Groomsmen

(In no particular order so don't get arrogant, James...)

James LE

James and Justin met in Spanish class during their junior year in high school because Justin used to make fun of James for having a Chicago accent when speaking Spanish (most notably with the phrase "es la verdad"). This somehow turned into the foundation for a friendship that has endured for a decade. James and Justin traveled around Japan together for a month after they graduated from college, and managed to walk away from the trip still liking each other despite the fact that James wanted to exclusively eat ramen the entire time while Justin wanted to exclusively eat sushi. James works for a non-profit university in San Diego, but for what it's worth he would like to clarify that he is personally for profit. James has impeccable taste and is a gold-mine for music, film, and literature recommendations. He also has great style and famously won the Tesoro High School Class of 2010 yearbook award for "Best Swagger", a category that, no joke, was created specifically for him. James spent some years in Chicago, but most of his formative years were spent in various locations around California. His nickname is "Tiger" and you should feel free to refer to him that way. 

MATT ROBSON

Matt was Justin's boss when Justin interned at Janicki Industries in the summer of 2012. Matt somehow had the patience to deal with a subordinate that once famously asked him "what's a socket wrench?". Justin and Matt's relationship was purely professional until 2 years after the internship: Matt and his wife Crystal were renting a tiny studio apartment above a garage (affectionately known as the FROG: Furnished Room Over Garage) in Bow, WA, which they offered to Justin when he was planning his move from Seattle to Skagit Valley in 2014. Justin took the offer, which at the time was perceived as the risky choice given: Justin's sadness about leaving the urban environment of Seattle, Bow's relatively quiet lifestyle, and the seemingly obvious alternative of nearby college town Bellingham with its more youthful culture and subdued urban sensibilities. Ultimately, this decision to live in Bow proved to be probably one of the better ones Justin has ever made. And what began as visits to merely drop off rent checks turned into weekly trips to Longhorn Trivia; long talks guiding Justin through post-collegiate malaise and showing him how to do this whole adult thing; general shenanigans on their 10-acre property; and ultimately a deep friendship bound to last a lifetime. Matt hails from Idaho, where he attended University of Idaho, and yes, he was their mascot: Joe Vandal (depicted above). He currently lives in Bow, WA with his wife Crystal and son Willem. He still works at Janicki Industries, likely aided by more competent interns.

VIjai Rajpal

Vijai ("Vj") and Justin lived together for 3 years during college, as part of the larger group generally referred to as "The Cluster" (in reference to the lounge/cluster style of their dorm in McMahon Hall) or "5206" (in reference to their address on 20th Ave, just three doors down from Tessa). They initially bonded over a mutual love of the show Avatar: The Last Airbender (which is admittedly catered to children, but is actually one of the best television shows of all time). They ultimately found each other to be kindred spirits for dozens of additional reasons. Vj loves tech, and Justin never buys a gadget of any kind without first getting Vj's opinion. Vj is also a masochist with a high tolerance for suffering, most notably manifested in his devotion to the Seattle Mariners, which is #1 for the longest active playoff drought of any major professional sports team at the time of this writing (though things are looking up this year). The picture above is one of the only existing photographs of Vj in which he is not wearing a Mariners hat. Vj was actually born in Canada but spent his formative years in the Microsoft suburb of Kirkland, WA, and now lives in New York City where he works as a software engineer. He is frequently mistaken as Denzel Washington, and is well-liked by parents because he's good at acting like he's responsible. Vj technically sent Justin's Facebook friend request to Tessa in 2013, when he clicked the mouse himself after losing patience with a pathetically nervous Justin, so in a weird/superficial way, Vj is partially responsible for this wedding.

ROBERT WEEDE

Robbie was also part of "The Cluster" and "5206", so he and Justin lived together for 3 years at the University of Washington in Seattle. Robbie, who grew up with Vj, also loves the Mariners somehow, but tends to take a more realistic approach compared to Vj's "they're going to win the World Series this year" mentality. Robbie is well known for bragging about the breakfasts he makes and for playing The Legend of Zelda in his pajamas on most weekend mornings in college. The first time Justin met Robbie, Justin was actually certain that he wouldn't like him and was concerned that he was going to have to share living quarters with him. This has proven to be one of Justin's most profound miscalculations, as their friendship remains strong to this day despite multiple moves and life changes. Robbie grew up in Redmond, WA, but is now a pilot in the U.S. Marines stationed in Kingsville, Texas (he hadn't heard of it either). Fun fact: his middle name is Mayo, which is apparently an Italian thing. Thank him for his service when you see him.

