Once upon a time

Measuring a whopping 22 inches long Thomas David Lopez was born to parents Lindsey and Thomas Lopez in Saint Paul, Minnesota on a sunny August afternoon. Big brother to Best Man Daniel Lopez and little brother to sister Jessica Lopez, it was pretty clear to everyone that this middle child was going to be TALL.

Just 4 years and 360 days later, another enormous baby, was born to parents Victoria and Joseph Neymark in a land far, far, away – Kiev, Ukraine. Weighing in at almost 10lbs, Eugenia Joseph Neymark was dubbed “Catherine the Great” by the hospital nurses before her parents brought her home.

Tommy spends his days digging up worms and taking electronics apart only to put them back together again. His curiosity in how things work leads to an interest in the sciences at an early age.

Victoria and Joseph pack up their little family, with Grandmother Elena in tow, and immigrate to the United States – West Hollywood, CA to be exact. They quickly form a group of like-minded friends with similar Soviet backgrounds, today these friends are considered family.

Jenny discovers her love of art, drawing endless portraits of her mother. Mom and Dad quickly put her in Art Classes.

Now in the 7th Grade, with his own room and all, Tommy is the big man on campus; that’s when he meets his lifelong and closest friend and Groomsman, Pete Vars.

A decorated athlete in both Wrestling and Football, Tommy graduates from Sibley High School in West Saint Paul, Minnesota and is on his way to continue his athletic career in college.

After moving to the San Fernando Valley, Jenny enrolls at William H. Taft High School where she meets some of her very nearest and dearest friends including Maid-of-Honor Daria Andreyeva and Bridesmaid Jennifer Greenberg.

Graduating a full year early from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in both Art Studio & Communication, Jenny moves to Saint Louis, Missouri. Both a dreamer and pragmatic overachiever, Jenny fell in love with the big arch while driving to Nebraska, where she worked as a door-to-door book salesman for the Southwestern Company.

After giving up college sports and pursuing a career in construction, Tom changes course once more to pursue his dream of earning a PhD. Tom enrolls at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. As a Physics and Mathematics major, Tom befriends fellow classmate Groomsman Justin Gyllen.

Jenny moves back to her hometown Los Angeles and lands a job at Fashion & E-commerce startup, ShoeDazzle. Part of the first 30 employees, Jenny quickly befriends her fellow “Undercover Russian,” Bridesmaid Kristina Cole – needless to say, these two peas-in-a-pod have more than a couple things in common.

Tom receives a Presidential Fellowship to attend the University of California, Riverside to pursue a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Within his first year of study he convinces Groomsman Justin Gyllen to apply for the same program. His sister Jessica Lopez travels to visit him often with her son, and Jr. Groomsman, Milo Love.

After 4 years at ShoeDazzle, Jenny moves on to a brief Creative Director role at DanceOn where she makes the loveliest of new friends – Bridesmaid, Lace Varn. 8 months later she is the first hire at Fashion & E-Commerce startup Carbon38.

After what felt like an eternity of reading papers and conducting experiments, Tom successfully defends his dissertation but has no idea what to do next. As it is the seemingly cool thing to do, Tom moves to Venice Beach, CA and begins working at X-Ray Technology startup, Tribogenics.