Heather

Maid of Honor

Relationship to the Bride: 

Heather and I have been best friends since the fourth grade, when she sat next to/had a crush on a boy named Jason in Mrs. Hill's class. Coincidence? Probably. Heather and I have done a lot of things together: homework in her driveway on sunny afternoons, smoking our first cigarette on the beach, fake tanning of many varieties, and so.much.shopping. (we probably kept Anthropologie in business from '03-'04). Seriously, no one can outspend us. Just ask our fathers. Our friendship has grown up with us--from Friday nights at Club Extreme (an underage dance club in Cincinnati that is now a Volkswagen dealership) to finding jobs (finally), and meeting wonderful men who can put up with us. We have a standing date in Kiawah every summer until we die (so Judy Blume), and we are hoping Jason and James can join in on this tradition soon without cramping our style (our style: baking vegan cookies and watching Girls until 2 am).

Emma Wise

Relationship to Bride:

Emma and I met on the first teacher work day at Myers Park when I sat next to her in the cafeteria. I was probably late, definitely sweating, and completely out of my element...and there she was: chilling with the most professional binder of all time, filled with the most in-depth notes I had ever seen (forever thereafter termed Emma's infamous Beautiful Mind notes), and probably a month's worth of lesson plans. And that is pretty much how the relationship has been since--I am a hurricane of disaster and she helps me find my calm--girl gives the best advice when it comes to teaching, resumès, men, and general life stuff. Emma and I spent a lot of quality time running on the Greenway, watching Gilmore Girls (but only in the fall), and lesson planning at Fourth Ward Bakery (the bakery was so sad she moved that it literally burned down in her absence). I still can't believe she left me in Charlotte to go to the land of ice and apples (Michigan), but we have maintained our strong friendship through the move, and for that I am so grateful. Oh, and did I mention that she hooked me up with Jason? That's pretty darn important.

Kristen Ohaver

Relationship to Bride:

I will never forget the day I first met my Fearless Leader...it was right after I met Emma, and she did not even look at me as she pointed to a cart of supplies and told me where my desk was, while I stammeringly asked her no less than eight stupid questions. Now I know that she was so displeased with my hiring that she had a bet with the assistant principal that if I didn't work out then he had to buy her lunch. She told me this story almost a year later, buzzed at a party, when she knew I could take it because a year in LA29 had made us ride-or-die BFFs (FYI--she bought him lunch). We went from that steely first meeting to standing dinner dates, wine nights at Dean & Deluca, and phone conversations where I am running and she deals with my wheezing like a champ. KJO is the most loyal friend I could ever ask for: she had my back when I was taken to task for teaching Huck Finn (and I quote..."This is my hill to die on"), and she comes to my side in a moment's notice. How many people would do that for me? Probably no one but Kristen, that's who.

Sarah Douglas

Relationship to the Bride:

Dougie is my sunshine...is that weird? Well, she is...deal with it. Sarah has the brightest, most genuine personality of anyone I have ever known--she puts herself completely out there, tells shit like it is, and basically is the most fun person to hang out with, ever. She will cry when she needs to, laugh the loudest, drink the most wine...and it is all just quintessentially Sarah. Dougie is the best book club partner of all time (she helped me prepare questions for my own book), a master of any and all music related trivia (she will grab the pen right out of your hand in her unbridled excitement), and my fellow Ani DiFranco fangirl. Dougie also has a fiancè named Jason (Tall Jason), and we do a mean double date. We have shared bottles of wine/sake and approximately 17 charcuterie plates all around this fair city. Regular-sized Jason loves Dougie as much as I do, and we look forward to many more years of dinner dates, friendship and elephant mating calls.

Daniela Becker

Relationship to the Bride:

Daniela has been the second greatest part of meeting Jason (after Jason, duh). When Jason told me that his old best friend was moving back home to Charlotte from California, he said we could do yoga together, as the lady is a legit RYT. Well, we have done very little yoga together (my bad), but we have had many great cocktail hours (goldschlager + cider), movies (the ones with the comfy seats), and dinners--Shabbat and otherwise. We both love mustard, scary movies, and, of course, Jason. It has been lovely to get to know someone who knows Jason's past, can give me perspective, and makes me feel better when she tells me about the time they were yelled at in Temple...not that I know anything about that. Daniela is a calming force in my life, the strongest lady I know, and a truly great friend. Last, but certainly not least, she is the official Aunt to Frankie & Ollie. They love her; we love her more.

Nancy Furst

Relationship to the bride:

Nancy is my only friend who: is a doctor, has supermodel hair, and parties like a college freshman (she goes out Fridays and Saturdays) and those are just a few of the reasons why I love her. I try not to ask her for medical advice too often, but I ask her for Jewish gal advice all.the.time. We like to host Shabbat dinners, play trivia, attend book club, and survive terrorist attacks together. After the attacks in Paris, we holed up in an airbnb, ate trail mix, and wrote ourselves a postcard. Because surviving a terrorist attack together is a really life (and friendship) affirming experience. One time, she hid my engagement ring in a board game box at my behest, and then I freaked out when I couldn’t find it (surprise, I found it). Nancy is girlfriend to Danny, groomsman extraordinaire. They are the only couple we know who will go to Charleston with us with less than 24 hours' notice. They are our travel/eating/running partners in crime, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.