Yael Bar-Giora
Shanna's sister Yael is twice as energetic, three times as loud, and
ten times as adorable as Shanna herself! From the moment Shanna
fearfully carried one-week-old Yael up the stairs of their house, she
realized what a precious gift a sister can be! Since then, the two
have done their best to express their love without getting on one
another's nerves too much. Although she is twelve and a half years
younger than her soon-to-be-wed sister, Yael will join her father in
the honor of escorting Shanna down the aisle.
Heather Bernstein
Shanna and Heather met as pledges in the Theta Alpha
chapter of Chi Omega, and the
following year they roomed together in the sorority house. The two
became fast friends, sharing clothes, secrets, and four newly purple
walls. Shanna and her little sister, Susan Engleson, adopted Heather
into their lineage as a "middle sister" until she found a
little sister of her own. These days, Heather and Shanna
don't see much of each other (southern California is a bit
far away for an after-work cocktail), but they look forward
to a joyful reunion this summer!
Barbara Franklin
Julian has always tried to keep an eye on his younger sister but,
despite their relative ages, Barbara often takes charge of her
brother. Whether it is buying him clothes or trying to get him drunk,
Barb is quite serious about her role as the protective and fun-loving
sister. After serving Julian copious amounts of alcohol when she
visited him for Purim, and again when he visited her at Binghamton
University, no one would be surprised to see Barbara show up at the
bachelor party with a bottle for her brother. Oddly enough, Shanna
doesn't recall ever seeing Barbara drunk...
Matthew Franklin
They have the shared experience of dealing with the overprotective
(but loving) fathers of their girlfriends during the dreaded
pre-proposal "talks." Julian's words of reassurance for Matt, and
Matt's later advice for Julian, helped get both of these men through
the experience. Really, was it so bad after all? And aren't these two
beautiful women worth it all?
Alisha Hess-Haber
These two have known each other since their freshman year at Cornell, when Shanna used to cross
West Campus in her bathrobe to wake Alisha up each Shabbat
morning. Now Shanna has a much shorter trip, usually to the living
room of her New York apartment, where Alisha has made herself at home
many a weekend. Of course, roles seem to have reversed a bit, and
Alisha tends to do most of the waking these days...
Elana Levine
Elana and Julian first met at the Young Israel of Cornell, and
became fast friends. They always found things to do together--but
since they were both car-less, getting around was quite a challenge.
Despite Elana's charisma and near-perfect pout, it was nearly
impossible to find a ride to the movies. One day these friends
discovered the recently-invented taxi and took their social lives into
their own hands...and they have been unstoppable since.
Rajiv Manglani
Rajiv is quite the technology aficionado, so it is not surprising that
he and Julian became friends--although no one is quite sure why they
had to move to Brookline to do so. They both grew up in Brooklyn, NY,
only 5 minutes away from each other! Each attended a "specialized high
school" in New York City and prestigious universities in the
northeast. Their paths finally crossed at the Young Israel of
Brookline. Rajiv got married in March of 2002. He and his wife Miriam
built a wedding website of their own. Rajiv is fully qualified to be
both a groomsman and technology buddy.
Simon Nadulek
Julian has been especially close with his uncle Simon
for as long as he can remember. Simon introduced his nephew to
bicycling, a sport Julian continued through college and beyond. He is
always willing to lend an ear and offer sound advice—like his
suggestion that Julian throw practicality to the wind and propose to
Shanna at possibly the most stressful time of her life. No one could
be more well-suited to the duty and honor of being Julian's best
man.
Jaclyn Rubin
Shanna was a bit lonely in sixth grade, having
recently moved to Merrick. Noticing Shanna's broken arm during recess
one day, Jaclyn (also new in town) introduced herself and the two
shared broken arm stories. Ever inventive, Shanna taught her new
friend "Israeli Tic-Tac-Toe," a completely bogus game that
involved drawing random lines in the mud. So began a friendship that
included joint-editorship of the high school
newspaper, complementary Billy Joel obsessions, and ever-changing
answering machine messages. Sometime around high school graduation,
Shanna confessed that she had made up Israeli Tic-Tac-Toe. Jaclyn
must have forgiven her, since she agreed to put up with more
mishugas as a bridesmaid!
Robert Sable
How to describe this love-hate relationship? None of
Shanna's other friends can insult her quite as well as Bobby, perhaps
because few of them have known her quite as long. These two have been
locked in a verbal duel since seventh grade! However, no one is quite
as skilled as Bobby at pulling Shanna through an all-nighter (or
helping her procrastinate her way into one). Of course, their shared
love of 80's music and a late-night drive from Jones Beach to Dark City form the true
backbone of this friendship.
Anastasia Vahaviolos
Ironically enough, these two poets became friends in
a tenth-grade science research class. On the few days that Stacy and
Shanna had lunch breaks, they would head across the JFK parking
lot to Stacy's house for toaster-oven pizzas—always with
freshly-grated mozzarella, of course. Though they excelled in the
sciences, both women abandoned their medical pursuits in college to
become English majors. Although they have taken quite
diverse life paths, Shanna and Anastasia remain close
friends at heart.
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