Meet the Bridal Party
Dana Bekore
Who knew the 8th grade gym class that I begged my mom to switch me out of, would bring me Dana’s friendship. She’s been by my side from my first break up, home cooked breakfast on my 16th, co-captains of JV tennis as seniors (yes, I wrote that correctly), prom & HS graduation to screaming in the audience for me at my college graduation. She took the train and walked me to my first big girl interview (First Republic) and as we barely made the train, we get on and she tells me “you could’ve added some color to your face” (aka blush) as only Dana would. She was even with me when I got the job offer email! I returned the favor and made sure she got on the right subway for her 1st interview and sent a pic to her mom once she was on it.
She’s one of few that I would take countless 10hr road trips to visit her at West Virginia University and Esco (her human-like dog) is the only dog I would ever ever ever share a bed with. Speaking of, we have many years of annual upstate trips behind us (esco always included) and we usually get a text in May asking what the plan is for the upstate trip this summer.
Dana is the person Nick & I call when we need a second opinion (Aka someone else to tell Nick his golf shirt doesn’t match his shorts). So it was a no brainer who I was calling when it was time to ring shop! She whispered in my ear “sarah other hand” as I went to try on the first ring on my right instead of my left hand and from that moment on she was the translator between me and the jeweler haha.
Every time she intro’s Nick to her friends she says “this is Nick, I have a Roth with him!”. (Roth meaning investment acct.) She also so values Nick’s opinion about the guy she’s dating which I love. A pre-req is that he must be able to hang upstate…
We joke that we share the same brain because we are always thinking the same and I’m honored to have the same brain as this girl!
Jess Marano
From New York & Mexico to Italy and Africa, there is no one that I LOVE to share a menu with more. We both get equally giddy when we have a cocktail and a great menu in front of us.
She’s wanted to be a mommy since the day I met her in high school and I cannot wait to raise our kids together. Both our mothers are early education experts so our kids will reap the benefits from both of them.
Jess is an Applied Behavioral Analysis educator and her tips on changing her students behavior is the reason why I haven’t washed our kitchen sink in years. Nick only found out recently that my positive re-enforcement the first few times he washed the sick is the reason he’s owned that chore ever since :)
She’s also Italian so we share many of the same habits; if we owe you $45, you’re probably getting a venmo for $50 instead. BUT the one skill she has that I don’t is her incredible cooking & baking skills. You would’ve thought she went to school for it but nope, it is all self taught. So moral of the story is I’ll be bringing the wine when she cooks dinner for our families for the next 20 years.
During one of our trips to WVU to visit Dana, we ended up driving through NYC on a Thursday during rush hour & didn’t realize we were “stuck” behind a parked car for 30 minutes because we were so hyper and excited to catch up. (The only reason we moved is because we decided to wait out the traffic and get a drink..). She’s lucky this is the excitement we always feel because it makes you forget she is consistently 2 hours late and probably still needs to put makeup on when she arrives.
In high school I would randomly show up at her house after work and hang out in her room (usually laying in the bed enviously looking at her Free People filled closet haha), and during college I would text her on a Wednesday telling her I’m crashing at her place for the weekend. I even crashed on her couch when she was studying abroad in Rome for the summer. This is the trip that we both almost got stuck in Africa (I missed the email that our flights got cancelled..whoops). It wouldnt have been a big deal butttt it was our last weekend and we had pennies left. It was a fun call to make to her dad asking for money because we’re stuck in Africa. Our travels were much smoother when she visited me during my study abroad.
Too many crazy travel stories ahead!!!
Devyn Siversen
My mini me except she’s “D3 scholarship” kind of athletic.. Devyn is wise beyond her years, as Nick would say “an extremely diligent planner”, a sarcastic sense of humor with big dreams so she’s always thinking 3 years ahead, ….sound familiar? ;)
We’re 8 years apart which means I love my time with her as if we were the same age yet I still get such a kick out of watching her grow. She doesn’t know this but she’s the one who helped me realize how I’ll love love love raising kids one day.
Christy Callan
Started as the girl I was nervous to say hello to in the halls of my first “big girl” job to now the first girl I’ll facetime when I have good or bad news, need a quick opinion, stuck in traffic, or to immediately tell the latest office gossip to. She’s my biggest cheerleader and hype girl.
Whenever I call her that is out of our normal schedule and she can’t pick up, she’ll text “all good?” and say “can’t wait to hear about XYZ” when I do something fun. The secret is to call her twice because she’s never not on DND.
After 1 too many glasses of 1942, we were sitting on our balcony in Miami talking about how cool life is and how fun it is that we get to do it together. It’s a bonus that she always scores the prime time dinner reservations at the best restaurants.
James Cornetta
When you get to know James you start to see the world differently. The smallest things become hysterical, the level of sarcastic commentary has no end. A truly good soul my long time friend/brother James is. Incredibly proud of the man he is and who he strives to be. Since Elementary school we’ve seen the world the same way. Him and Larina are a match made in heaven and I'm incredibly happy for them.
Coleman Meier
A self made, determined, hyper focused individual. Coleman loves to have fun, although he takes care of business beforehand. Loyal to his core and keeps everyone around him accountable. Always been a blessing to be a part of the Meier family circle of trust.
Louis Cotrone
Probably the most important man to keep close by in the country of Italy (he’s a dual citizen and fluent in Italian). He's a man who has taken what life has given him at every turn and either enhanced it or left a positive impact. Louis’s talents never cease to amaze me, a gifted individual with an enormous heart. Genuinely couldn’t be prouder to have Louis at my side, fratello mio.
Robert Vassallo
The one and only. Can't live with him can't live without him. We both somehow ended up as roommates and couldn’t possibly be more similar people, hardworking and fearless, Rob is a guy I've counted on during the highs and lows of life, in the end he always comes through.