PAUL PILLER

Paul and Justin met during junior year of high school at the Mission Viejo Library while working on a project for AP Chemistry. Apparently, Justin was strangely beatboxing (as a means of focusing?), which impressed Paul at the next table over so he agreed to grab Thai food with Justin after the study session. Paul and Justin bonded over their similar taste in music (particularly a shared love for the UK band Bloc Party), movies, and books. Also, Paul had one of the most unique senses of humor Justin had ever come across (which holds true to this day). Paul frequently visited Justin in Seattle during college, earning his place as an honorary member of "The Cluster". Though Paul and Justin see each other less frequently due to geographical differences, every reunion feels like no time has passed and serves as a reminder of why they're still friends a decade later. Paul was born in Estonia, but moved to the United States when he was 10 years old. In 2013, he passed an absurd test that most Americans would fail to become a citizen. He's currently a biomedical engineer living in San Luis Obispo and works on virtual reality technology that actually enables the user to feel the virtual objects they interact with in the VR headset. It's pretty wild.

jake weaver

Jake and Justin have known each other since 2006 as a result of a mutual love for the bands Death Cab for Cutie and Frightened Rabbit. In many ways, Jake is the older brother that Justin never had and has been giving Justin relationship advice (of varying quality) ever since they met. He's been a guide to keep Justin out of bad romantic situations, but perhaps his most notable contribution was telling Justin that Tessa was a keeper after meeting her early in the relationship (as if Justin didn't know, but encouragement is always welcome). Jake and Justin's relationship dynamic mostly consists of making fun of each other, with the occasional breach of contract in which sincere words of love and appreciation are shared. He frequently visited Justin in college and developed a friendship with Vj, which he and Vj sometimes believe has superseded his relationship with Justin. This is not true. Jake grew up in Grass Valley, CA, a weird hippie town between Sacramento and Reno, but now lives in San Jose. He works in human resources, but he asked Justin to describe it as "people operations" because that makes him sound more interesting.

garrett barclay

Garrett and Justin met because Garrett is Tessa's brother. He would have gotten this slot by default due to the familial relationship, but Justin can honestly say he may have earned this spot even if he weren't a Barclay. Justin's interactions with Garrett were initially limited to holidays, family gatherings, etc., but that changed in 2017 when Garrett, in a post-collegiate soul-searching effort, ended up living in Justin and Tessa's living room for three months. With Tessa mostly occupied by med school, Garrett and Justin were forced to develop a friendship lest they wanted to coexist with each other in silence for 90 days. It turned out that Justin actually really liked Garrett and saw a lot of himself in him. Garrett has since moved out of the living room, but only made it as far as the apartment building next door. Despite the distance, Justin and Garrett's friendship maintains itself through early morning trips to the UVM gym, happy hours at the OP, and home-cooked dinners. Given the proximity, Tessa and Justin actually communicate with Garrett via walkie-talkie, even using code names during transmissions. It's kind of cool in a pathetic, nerdy way. Garrett hails from San Diego, graduated from UCLA, and, as mentioned previously, now resides next door to Justin and Tessa in Burlington, VT. He works at a marketing firm in town and likes to sign off his emails with "Best, Garrett"--respectful and professional, but short and sweet to drive home that he's busy and important.

Bridesmaids

LAUREN LOUGHHEAD

(artist formerly known as Lauren Barclay)

Lauren Loughhead (née Barclay) is Tessa's older sister and therefore has been there since day one. Probably Tessa's favorite memory involving Lauren from childhood is when the downstairs (aka their shared room) flooded and until it was repaired they had to sleep on a mattress in the living room. They would watch old movies and talk. The first viewing of Tammy and the Doctor took place during this time, perhaps sowing the seeds for Tessa's later interest in medicine. A few years later, in the back of the Yukon XL on the way to Bear Valley, Lauren and Tessa made a pact that they would be each other's maids of honor, a promise they have kept. Lauren went to college at Berkeley and got her PhD at Harvard, but she's not annoying about it. She lives near Boston and works at a super neat startup, and Tessa isn't completely sure what they do but it definitely involves science. At the time of this writing, Lauren had recently given birth to Maeve, the coolest niece in the history of time.  

