Wedding Party
Deena Zaru-Pettiford
Maid of Honor
Heidi and Deena met at Mt. Airy Middle School in the eighth grade, shortly after Deena's family moved to the US from Palestine. The two instantly hit it off, and have only grown closer as the years have gone on. They share a love of wine, fashion, books, and did we mention wine? Deena has always been a supportive friend, nevermore so than when she traveled to New York to witness Joe's surprise proposal! Deena is a journalist for ABC News and lives in Mount Airy, Maryland with her husband, Reggie and their daughter Raneen.
Nicholas Francella
Best Man
Nick is one of Joe's older brothers (hence the same last name). The two shared many activities and interests growing up - playing with Legos, creating a ridiculous universe of comic book characters, performing in plays and musical performances, and attending the same college. Nick is always looking out for Joe, so much so that he and his wife Virginie came to New York to support Joe when he proposed to Heidi. Nick is a scientist in the medical field and lives in Brussels, Belgium with Gin and their son Adrian. He enjoys performing choral music.
Julie Swartz
Bridesmaid
Heidi and Julie met shortly after Heidi was born. Julie took her role as big sister very seriously. Though they didn't always see eye to eye or have the same standards of cleanliness growing up, Julie and Heidi have only gotten closer as they have aged. They share a passion for dogs, teaching, and probably the only thing they agreed on as children: that Full House is one of the greatest shows ever. Julie lives in New Market, Maryland with her husband Craig, their dog, Toby and cat Giseppe.
Matt Culler
Groomsman
Matt is Joe's oldest friend. They met in kindergarten and over the years have shared dozens of interesting experiences. Most notably, Joe recalls many games of Risk over a few too many Mountain Dews, Matt showing Joe how to shoot guns (and it not going well), pretty much any time Joe has a computer problem, and of course MANY drunken political rants. Matt is a computer programmer and lives in Middletown, Maryland in a survivalist bunker with his dog Bigsby.
Emily Davis
Bridesmaid
Heidi was 10 years old when her cousin Emily was born, and Heidi got the closest thing to that little sister she always wanted. The older they got, the less the age difference seemed to matter! They share a love of all things Disney and Ravens football. Emily lives in Orlando, Florida with her dog, Koda.
Adam Teach
Groomsman
Adam, known affectionately by his peers as Teach, and Joe have a friendship dating back to their childhood days in scouts. Teach served as Joe's Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and Teach returned the favor by asking Joe to be part of his upcoming wedding. Another highlight of their friendship includes taking US History their junior year of high school where much to the annoyance of Teach, Joe regularly interrupted his naps in order to .... well, just to do it. Today Teach lives in Rural Hills, North Carolina with his wife Nicole, their dog Grey and two cats- Germaine and Butters.
Elizabeth Kohlway
Bridesmaid
Liz and Heidi met at Winfield Elementary School and participated in just about every childhood activity together, from Girl Scouts to softball. Through years of scary camping trips, championship games, and unfortunate hairstyles, Liz and Heidi remained the best of friends. Though they no longer go camping or play sports together, they share a love of traveling. Liz works in the field of global health and lives in Arlington, Virginia with her dog, Teddie.
Brad Bradley
Groomsman
Brad is a Hollywood big shot, so Joe knew that he would add instant star power to the wedding. The two met as kids and bonded over a love of X-Men and Star Wars. In high school they co-starred in many successful drama productions including "Anne of Green Gables" and "Babes in Toyland". Joe wasn't exactly coordinated, but Brad made fun of him anyway. Today Brad lives in Los Angeles and works as a production assistant. While they live on different coasts, like pretty much like the same things they've always liked.
Caitlin Miller
Bridesmaid
Caitlin and Heidi met freshman year of college at American University in Washington, DC when they lived down the hall from one another in Letts Hall. They quickly bonded over a mutual love of The West Wing. They became suitemates sophomore year, and continued to live together through graduation and for several years after. Caitlin is an environmental lawyer and lives in Denver, Colorado with her cat, Ruth.
Justin Perry
Groomsman
Justin and Joe attended college together at St. Mary's College of Maryland. They met as transfer students, assigned to deliver a presentation to other transfer students about being a transfer student. Their work wasn't exactly quality, but they hit it off and went on to two non-consecutive stints as roommates. Joe and Justin share interests in Fast and the Furious movies, chicken wings, and breweries. Justin is a clinical social worker currently working in hospital administration at the University of Maryland. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife Mimi and their cats Lola and Edy.
Abigail Johnson
Bridesmaid
Heidi and Abbie met through a mutual friend, Lisa Piecewicz. Lisa was Abbie's babysitter when she was growing up, and Heidi babysat for Lisa's children, so they just seemed to click. After many questionable decisions and expensive Uber rides during their wild single days, Abbie and Heidi now educate the youth of Baltimore together at North Bend Elementary School, where Abbie teaches second grade and Heidi teaches Pre-k. Abbie lives in Finksburg, Maryland with her partner, Mike and son, Jack.
Sunil Daniel
Groomsman
Many years ago, as young corps members with City Year, Sunil and Joe partook in a frosty beverage in a divey dump called McNulty's in Cleveland. They went on to share many experiences like establishing the short-lived super-group "Rotting Corps", serving inner city "at-risk" youth, being part of each other's respective weddings, and most importantly picking football winners and losers every year with their buddy, Pat. Sunil is a biomedical engineer and currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio as a trophy husband to his incredibly talented wife and future POTUS Annette, their son Jaimin, daughter Sona, dogs Elliot and Chauncy, and cat Angie.
Olivia Piecewicz
Junior Bridesmaid
Heidi and Olivia met when Olivia was just a few days old. Heidi was first Olivia's babysitter, and later, her downstairs neighbor. From beach and Disney World vacations to horseback rides, movie dates, and shopping trips, Heidi and Olivia love spending time (and money!) together. Olivia is in the 9th grade and lives in Sykesville, Maryland with her parents, Lisa and Kevin, brothers Luke and Ryan, and adorable dog Maggie (Heidi's not-so-secret favorite member of the Piecewicz family).
Ify Ezeigbo
Groomsman
Ify and Joe met during their college years through Joe's brother Nick. They performed acapella together in the SMC-Men and later moved to Baltimore. While they are in different lines of work - Ify is a defense attorney and Joe is a teacher - they manage to make time for plenty of happy hours. They've upgraded from Bud Light to craft beer, but their friendship is as intact as ever! Fun fact about Ify - He takes the Jeopardy test every year!