Best Man

 

Who is your best man?

Ian Everett. My cousin and best friend of 24 years and counting.

How did you meet him?

I like to think think Ian and I became best friends the same day we became cousins. Which was the day I was born. Being born so few weeks apart, and our mothers being sisters, it wasn't a guarantee that we would become best friends, but I guess the cards were in our favor. I'm lucky to say I don't know a life without him. "Matt and Ian" was the very first "Matt and____" there ever was, and that's incredibly special to me. I have to remember that a friendship like ours doesn't come stock for everyone. The fact that I was given a best friend upon arriving on earth (that sounds so alien-esque) is something I will forever cherish.

What is one of your fondest memories together?

With a literal lifetime of fond memories together it's impossible to pick the fondest. So I doubt this is my actual number one, but this memory sticks out to me...
The summer before we started high school, Ian and I decided to start playing instruments with the intent of starting a band immediately. Which we did. He bought a bass and I bought a guitar and we formed a band with his younger brother on a make shift drum set consisting of a large purple tupperware bin for a bass drum and a stool for a high hat. It wasn't a real band...but God knows we took enough promo pictures for it to be one. This was some of the most fun I've had in my life. But as the time went on, and we tried to take being in a band a little more seriously, we hooked up with Chris Stillitano, a real drummer with a real drum set, and we became a little more legitimate. We practiced as often as we could, and wrote dozens of songs ranging from weird to awful, but again, some of the most fun I've ever had. The time finally came for us to play our first show. We were to play at Ian's sister's birthday party in their basement. Having an overabundance of ideas for cool things for bands to do at live shows, we decided we wanted to dress up. How we landed on this idea, I'll never remember, but we decided for the 3 of us to wear khaki pants and black t shirts. Crazy, right? But there's more... on the first song we were going to wear puffy winter coats and beanies. Boom, perfect idea. So the night of the show we gathered in a side room of the basement, which we considered to be a "backstage" and promptly named "The Underground Amp Center." An audience of a dozen middle school and high school girls were out in the main area waiting for us to come out so they could politely sit through an hour of music I guarantee none of them wanted to hear. This was the first time I'd ever played music in front of anyone that wasn't a friend...and even though the group was incredibly small, it was pretty terrifying and I was irrationally afraid to do this. So there we stood, next to old board games, each of us wearing a puffy winter jacket and hat. Except for Chris, who was wearing a wig. (He "forgot" to bring a coat and beanie, which was definitely because he was the only one of us with the slightest bit of clarity as to how dumb this idea was.) The only trace of confidence in me at that moment was that I was about to face this unnerving experience with Ian standing next to me. No matter what happened we were doing it together, and that made it possible.
That backdrop has changed many times over, but the confidence I feel knowing that Ian is by my side, whether that be physically, emotionally, or otherwise, has never changed. Knowing that he is in my corner has allowed me live my life in a way I wouldn't have been able to without him. Feels amazing, man.

Name some of his favorite things.
1. Basketball
2. Beer
3. Shredding on the guitar
4. Freaks and Geeks
5. Motorcycles
6. Dogs
7. Painting
8. This video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xIYVw3ZPJk
9. Completely changing the way he looks
10. The 72-10 Bulls.

Name some of his least favorite things.

1. Kobe Bryant & The Lakers

2. Tim Duncan
3. Magellan
4. Ovadubs
5. Singing his name on anything
6. Goatees
7. Tweaking mod knobs
8. Waking up
9. Talking about himself
10. The Steve Wilkos Show

Why did you choose him as your best man?

This was determined long before I was engaged, before I started dating Kirby, before I even knew what a best man was. He so perfectly fits the role of what a best man is, it would be criminal to choose anyone else.

Maid of Honor

Who is your maid of honor?

My maid of honor is the young and beautiful Jaclyn Marie Devine. Jack has been my best friend for a very long time, and I love her unconditionally.  She is a teacher, writer, reader, animal lover, octopus obsessed, blonde haired babe who knows how to have a good time. Whether it be over a pound of fried food at friendly’s, or a day by the pool, (probably playing dolphin trainer) the time we spend together is always super special.

How did you meet her?