BRIDGET BARCLAY

When Tessa was seven years old, she asked her parents for another sibling. Apparently two was not enough. So when Bridget was born two years later, in her youthful, self-absorbed world it made sense to Tessa. Although she is nine years younger than Tessa, she is mature beyond her years. She was the one child their parents convinced to do Irish dancing and competes around the country. She also writes for the school paper and is on the swim team. At the time of the wedding, she'll be just starting her senior year of high school, so a good conversation starter would be asking her where she wants to go for college. 

CRYSTAL ROBSON

Tessa first heard of Crystal from Justin, when she showed him the studio in Bow. He described her as "really cool," and any doubts Tessa had about how good of friends you could actually be with your landlord were blown out of the water when they actually started hanging out. Justin brought Tessa over to meet Matt and Crystal after an innertubing adventure, so Tessa was radically underdressed for the stamping through the undergrowth on Matt and Crystal's objectively spectacular property that followed. The stinging nettle burns were well worth it though, and Tessa and Crystal went on to ladies backpacking trips, an epic Port Townsend adventure, and shared many fireside chats. Tessa really looks up to how capable Crystal is and her energy for life, and Tessa is very happy Crystal will be able to be there on her big day. At the time of the wedding, Crystal will likely have saved the wedding design/aesthetics several times as Tessa can get disastrously carried away with these things. Crystal lives in Bow with groomsman Matt and her adorable son, Willem. 

LAUREN FUNK

Lauren Funk and Tessa met when they were four. Initial hangouts were notable for tea parties (aka eating sugar cubes) in the backyard and playing dress up. Lauren Funk always had amazing birthday parties where they stayed up all night and watched movies Tessa wasn't allowed to watch at her house. They went to school together from kindergarten through 8th grade, and then were tragically torn apart by different high schools. They would still talk on the phone every week, and one time Tessa misunderstood an assignment in speech class and actually wrote Lauren's eulogy and it was very emotional and amazing. Lauren is incredible at baking, and her tarts are works of art. She also recently did a crazy European trip, and is very well-connected in Spain if you're interested. Lauren and Tessa have been friends since they were four years old and Tessa just wouldn't be able to get married without Lauren there. 

ALYSA HULLETT

Alysa and Tessa met on a study abroad trip to Cádiz, Spain, where everyone else in their group generally confused one with the other. Alysa was present for such notable moments as the face-biting incident in Granada, eating Holland fries while walking through Amsterdam, and various hostel pub crawls. Their friendship was able to survive beyond the study-abroad microcosm, and Alysa was there the first time Tessa and Justin hung out in Capitol Hill. Since college, Alysa has lived throughout South America and Mexico while working as a journalist, and she and Tessa have kept up a regular correspondence through Facebook messages. Alysa witnessed the awkward and beautiful beginnings of Justin and Tessa's relationship, and it's only fitting she be there for the beginning of the next chapter.  

TIEN BUTTS

Tien and Tessa have known each other since high school when a couple of the St. Martins kids started hanging out with the St. Didacus kids (Catholic school dynamics), but their friendship was solidified when Tien won tickets to meet The Kooks and she invited Tessa to come with her. Thus began a long trend of band-stalking and dropping everything to go to concerts. Tien majored in Fine Arts at Gonzaga, and is also quite handy with a sewing machine. She lives in New York City, where she maintains an exciting food Instagram. Statistically speaking, cronuts appear to be her favorite dessert but she’s quite the expert on the New York food scene. Tien and Tessa currently see each other a couple of times a year, and typically spend the days walking all over town and eating way too much. Tien started and actively encourages Tessa's dumpling addiction. She enjoys making Tessa uncomfortable, like the time she put her in a headlock for all of lunch in high school, but Tessa would probably live a boring life without Tien. She currently lives in Brooklyn. 

JENNA HUNTER

(artist formerly known as Jenna Brown)

Tessa met Jenna for the first time at lunch in Cardiff-by-the-Sea after she and Justin had already been dating for a little while. They didn't have many more opportunities for interaction until Jenna came to visit Justin and Tessa in Burlington. It was a fateful weekend because Jenna was present for "The Great Mistake", when Justin and Tessa signed up for a three-year lease on a stick shift vehicle they technically didn't know how to drive. Jenna was very cool under pressure as the car slowly rolled backward through a parking lot with a very slight incline and Tessa was desperately trying to start in first gear. This began an illustrious tradition of visiting each other every year (and ideally the start of better decision making on Justin and Tessa's part). If the context clues/last name weren't enough, Jenna is Justin's older sister.