Jessica & Joshua
Who's Who
Cydney Fires
Maid of Honor
Cydney and I were meant to be, or bashert, if you will. Sometimes I joke with Josh that I have two soulmates, but it's actually true. Cyd and I have been keeping up with a long distance friendship for five long years now, and I hope to get the opportunity to move closer to her next year. Growing up in Boca and attending Pinecrest with Josh, Cydney thought she was too cool for the house parties of our day, or, rather, she probably just wanted to stay in and listen to Phish and read. We realized that we were two halves of the same whole during my freshman year at Emory. Cydney astutely noticed that animals were more her speed than people during her Junior year, and recently received her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. You can catch us chatting about cats in DKA while Cyd works intern hrs.
David Goldstein
Best Man
David and I have been inseparable almost since birth. Born 3 years my junior, it took some time for me to adjust to the idea that I was not the sole axis on which the world revolves. David and I have things in common that only brothers can have - like knowing exactly how to manipulate our mother to buy donuts and what music genre the other was into at age 7. We voluntarily shared a bedroom together for years, because that’s a totally normal decision for an 11 year old to make. We’ve been through everything together and I couldn’t be prouder to call David my brother. After an extremely entertaining 4 years of college at Tulane NOLA, David relocated to Virginia and now New York City to practice law. He’s joined by the worldly and brilliant Charlotte McFaddin, who also studied law at UVA.
Amanda Spielman
Bridesmaid
I met my amazing global-health-driven, logically minded but a whole lot of fun & slightly loca friend Amanda during my sophomore year at Emory. She happened to be dating one of Josh's fraternity brothers at the time, and we were introduced in the depths of the fraternity basement. My big Cydney and I awkwardly wedged our way into Amanda's life-- but our relationship was also meant to be. Amanda is a magical human, and much like Cydney and I , when she puts her mind to something, she does it. Originally from the Bay Area, Amanda has left home for the time being to attend medical school with me at UM! Amanda is undecided about her specialty as of now but has special interests in plastics and women's health.
Steven Arnst
Groomsman
Steven actually grew up down the street from me in Weston, but we never knew it until he and I met by chance nearly a decade later as juniors in high-school. Mathematically minded but with a range of passions that extend far into the worlds of music, travel, and law, Steven can be found attending Phish concerts and discussing the deep lyrical meanings behind some of their least-known songs. He attended Vanderbilt with Eric where he studied Biomedical Engineering, then received his JD from UCLA this year. Steven currently practices entertainment law and lives in Los Angeles.
Madeline Lederer
Bridesmaid
The one who helped me open my eyes to a career in Ob/Gyn -- Madeline would never miss a call from a friend in need. With great taste in music, sushi, and Zara outfits, I'm lucky to consider her one of my closest friends. Oh, and she also turned me onto spicy margaritas, along with Bri & Cydney (don't say I didn't give y'all credit). Among my favorite moments with Madeline (and there are many) was holding hands and wishing good luck upon each other during interview release day. Madeline will be graduating with her MD in May of 2020 and entering the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Eric Jofe
Groomsman
Eric and I met in high-school, in 11th grade world history class (along with Steven and Keenan). Eric can also be credited with introducing Jessica and I, when he invited her to a bonfire at his house. Since that time Eric and I have been close friends, always being the ones to bail our other friends out of sticky situations. He attended Vanderbilt with Steven, and I made monthly pilgrimages to Nashville throughout college to visit them both. Nowadays Eric lives in New York City, where he works at a start-up helping artificial intelligence robots learn how to take over the world.
Gabriella Stearns
Bridesmaid
Gabriella and I started our friendship in 6th grade in Ms. Kaplan's math class. In high school we became thick as thieves, and troublemakers at that -- we had a true South Florida coming of age, giving both of our mothers palpitations. A fun fact that only those who have read this far will get to know -- Josh and my relationship was spurred on by non-other than Gabriella when we were all in 10th/11th grade. Years later, Josh and I visited Ann arbor and first met "Glassbox Greg" -- we knew it was a match made in heaven, and I was in Mrs. Stearns's Bridal Party this past September. Gabriella recently achieved her law degree along with her MBA and holds her first position at a law firm in Boston.
Johnathon McCormick
Groomsman
Johnathon (JMac for short) hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin, but relocated to sunny South Florida to attend medical school. We met early in school as anatomy lab dissection partners, and have a long-standing tradition of calling each-other after board exams to re-hash every intellectual slight committed against us by the NBME. Johnathon is an Orthopedic Surgery resident at Rush University in Chicago, and his academic interests include Badgers Football and the Green Bay Packers.
