Bride's Party
KC Cushman
Bridesmaid
Nikole and KC met while working on their PhDs at Brown. Nikole made quick work of corrupting KC with reality tv, and weekly Bachelor nights and a competitive Bachelor bracket were born. They took their quals and defended their dissertations within weeks of each other, lived together during the pandemic, were forced to read the memoir of an asshole scientist (whose name will not be mentioned here) at the same time, and were even rejected from Canada together, yet they have much more than a trauma bond! KC went with Nikole to pick up Rocko from an Olive Garden parking lot, and Nikole was the witness for KC's elopement in Sharon & Tony's living room (these two life events are obviously of equal significance). Nikole probably wouldn't have survived the pandemic without KC's cooking, trips to shop for air plants at Rainbow Cupboard, and affogato from The Cremeria. KC is a LiDAR and plant queen, but if you want to get her really excited, ask her about her favorite Survivor seasons.
Priya Nakka
Bridesmaid
Nikole and Priya met while working on their PhDs at Brown. They quickly bonded over being the only "inside people" at Nikole's first EEB department retreat, and have basically been besties ever since. They share all the same obsessions with various books, tv shows, and movies (except when Nikole watches things that are too scary for Priya). They've perfected the formula for the ultimate shopping and movie day, and they love to catch a summer concert at Beak & Skiff together. Priya's visited CNY for the total solar eclipse, and Nikole's headed downstate for their first BookCon experience together. Priya introduced Nikole to the magical experience of seeing the Oscar-nominated animated shorts at Cable Car (RIP), and Nikole introduced Priya to the wonders of salt potatoes. During the pandemic, they still visited each other - in Animal Crossing. Priya is a wizard of all things statistics and genetics, but she'd probably be most excited to talk to you about the latest concert or book signing she's been to.
Bianca Brown
Bridesmaid
Nikole and B met while interviewing the same weekend for the EEB PhD program at Brown; Bianca told Nikole with a cackle, "Plant people are weird!" and Nikole assumed they would never see each other again, but when she got to Brown and another grad student gave her a tour of their lab, she was greeted by B exclaiming, "Oh, it's you!" Before they knew it, the two most antisocial new first-years were somehow put in charge of planning EEB social, and they ended up throwing the first EEB Halloween party. Even though B still can't quite acknowledge that plants are way better than animals, she and Nikole do agree on a lot of things, like the necessity of watching anything and everything Shonda puts out (except the new seasons of Grey's, obviously) & that breakfast is an appropriate meal at any time of the day. When Nikole was preparing for her defense, B brought her McDonald's on her way to the gym. B is queen of the microbiome, & if you want to make her really excited, just ask her about poop (or cows).
Morgan Turner
Bridesmaid
Nikole and Morgan met while working on their PhDs at Brown. Morgan was the only other paleo- person in their cohort, and the Johnny Blaze to Nikole's Peter Loew on their Nic Cage-themed trivia team. They spent many, many early mornings together driving to MA for intense, 12-rounds boxing workouts that nearly killed them some days. Nikole got to plan Morgan's bachelorette party, and Morgan (and her husband Greg) flew across the country with creative (as always) costumes for Nikole's Halloween-themed 30th birthday party ready to go. Nikole and John love having virtual, cross-country, double-dates with Morgan and Greg, with guest appearances by Rocko and Morgan's two cats. Morgan is somehow both an insanely talented artist and brilliant scientist, and if you need anything visualized, from a fossil reconstruction to, like, every structure of the human body, she's the woman for the job. If you want to get her really excited, ask her about her latest traveling adventures or her garden.
Nick Bonacorsi
Brother of the Bride
Nikole met Nick when her parents brought her new baby brother home from the hospital and she promptly slapped him in the face. Despite this admittedly rocky start, Nick and Nikole are the rare siblings who actually like each other. They've shared a love of anime since childhood, which they now get to enjoy with both of their life partners (with John always teaming up with Nick in favor of skipping the intro). Nick traveled to Providence for Nikole's PhD defense, and Nikole flew to Arizona for Nick's Military Intelligence AIT graduation, and, crucially, Nick and Mary drove to Providence to see Avengers: Endgame with Nikole. Nick is the best uncle to Rocko, and such an animal-lover that, in addition to having five cats and a demonic rabbit, he spends his free time volunteering at animal shelters. If you want to get him really excited, just ask him about... well, on second thought, he'd probably be most excited if you didn't talk to him (unless it's about the latest reality competition show he's watching).
Groom's Party
Matt Ochs
Best Man
Adam Sears
Groomsman
Jimmy
McLorn
Groomsman
Bri Sears
Groomswoman
Nate Gruenberg
Groomsman
