Yejin's Turn...The Bridesmaid Bios

Hi Everyone-

Yejin here, as I’m sure most of you can tell, Lynn has been driving this blog (and getting all the credit) thus far but now it’s my turn for the bridesmaids bios! First, I must say, we started this blog as an easy way to send out information about the wedding. Then it started to become more than that and Lynn came up with the idea to do these bios. But let me share with you what the process has been for getting these postings up. Lynn would write a draft, and then he would show it to me for comments and let me tell you, they needed a lot of work. Lets just say - the blog, like most things in Lynn’s life, are better because I came along…

Now on to my lovely bridesmaids, like Lynn, I too have seven in my wedding party. So, here it goes:

Alexis

Alexis is a friend from middle school. When I think of Alexis back then, what I remember most is her bodysuits. Whether or not they were, we all thought they were really cool. Alexis just moved to Chicago after finishing a Masters and PhD at Georgetown in Developmental Psych. Alexis’ skills with children came in very handy for me. With her help, Lynn is doing a much better job sharing his toys with his friends. Alexis was also a great gymnast as a kid. So, when you see a girl doing flips on the dance floor, you’ll know that is her.

Steph

Steph and I have been friends since kindergarten. Beware of your food when you are with this girl. In fact, if she comes by while you're eating at the wedding be sure to shield her away from your plate. She has been known to take food without asking and she is not shy about taking your first or last bite. An example – a few years ago I sent Steph and Alexis two dozen delicious New York H&H bagels. They weren't living together so I sent them to Steph's house but addressed the card to both of them. A few weeks later I got a thank you card from Steph. Later that day I called Alexis to see how the bagels were and it turns out she had no knowledge the bagels had been sent at all. Steph had quietly eaten them all and sent a joint thank you note to cover her tracks.

Jenny

Jenny and I became friends in high school. She and I played soccer together and became very close as we played on several of the same teams. She recently moved to Orlando to follow her dream of being Cinderella at Disney World; right now she is the second understudy. Jenny is one of the most gullible people I know; I once convinced her that I was confused about how often I should take my one-a-day vitamins. I also must give her a little shout out for recently passing the Florida bar exam! Congrats!

Angeli

I met Angeli through work. She was one of my first new friends in NYC and we've been close ever since. She hates being in pictures, but I still included one of her. One of the most notable things about Angeli is that she is always late. If the ceremony is not on time, you can pretty much assume she is the reason. Angeli is from California, more specifically from the "OC" which I always remind her of when she tries to be mature and tell people she's from Orange County.

Kristin

Kristin is my friend from Boston College. She and I were both part of a group of 18 girls that lived together our junior and senior years. We later found out that having more than 6 girls living in the same house in Boston is illegal because it is considered a brothel. If that is the case, Kristin was our madame because nobody enjoys hosting parties more than she does. Speaking of hosting, Kristin now lives in Boston now but her family has a house in the Hamptons and we have had many amazing weekends there. Note: become friends with her at the wedding if you're looking for a place to crash next summer.

Tovah

Although we didn’t go to middle school together, Tovah and I played soccer together and became friends. One time in high school we were sitting around on a Saturday night making prank calls and an angry dad of one of the kids we had just pranked, called us back and demanded to speak to a parent. In a panic, we put Tovah on the phone and she performed beautifully; she even talked him out of us having to make an in-person apology. While Tovah is a good with her words (one of the reasons she's in law school), do not ask her to add, subtract or even count for you. Math is not her strong point.

Little Sista Robin

And last but not least my little sis, Robin. She has done an unbelievable job with everything related to the wedding - particularly the bachelorette party. While she is quite small, do not be fooled, Robin is probably one of the strongest people I know. She has some strange super human strength that allows her to be able to lift TVs, couches, armoires, you name it – she can move it. In the Kim household, we affectionately call her “Our Little Ox.”

I am so thankful to have such great friends and there is nobody else I'd rather have up there with me at the wedding. Love you ladies.

Also, as Lynn has mentioned earlier, Ro Berman, my co-sister-in-law-to-be is obsessed with this blog and loves getting mentioned; she has probably found a way to hack into the site and is reading this right now as I post it.

Bio: Ben Berman

I've known Ben for the longest of all my groomsmen – since birth. As children we were forced to share a room together as a cruel joke by our mother. Ben was important in my growing up though. He taught me that it’s ok to lose, as long as it wasn’t him losing – as we would continue to play games until he won.

Ben used to play professional baseball, I think somewhere in Mexico. At one point it was rumored that he wanted to be like Tom Selek and move to Japan to extend his playing career like in Mr. Baseball, but his inability to grow a mustache made that dream impossible.

I selected Ben to be my best man for a number of reasons. In a lot of ways, I’m his best friend. He is also one of my good friends, so I felt it made sense. Besides that, he has helped me with everything I have ever needed and helped make me into who I am today. He’s the best guy to have at your side in anything you can do. I’m lucky to have him as a brother.

Ben is married to Ro, who checks the blog daily in hopes of being mentioned. SPOILER ALERT: (she’s doing a reading)

Ben is a lawyer and he has his captain’s license for motor boats. So, if you have any questions on Seashore Law - he is the best man.

Bio: Lane Duvall

Lane is my brother in law. Even though Lane has married into our family, I don’t consider him a brother in law. He’s been a part of so much for so long that I consider him to be at least a ¾ brother.

I first met Lane when I was about 12 years old. I remember thinking at the time that he must be colorblind due to his love of pastel colored shirts. Over time, I have come to know that he is unfortunately not colorblind.

The first thing that comes to mind about Lane is his constant willingness to help out anytime you are doing a project. However, Lane insists on reading all he instructions on everything. While his help is always appreciated, his involvement and attention to detail undoubtedly doubles the length of any task. Thus, Lane was not asked to help out with any of the wedding planning.