Rachel Wolfman
Bridesmaid
I met Rachel on a roommate-finder website and we've been together ever since. Rachel was my roomate through all four years of college, so she has seen it all. From dancing on Josh's handmade wooden stages at Beta Theta Pi, to taking on Ultra, Mardi Gras, and everything in between, Rachel and I are quite the practical dynamic duo. Now, since her wonderful parents own a condo in Delray Beach, I get to see Rachel regularly and frequent The Office & Salt.. Rachel and her longtime partner, Jake, recently got engaged as well in January 2019, and I'm so happy to be one of Rachel's bridesmaids as well. Rachel recently achieved a promotion in her corporate buying role at Macy's. She enjoys country music sometimes, T-Swift, and penguins, all penguins.
Keenan Ade
Groomsman
Keenan and I met early in high school, as members of the same band of delinquents who hung out in the Pinecrest Fine Arts Gallery. We grew closer over time, and when we were 17, co-produced the best documentary on Globalization that our AP World History class had ever seen. Since then Keenan has continued to pursue his passion for film (I like to think I gave him his start), and now works in Production in New York City. Keenan attending University of Miami for undergrad (GO CANES) where he studied music and psychology. He is joined by the literary aficionado and fun-loving lovely lady Lexi Williams and their dog Benji.
Samantha Langer
Bridesmaid
Samantha graduated from UF and took her talents back home to Miami for medical school. Sammi and I have been inseparable ever since we lived together in the Florida Keys for a month of family medicine, during which I forced Sammi into many things she was not exactly game for at first including jogging on the beach in the heat and attempting to fish. Finding common ground at Costco, we were able to put my episode of torticollis behind us and form an everlasting friendship. Sammi will be matching into Pediatrics this March. When she's not studying, Sammi can be caught spending quality time with her friends, or, more important, her nieces and nephrews -- Oren, Nate, and Sloane.
Ryan Rose
Groomsman
I met Ryan in 11th grade. At the time he had hair down to his shoulders, and was really into sneakers. We were paired together (along with Eric) in Spanish class, tasked with creating a music video about how to make Peruvian Ceviche. We set the video to Sublime’s song Santeria, since it had about 5 words of Spanish in it. Me and Ryan have remained close ever since, fishing together constantly and taking impromptu trips to the Florida keys whenever we can find the time. Ryan studied hospitality at UCF, and now lives in Kenosha WI and works for Amazon.
Brianna Cohen
Bridesmaid
Reminding me of my fiery, redheaded, boss-lady, Renaissance woman Grandmother, Bri's got it all. After realizing that she didn't hate me, we quickly became close and realized that we have so much in common. I can always, always count on Bri to cheer me up when I'm down, work me to the brink of exhaustion with Body by Bri (Tm), and have philosophical discussions about life with me. Graduation from Northwestern with a background and degree rooted in English Literature, Bri is following in the footsteps (while blazing her own path) of her other physician family members and will be entering into the field of General Surgery with plans of one day becoming a Surgical Oncologist.
Ian Watkins
Groomsman
Ian is the other half of our Orthopedic Wisconsin duo. Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, he played college football for Cornell before deciding surgery was more his speed. Because of his history major, Ian is the only person I can truly nerd out about American History with (and Jessica is grateful for that). When he’s not flinging spur of the moment hot takes about the state of American Medicine, Ian can be found sword-fishing or climbing the stair-master. He is joined by his wife the talented and creative Charlotte Cushing, and their dog Luke and cat Lola. He is currently an Orthopedic Surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Elaine Han
Bridesmaid
While both growing up in Broward County, Elaine and I had the unique privilege of playing together in the Florida Youth Symphony. I played violin, she cello. I snuck off to meet Josh after mid-orchestra break one too many times and didn't fully know Elaine back then, but we reconnected with each other in medical school and became fast friends. Elaine is one of the most supportive people I've ever met -- she will stop at nothing to make sure that her loved ones are happy. A truly special woman, Elaine is entering into the field of Ophthalmology and receiving her MD this May. OH and she TOO has two cutiepie nieces, Noemi and Isabelle.
Ryan Wagner
Groomsman
I met Ryan Wagner, or “Wags” as we call him, sitting in the back row of the school bus which transported us the 55 minutes from Weston to Ft Lauderdale each day. We bonded over our love of cars, and his interest in German refinement balances well with my affinity for American muscle. Ryan studied engineering at Purdue University, before moving to Atlanta and taking up work with software startup.