Wedding Party
Katie Beth Bayko
Bridesmaid
Katie Beth and Kate formed an unexpected friendship while Katie Beth and her husband were stationed on the coast of North Carolina. They bonded over their alma mater, Miami University (where they had somehow never crossed paths), but mostly over a shared love for crafting, writing, classic literature, faith and philosophy, flea markets, and dogs (Trigger Bayko is pictured above). Aside from her excellent taste in fiction, Katie Beth always impresses Kate with her wisdom, her patience, and her creativity as a mother, a teacher, and a writer. Kate and Katie-Beth are currently long-distance kindred spirits hoping that North Carolina will be the Bayko family’s home again soon!
Jordan Randazzo
Groomsman
Jordan is the brother of the groom, with whom he shares a proclivity for classical music and extremely competitive card games. Jordan and Jonathan are eleven years apart in age, but have the inside-joke repertoire of a pair of identical twins. An ice hockey goalie in his free time, Jordan is an enthusiastic fan of the Islanders and the Canadiens—loyal to his hometown and to Montreal, where he spends the school year as a music student at McGill University. He is kind, quick to smile, and a top-notch French horn player. Jonathan is glad to have him by his side to tie the knot!
Erin Malone
Bridesmaid
Erin met Kate at an ornament-making party at their church in December 2017 and instantly made her feel at home in Raleigh. Through Erin, Kate found a group of incredible friends, got involved in church music, learned the best views and hangouts in the city, and eventually became Erin’s housemate on Ashe Avenue and coworker at Abrigo. Their time together on Ashe Avenue was marked by Erin’s generosity— with her time, her talent, her laughter, her wardrobe, and her snacks— and if they hadn’t met such worthwhile men, Kate would have happily stayed Erin’s housemate forever. Kate hopes to be around to help Erin execute her infamously strategic and flawlessly artistic plans for many years to come.
Jonathan Houghtling
Groomsman
Jonathans Houghtling and Randazzo met in high school at a seating audition for New York’s All State Music Festival. They ended up sitting next to one another and became fast friends. In an unlikely twist, Jon went on to become college roommates with Jonathan’s high school best friend at New England Conservatory—a link that kept them in touch through graduation and beyond. While the first thing Jon noticed about Jonathan was his impressive lip slur trombone warmup, Jonathan is also an outstanding host and a loyal friend. Jon and Jonathan have coached each other through quite a few relationship ups and downs over the years. They are thrilled to be getting married within a few months of one another.
Elizabeth Baldwin
Bridesmaid
Elizabeth and Kate ran in the same circles for a year at Miami University before becoming neighbors in their sophomore dorm. They would go on to live together for two more years, improvising their way through countless group projects and even sharing identical class schedules for one memorable semester. Elizabeth has allowed Kate to tag along on countless adventures over the past eight years, from impromptu sunrise donut runs and spring break trips to a half marathon. She is Kate’s favorite story teller and her go-to contact for beach read recommendations and Taylor Swift trivia. They can’t wait to dance their hearts out to “Mr. Brightside” in September, as is Elizabeth’s long-standing wedding tradition.
Robby Stoneburner
Groomsman
Robby is the brother of the bride by chance and one of her best friends by choice. After a few years of fist-fights and name-calling in middle school, they decided to join forces and never looked back. Kate and Rob share their parents’ love of music and theatre (Kate insists Rob got the better genes for musical talent). They also share niche tastes in podcasts and video games. Robby has guest-starred in a number of Kate and Jonathan’s quarantine video projects, lending his drum set to the ensemble. Kate can’t wait to celebrate with him and hopes to bring their total number of good photos together up to at least 4 by the end of the weekend.
Allison Pollard
Bridesmaid
Allison and Kate met Pitch Perfect-style when they auditioned for the Treblemakers a cappella group at Miami University. Their tight-knit ensemble spent hours together, and Kate and Allison eventually became the group’s president and music director. As seniors, they joined the same bible study and bit off slightly more than they could chew with an album recording project. Kate and Allison’s many midnight life-chats and venting sessions got them through their last year of college and, a few years later, the ups and downs of 2020. Allison is an incredible listener, an excellent musician, and the most level-headed and compassionate friend Kate could ask for. They are looking forward to each other’s weddings this summer!
Scott Sweeney
Groomsman
Scott and Jonathan met through mutual friend Alex, who grew up with Scott in the Triangle area. After getting his bass trombone performance degree and working at an instrument repair shop in NYC, Scott moved back to North Carolina and opened a shop of his own. Scott’s handiwork can be seen on every instrument Jonathan owns, plus several home improvement projects at Jonathan’s house. Scott is wildly innovative, generous, and a down-to-earth friend whose pandemic-inspired Wednesday night hangouts at his repair shop have become a highlight of Jon’s week. Scott is always down to lend his expertise, power tools, and great sense of humor to a project. Someday Jon aspires to have a tool collection as cool as his (so check back with him in about 50 years).
Emily Rasor
Bridesmaid
Emily Rasor formally proposed roommate-ship to Kate at Miami University in 2014, beginning a chaotic roommate journey and a lifelong friendship. They met in pep band, where Emily played trombone, and spent many weeknights raucously cheering on the hockey team and many early mornings planning their next hammock-camping adventure over breakfast food. Emily is athletic, thoughtful, straightforward, and unofficially titled the Queen of Icebreaker Questions. Kate can always rely on Emily’s organization skills and Emily can usually count on Kate to crack up at her pop culture references.
Alex Fioto
Groomsman
Longtime symphony coworkers and founding members of Boylan Brass, Jonathan and Alex have played many a concert together. Alex is a talented trumpet player, a great dad, and easygoing friend with an entrepreneurial streak that has quickly earned him a place in the world of software development since he started coding in 2020. His wife, Amy, is also a symphony member, and will be serenading wedding guests in a string quartet during the reception. Alex and Jonathan have enjoyed making music together for almost ten years, and still gig together after Alex’s career switch. They also had a brief stint as workout partners until Jonathan became old and infirm. Now they hang out every Wednesday night to drink beer and watch TikToks.