Lane used to be confused for actor/musician Mark Wahlberg but now looks more like actor Thomas McCarthy.

Click here to see:

Mark Wahlberg

Thomas McCarthy

Bio: Craig DeCecchis

Craig is a guy that I owe a lot to. After all, he is the reason I met Yejin. One day, I narrowly missed a subway and while I was waiting on the platform for the next train - I saw Craig. I went over and began chatting with him as he and I knew each other in college through mutual friends. He remembered that I played intramural softball at BC and he said that his company needed some guys and invited me to play. The first game I met Yejin, who also was on the team. To this day, Craig credits himself as being cupid, but I credit my missing the first subway. Either way, since college he has become a very close friend.

The one true problem Craig has though is his amazing ability to jinx things – particularly sporting events. Any time a no-hitter is on TV, count on Craig to text “You watching this?” and then undoubtedly the next pitch is a bloop single. In fact, Craig and I have so rarely seen wins while watching sporting events that I banned Craig from watching games with me two years ago when the Rangers were in the playoffs. However, unfortunately for New York sports, Craig and I still can’t resist watching the big game together over a beer and a burger.

Another embarrassing story of Craig comes from college. While most people were taking the Comm Ave bus around campus, Craig had the hottest black Audi sports car. However, his license plate said “Craigy D” which completely negated all cool points he had earned.

Craig also holds the world record for having the most C’s in his last name.

Bio: Brendan Vuolo

Brendan and I became friends at Fire Island as well. Despite lacking all sailing ability, I hired Brendan to teach sailing. Some say that it was done as a personal favor to my mother’s friend. While popular with the kids, Brendan somehow found a way to rip 8 sails during his time as a sailing instructor. Amazingly, every sail he ripped was from hitting non-moving objects such as poles, buoys and docks.

Brendan later came to Boston College when I was a senior and he was a freshman. While he instantly gained fame among his peers for having knowledge of senior parties, I instantly gained famed with my classmates for having direct access to freshman.

When I think of Brendan, I instantly think of his general aversion to the sun. Being rather pale in color, Brendan can often be seen rubbing SPF 85 on his entire body. One time in fact, after applying generously to his face, I noticed that he had applied the lotion on his teeth too without noticing. The image still haunts me.

Brendan works now as a trader. It is hardly a coincidence that stocks in general have been on a steady decline for the past 5 years and he has been in finance just as long.

Bio: Rich Perna

Besides my brother, I have been friends with Rich longer than any other groomsman. I met Rich when I was a kid out at Fire Island. I was originally friends with Rich’s older brother Jason. But, as Jason got older, it was Rich’s immaturity and young age that I was drawn to and soon we became great friends.

Rich and I taught sailing together during the summer because just like me, Rich also loves sailing and being around children – despite several restraining orders. Rich works in real estate and hopes to one day take over for Fire Island real estate tycoon Don Goldman.

One of my favorite Richie stories was when he and I became the first two people to circumnavagate Fire Island in a sunfish. This feat had been attempted by many others before but none had ever completed this sailing accomplishment. We left at 4AM with glow sticks attached to our sail in hopes that powerboats wouldn’t crash into us. After about 15 hours of sailing, we finished the 66 mile journey tired, nauseous, hungry and sick of being together for so long. Maybe it was our near death experience or maybe it was the celebrity status we got when the Fire Island News had a feature article about us, but we were forever drawn together and will always be the closest of friends.

Bio: Eric Libra

For two and a half years, Eric was my roommate at Boston College. The bond between roommates is a special one. I will always remember lying in bed after a late night out and Eric would come into the room after returning from class. Eric would say “good morning!” and I’d just laugh and say “oh, is it time to wake up now?”

Eric is married to Caroline, his freshman year sweetheart. He has his PhD in biochemistry or some other nerdy equivalent. Basically, Eric has the chemicals and the ability to make or destroy anything.

One of my favorite Eric stories actually doesn’t involve Eric at all. At least not the one that will be in my wedding party. I used to tell Eric that there was another guy at BC that looked a lot like him. We called him “Bizarro Eric”. Eric insisted that this guy didn’t exist. However, at graduation I was taking pictures with my family and my mother saw “Bizarro Eric” walking by with his family. My mom, thinking this was my roommate Eric, yelled “Eric! Eric! Come take a picture with Lynn.” I didn’t know what to do. He came running over and is looked at me like he was trying to place me. To this day, I don't know who he thought I was. Turns out, his name actually IS Eric. Anyway, we took this above graduation photo together. Strangest part was that after the picture, he asked me if I was planning on going to get some food with my family and that he hoped to see me in the cafeteria. He was a very nice guy. Perhaps the exact opposite of Eric Libra?

The second picture is a real picture of Eric Libra, my groomsman. I mean, they look pretty similar, don't they?

Bio: Brian Fleming

I first met Brian at Boston College as a freshman. We lived together in an area of our dorm called “The Pit”. This hallway consisted of only four dorm rooms and one laundry room. As a result of our proximity, we became great friends. Amazingly though, we rarely did laundry.

One of my favorite Brian stories is from the first week of freshman year. We were sitting together in the dorms after having spent much of the day together. I said to Brian, “Hey Steve, you wanna go grab some dinner?” He looked around the room and looked back at me and said, “We have been hanging out every day for this entire week, and you think my name is Steve?” After this, 90% of people on the Boston College campus called Brian “Steve” the first semester.

Brian is engaged to Erin, who will also be at the wedding. She is rumored to be reconsidering her decision - as she is undoubtedly shocked at his inability to clean and his love of watching the movie “Spaceballs” repeatedly. Brian recently decided to go to law school after seeing a great episode of Boston Legal.