense of humor that is the norm in this family. I could not be more excited to call him my brother-in-law.

Daniel lives in their hometown of Merced, CA, where he continues to spend time with his and Allison’s mother, Patti, grandmother, Jackie, and uncle, Tom, and also frequently sees their uncle Kirk and Aunt Rita, and three very entertaining cousins, Ben, Eva, and Nate who live nearby in Sacramento.

In my time in California, Daniel has been my official In N’ Out Burger Spirit Guide.

Travis Helwig

Travis and I met on the first night of college, and immediately bonded over a mutual love of the band Third Eye Blind (oh come on, don’t make that face, they had a decent run). We spent the rest of our time in school writing and performing comedy together as part of our college comedy group, receSs, and have continued to write and perform comedy together professionally since graduating (you’ll probably start to notice a thread with this if you keep reading). Travis grew up on Stratford, CT (the birthplace of the American helicopter industry!), and now writes for The Ellen Degeneres Show in Los Angeles, CA.

I have always been able to count on Travis for his constant enthusiasm and support. He has always led by example in his work ethic and ability to make people laugh at any turn with honesty and warmth.

The photo above was taken when he and I went to see Scream 4 on opening night and immediately went to a comedy show and ruined every spoiler in the movie for an audience full of people. It was really fun.

Kirk Larsen

Before Alli and I moved in together, Kirk and I lived in the same building or room four of the five years prior. Kirk’s creativity, perspective, integrity, and loyalty have made all of our time together a constant source of inspiration and adventure. He was the video and tech director for our college comedy group, and immediately began producing, editing, and directing videos in New York City after graduating.

In 2013, Kirk and I were lucky enough to make comedy videos together for a living, and now some of our dumbest thoughts have been seen as videos on the internet by a good handful of people. We also started a production company together, alongside Kevin (see below), and now our taxes are complicated.

In many ways, Kirk and I became adults together.

Kirk hails from Radnor, PA (Once home to the Lenni Lenape Indians!) and is currently a(n exceptional) film director in New York City.

Kevin Mead

Like Kirk and Travis, Kevin and I met freshman year of college, and the rest of us were quickly able to convince him to ditch whatever dumb thing he was studying (probably something that could have landed any of us – let alone him – an actual job) for a life in film, theater, and comedy. In addition to writing and performing in our college comedy group, Kevin and I collaborated in numerous theater productions (alongside our good friend Katy – Kevin’s future wife).

Kevin and I share an ability to enjoy a never-ending in-depth analysis of any subject of any size and importance. So be careful starting a conversation with us. Kevin’s fervor and thirst for the world around him is matched only by his compassion and eagerness to learn from others. I stole that line from his middle school report card.

Kevin grew up in Holmes, NY (near the oldest public golf course in the United States!) is currently in the film directing program at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, CA.

Fun Fact: Kevin, Travis, and I co-wrote a half hour sketch comedy show that ran at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York in 2012. We co-starred in it alongside Kevin’s father, Ray Mead.

Ring Bearer & Flower Girls

Eli Miller

Eli is the son of Josh Miller (above) and Melissa Miller.  This beautiful boy officially made Darren and Allison an uncle and aunt.  Eli is smart, funny, adventurous and very happy.  He is a direct reflection of what amazing people his parents are.

Avery Mayo (LEFT) & Kenzie Tamburo (RIGHT)

Avery and Kenzie are the daughters of our very good friends Richie & Katelyn Mayo and Brooke Fuller, respectively.  Avery and Kenzie enjoy having play dates with each other, going to the zoo, and playing outside.  They also like princesses, dolls, and playing dress-up.