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August 16, 2025
The Bride's Best People
Kristina Grandi
Kristina and Nicole met at Kristina’s graduation at the University of Illinois when Nicole’s brother, Alex, introduced Kristina as his new girlfriend. Now sister-in-laws, Nicole and Kristina have bonded over the years through their love of running (specifically the Hot Chocolate 15k), baking (and watching the Great British Bake Off), and laughing at goofy kiddos.
Margot Jasaitis
Margot (Rory is her brother) and Nicole met at Beatrix in West Loop for Rory’s 28th birthday. Both being outgoing, they can talk forever and have rapidly become integrated into one another’s friend groups. Also a runner, Margot occasionally joins Rory and Nicole for runs around West Loop and at races. Margot has also shared the joy of her adorable pupper, Rafi, with Rory and Nicole to brighten all spirits.
Chloe Matovina
Chloe and Nicole met at the University of Michigan during undergrad. They were in the same pre-med fraternity and became roommates Nicole’s senior year (Chloe’s junior year). They have remained close friends throughout their OB/GYN residencies in Chicago, and are frequently seen on double dates with Rory and Nate.
Katie Pancewicz
Katie and Nicole met at Oak Park River Forest High School while on the badminton team. They were paired up to play doubles their freshman year, became the number 1 doubles pair on the varsity team at OPRF, and made it to sectionals by their senior year. Katie remained in Chicago throughout law school at Kent while Nicole was in med school at Rush. Through these similar tracts in life, Katie and Nicole continued to bond and grow together and have remained close ever since.
Luke Roggenkamp
Luke and Nicole met at the University of Michigan during undergrad while living on North Campus. They rapidly became friends through a love of multiple tv sitcoms (most notably, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and Parks and Rec) and all Michigan sports (although most commonly seen at basketball and football games). Although they are both extremely competitive (Nicole has allegedly beat Luke in Friends Scene It every time they have played and Luke almost always wins speed), they have remained friends while living hundreds of miles apart.
The Groom's Best People
Martha McKeon
Rory really got to know Martha closely when they weathered COVID-19 lockdowns together living in Bucktown. Martha has one of the best senses of humor and is one of the kindest people Rory knows. She is responsible for introducing Rory to the incredible cozy lifestyle of “hygge” and to how great cats are. The two share a love of movies, a good book, Martha’s cats, and (for at least a few months) Animal Crossing. They do not share Martha’s love of mashed potatoes as a pizza topping.
Alex Pohlman
As Nicole’s brother, Alex has been part of Rory’s life for almost four years now, but it wasn’t long into their friendship for Alex to bestow Rory a nickname: “the Rormeister.” Rormeister and Alex are a formidable backyard games team, and even fiercer competitors. This past summer, Alex and Kristina were married and Rory was honored to be included in their ceremony. The two share a love of larger-than-life cinema experiences and high-quality popcorn, and a love of Nicole.
Peter Prokop
One of Rory’s longest-running friendships is with Peter. The two grew up together through Boy Scouts (both are Eagles!), making backyard movies together, and generally being creative together - whether it was trying to make shoes from scratch or drawing ads for other high school clubs on posters hung around their campus. Today they still stay in touch as they regularly collaborate on video projects.
Matt Stephano
Growing up just down the block from Rory, Matt and Rory spent many high school hours together, playing music together in each others’ basements (and occasionally on stage), eating significant quantities of Taco Bell, and talking about all the very low-stakes drama in their high school church youth group. Matt and Rory remained friends after high school, and Matt roped both Rory and Joe into his group of college friends, leading to shared vacations, fantasy football, and general fun.
Joe Straitiff
Rory and Joe knew each other in high school, but it really wasn’t until they took a mission trip together to the Dominican Republic between their junior and senior years that their friendship truly formed. Then, in college at Loyola University Chicago, Rory and Joe lived together for essentially all four years and then another four years after college. Joe and Rory have shared many life experiences together, whether through shared hobbies like bicycling, rock climbing, cooking, playing video games, or even brief stints of weightlifting, racquetball, and assertively wearing bow ties.