Jack and I met in the second grade. We weren’t in the same class, but our older brothers were, and they were quickly becoming best friends. Because of this, we began to exchange friendly hellos in the hallways or on the playground. Now that I think about it, we never actually spent much time together until our fourth grade chorus concert where we were placed next to each other. I have some hazy memories of fooling around in line right before we got onto stage. The theme of the show was Disney, and I know for sure that one of us was wearing Mickey Mouse overalls. In fifth grade, we were finally placed in the same class, and the rest is history. The remainder of elementary school was spent passing notes, taking dance classes, walking to 711 for slurpees and fun dip, making up songs, talking about boys, swimming, photo shoots, sleepovers, and our fair of share girl fights. Throughout high school our friendship evolved as we shared new experiences together. There was a (not so) short period where we spent a lot of time eating Taco Bell, watching Mean Girls, and dancing to Fergie songs in the car. Soon our friendship was put to the ultimate test as we started a two-year stint as roommates in college. Not only did we survive a situation that everyone knows can put an abrupt and painful end to many relationships, but we had a lot of fun along the way and came out the other end with an even stronger bond.  On top of living together for those two years, we also had nearly identical schedules, as we shared the exact same majors. Being in class with Jack was the best, and some of our funniest memories (dlc- life coach) come from this time. Now that college is over and we are both trying to get our lives started in the real world, her friendship is absolutely essential to me! This is actually more of a timeline of our entire relationship, rather than the story of how we met. Oops!

What is one of your fondest memories together?

I need to share two memories. The first one isn’t fond at all, it actually stinks, but whenever I look back on it I am reminded of what a good friend Jack has always been to me. In sixth grade Jack and I put together a dance for our school’s talent show. We took dance classes together, and were always making up dances on our free time, so we were really excited to show off our skills in front of all of our peers. We practiced for weeks, slept in curlers the night before, and tried to scrounge up something resembling matching costumes. The big day arrived, and as the talent show was approaching, an evil migraine began to settle in. Migraines dictated my life when I was a kid. Whenever I was overly excited, nervous, or anxious, a crippling migraine would take over. These migraines ruined everything from holidays to class trips, and of course one had to ruin our big performance in the talent show. We got through about one fourth of the routine before I whispered to Jack between moves that I was going to throw up, and we had to end the dance. She looked at me not with a face of disappointment, but with an expression that said “we are going to get you off this stage before you puke, and without getting you humiliated.” She quickly whispered to me “last 8 counts!” And with that we skipped to the last few moves of our dance, struck our final pose, and ran off into the wings. Jack ran ahead of me and swung open the door to the bathroom, and then the door to the first stall… but I didn’t make it. I threw up all over the floor of the girl’s bathroom before I finally made it to a toilet. Jack held my hair back until my mom came running in, and then she proceeded to clean my puke up off the floor. Gross story, I know. But Jack wasn’t mad at me for ruining our performance, and my disgusting scene didn’t gross her out. A situation like that could have been a painful memory, but instead I only look back on it as an example of what a great friend Jack is. Her main priority was to take care of me, and for that reason alone I will always love her.

My second memory is one night in our second year living together in college, where we ran around our apartment late at night taking the world’s worst pictures of each other. Some of my favorites include us trying to hold all of the cooking spices we owned at once, glass puppies coming out of Jack’s nose, and some acts of violence involving the showerhead. We named the album “kreeps in hats.”

Name some of her favorite things.
1. The Jets
2. Harry Potter
3. Emile Hirsch
4. Octopuses
5. Soda
6. Shopping
7. The beach
8. Hayley Williams
9. Her dogs
10. Salmon

Name some of her least favorite things.
1. ET
2. Bad drivers
3. Surgery
4. Being cold
5. Running out of conditioner
6. When people write her name as “Jackie” instead of “Jacki”
7. When I don’t send her pictures we’ve taken together even though she asked me a hundred times.
8. Being super full
9. When shoes she loves don’t fit her because of her baby heels.
10. Stink bugs

Why did you choose her as your maid of honor?

Choosing Jack as my maid of honor was a no-brainer. She is my best friend, and she has been my best friend since long before Matt came into my life. She knows about my hardest times, my biggest fears, and my most embarrassing moments. Most of all, she knows my heart. Jack has never wanted me to be different or looked down on me for my sometimes-questionable choices. Not being my friend, even if I’m being world’s biggest jerky idiot, has never been an option for her. She’s my friend no matter what I’m going through, or how I’m acting, and I feel that. Most importantly, she has always been supportive of my relationship with Matt. Always. Knowing that she will be standing behind me as I marry Matt makes the experience even more special. I love you Jack. Oh, and also because she is just really super fun to be with. That’s important too. Now please excuse me, I cut my foot earlier and my shoe is filling up with blood.