Wedding Party
Taliah Esmaeili
Maid of Honor
Taliah was one of the first friends Ashley made when Ashley rejoined Disney in 2019. Ashley and Taliah were paired up to work together on Ashley's first big project, which required them to work closely together. Ever since then, they have been known as the dynamic duo, or partners in crime, take your pick! Whenever they’re together, they’re always laughing and cracking jokes!
Catherine Cavallaro
Maid of Honor
Catt has been with Katie since before she could remember. From being the pink ranger to Katie's yellow ranger, having sleepovers every weekend playing Nancy Drew, and sharing their love of Disney together (8 trips and counting?), Catt was the first best friend that Katie had. (And as an added bonus, she is her cousin!) Catt was the person who introduced Katie to the Disney College Program, so thank Catt for providing the catalyst for Katie and Ashley's relationship!
Andrew Swenson
Bridesman
Ashley's older brother Andrew is one of the most positive people on the planet! While they were growing up, they loved playing games, especially Super Mario Sunshine on the long drives to Newport Beach for their annual family beach trip! Ashley misses living near Andrew and loved going to his house on her way home from her summer internship and dropping off some freshly baked cookies from a bakery near the office. Even though they are on opposite coasts, she knows she can always count on him!
Zachary Shelnitz
Bridesman
Zach is Katie's younger brother and has been apart of every family memory since Katie could remember. Although Katie may have not been the best at sharing (Zach complained to their parents many times about how Katie made rules that made it always "Katie's turn" and never "Zach's turn," especially with video games), Katie and Zach spent countless hours playing with each other growing up, and Zach, Catt, and Katie could always be found together playing Power Rangers (Zach was of course the red ranger). They even ended up at the same college! Although they live states away, Katie knows that she can always count on Zach, and she is very excited for her brother to be there with her on her wedding day!
Annelise Barbieri
Bridesmaid
Annelise is Ashley's cousin, and one of her favorite people! Some of Ashley's favorite memories of Annelise are when they had week long sleepovers in Stockton over the summer. They would spend their time playing at the pool sharing a bag of popcorn, playing with Matchbox cars, and sliding down the hill behind Annelise's house in cardboard boxes they decorated to look like cars! Now, they share a love of woodworking and continue to inspire each other with their new projects!
Sheetala Balasubramanian
Bridesmaid
Katie met Sheetala in choir during 7th grade at Amity Middle School, which was a perfect precursor to all of their musical adventures during their middle and high school years. Sheetala was one of Katie's co-singers during cabaret nights, choir concerts, and Amity Pops concert auditions (which there is a lot of blackmail from their practices!). Although their musical events subsided after high school, Sheetala and Katie did not let that get in the way of their friendship into college, grad school, and beyond. And although they live in different states, they always find their way back to Orange to catch up. Now they get to catch up in Disney!
Elizabeth Sowers
Bridesmaid
Elizabeth was Ashley's first friend when Ashley attended a shadow day at St. Simon in 3rd grade. Their friendship had a rough start when Ashley got herself, Victoria, and Liz in trouble during her shadow day. They were all underneath their desks after Ashley asked for their help to look for a pen spring she lost underneath the table. Still, this didn’t deter Liz from welcoming Ashley to her new school with open arms, and they have been friends ever since. They've been through a lot together, including going to the same high school! Go Monarchs!
Irene Antar
Bridesmaid
Irene and Katie went from being Spartans together (thank you Mr. Mckernan's 9th grade math class) to Huskies together (Huskies forever!). At UConn, they navigated college together, from classes to parties to the Disney club and to everything in between! She was Katie’s go-to person in college and alway knew she would be down for some adventures (especially Disney ones)! And now their Disney club adventures will morph into more Disney World adventures!
Kayla Silva
Bridesmaid
Ashley and Kayla’s friendship has reached a full 21 years this year — cheers to that! They bonded over their love for sports at St. Simon, and played softball, basketball and soccer together every year! Although they've been on multiple teams together, there is still a deep rivalry between them: Dodgers vs Giants. To this day, they still love going to baseball games whenever they can, even if it is at the Giant's stadium. GO DODGERS! Ashley is so excited to have one of her childhood friends stand next to her on her big day!
Amanda Nichols
Bridesmaid
Katie and Amanda started working at the same job within two weeks of each other as pediatric physical therapists, and Katie was very nervous about how her and her new team members/co-workers would work together. She never would have guessed that Amanda would become one of her best friends! They have been through so much in just 2 short years, but Katie could not ask for a better friend to experience it all with. And what’s even better is that Amanda joins Katie and Ashley for all the Disney adventures (thanks Clarabelle Crew)!
Victoria Thurman
Bridesmaid
Ashley and Victoria have been friends for over 20 years. Ashley's favorite memory of Victoria is when they were on the varsity soccer team at St. Simon and they were playing against their rival team. A player on the other team tripped Ashley during the game and Victoria ran over to help her up. Victoria had long blonde hair that was in a braid. As soon as the girl that tripped Ashley had the ball, Victoria chased her down and 'innocently' hit the girl in the face with her thick braid. Ashley laughed so hard she fell down again! Ashley has always admired Victoria’s positive and happy attitude, and she cannot wait to have her life of the party personality with her to celebrate her wedding!
Sharon Joseph
Bridesmaid
Sharon started working with Katie and Amanda a few months after Katie and Amanda started, and Sharon made a dazzling duo become a tremendous trio! Once again, Katie never would have guessed that Sharon would become one of her best friends! Sharon has become one of Katie's go-to people while navigating the world (especially the new grad world), and Sharon is always there to lend a shoulder and an ear. Sharon and Katie had their first Disney trip with the Clarabelle Crew in February 2022, and now a little over two years later they will get to add another Disney milestone to the list!
Hayley Swenson
Flower Girl
Hayley is Andrew's daughter and Ashley's niece! Ashley loves seeing Hayley's big smiles over Facetime! When Hayley was only a few months old, Ashley was called in as reinforcements for a weekend. One of Ashley's favorite things was when Hayley would fall asleep on her shoulder. Ashley can't wait to see Hayley grow up and take her for her first Disney visit!
Hallie Geller
Flower Girl
Hallie is Katie’s cousin’s daughter, and the first little one of the new generation on Katie’s side! It has been a blast having a new family member join in on all of the festivities and celebrations, and Hallie played a very important role helping to open presents at Katie and Ashley’s surprise engagement party! (One could not ask for a better helper!) Hallie experienced her first big family Disney trip in 2022, and Katie and Ashley cannot wait for her to come to Disney again, this time to celebrate as a flower girl!