Joseph & Greta
Wedding Party
Gage Miller
Best Man
Gage has been Joe's closest friend since they were roommates while Joe finished his Ph.D. They met the first year Joe was at in grad school when Joe joined the local mens rugby team, the Gainesville Hogs. In addition to their rugby playing antics, they did pretty much everything together, ranging from witnessing the slow deterioration of Gage's former pool into a nature reserve, loosing battles of wits to fire ants, and late night adventures to get 5-star pizza. After their time living together, Gage married his lovely wife Joleen. Joe was the best man at their wedding, and gave what is generally recognized as the greatest wedding toast in the annuls of recorded history. The couple has been blessed with two beautiful daughters, the youngest of which is Joe's goddaughter. The four met Greta in Gainesville, where they all enjoyed a laugh over Joes inability to crack a smile out of his goddaughter.
Jessica Gavejian
Matron of Honor
Jessica has been Greta's best friend since their high school days in Connecticut. Prior to being besties, they were both attending their 8th grade semi-formal dance where they both showed up in the exact same long black dress. Neither of them were amused by this coincidence at the time but soon enough they found delight in their similarities of both being only children and having wacky senses of humor. 10 years ago, Jessica married her husband Michael and despite the false rumors, Greta gave the best wedding speech of all time. Jessica and Michael are raising 3 beautiful boys that have always referred to Greta as "Auntie GG". They must have seen this coming because this will be the year where Greta will gain Gartner as her last name and become Auntie GG officially.
Christian Luening
Groomsman
Christian is a friend of the couple since meeting Greta during a trip to Austin for the 2021 F1 race, despite the couple taking him to perhaps the worst plate of BBQ ever served within the city limits of Austin. His friendship with Joe goes back to when they played together for the Gainesville Hogs rugby club. They've remained close over the years due to a shared sense of humor (sarcasm which often drifts into misanthropy), an enjoyment of skiing, and their original shared interest of rugby. On the rare occasion that Joe is up for speaking on the phone, Christian is typically one of the first people to whom Joe will reach out.
Kendra Lafayette
Bridesmaid
Kendra is a local Texas native and long-time Austin friend of the bride. 8 years ago, they met through mutual friends on Greta's 30th birthday celebration so the wedding weekend will mark their 8 year Anniversary of their friendship. When Greta introduced Kendra and Joe they became friends overnight. During a visit to the annual German Wurstfest in San Marcos, Joe confided in Kendra (while wearing a lederhosen) that he was going to marry Greta one day. Please note that none of you would be reading this right now if it weren't for Kendra's diligence to keeping the couple on track with wedding planning.
Matt Tierney
Groomsman
Matt Tierney is a friend of the couple, and witnessed the very early days as Joe struggled to be on a trip to Denver while his attention and heart were in Texas. Matt and Joe were teammates on the Gainesville Hogs, and remained close due to a mutual love of sports, travel, and music. Matt and Joe traveled together to Japan in 2019 for the rugby world cup, where they spent almost every minute together for the better part of three weeks (pictured).
Amanda Raffurty
Bridesmaid
Amanda is a 1st cousin to the Bride, and mom to the only Great-Grandchildren on the Bride's side of the family.....or at least so far. She is a Texas native living in Kansas City with her husband Clint and 2 adorable kiddos. While Greta was visiting Amanda and Clint in Kansas City they not only took her to her first KC Chiefs game but tried to convince her that Kansas City BBQ was better than Texas BBQ. While they didn't win that battle, they still have a sweet spot in Greta's heart.
Sean Isom
Usher
Sean is not just a cousin to the bride, but seems more like the brother she never had. When Greta moved to Austin in 2011 and didn't know anybody yet, Sean came to visit for her birthday so she wouldn't celebrate solo. Since then her birthday celebrations have seemingly grown larger of the years especially with this upcoming one. Sean and Greta have ventured to endless movies, survived 3 days straight of ACL Music Festival, and share a mutual love for Brisket Fried Rice and Buc-ees (if you don't know then you don't know). Watch out ladies, he is single and quite the catch (let's see if he catches this).
Mike Joyce
Officiant
Mike is the first of Joe's friends to have met Greta. He is quick to point out that Greta's presence makes Joe incomparably happier, and perhaps a little too quick to point out how unpleasant Joe was before meeting her. Mike has been a persistent friend of the couple, and is one of their favorite friends to share a pint and a laugh with. Mike's way with words and understated romantic nature made him an easy choice to officiate the wedding, despite his thick Canadian accent.