Cast of Characters

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Cast of Characters

Geoff Ainscow (Officiant) After many years of friendship with the Ferris family I really got to know David when helping with his business plan. I was struck by his talent for words and passion for the outdoors. When he and Anjali asked me to be the officiant at their wedding I was honored and happy. My own wedding 44 years ago was a walk-up-the-aisle-repeat-these-words kind of ceremony. It required nothing from me except an “I will” and “I do.” David and Anjali have put so much more thought and meaning into their vows, the music and readings than I ever did. Their marriage will have a wonderful launch. The certificate of ordination is on my desk and I’m awaiting the rite of marriage, in the beautiful natural surroundings of Orcas Island, with great pleasure.

Lara Papadakis (Attendant) The friendship between Lara and Anju dates back to sometime during their awkward years, when they sang together in the Seattle Girls’ Choir. Their matching nerdy glasses and strict foreign parents initially connected them. As they progressed through different phases in life, their connection grew as Lara pursued Anju’s alter-ego career in music and arts, and Anju pursued Lara’s alter-ego career in medicine. Between the two of them, they form one very interesting and well-rounded person. Lara will be the one at the wedding who looks like she swallowed a basketball.

Les Hall (Attendant) Les Hall met “Bueller” while carpooling together on the way to Jill Penwarden’s surprise birthday party in Truckee. After countless adventures, including Half Dome, Mt. Shasta, the Today Show, and numerous Ferris/Sears family outings, Les is really glad Bueller was able to use his impeccable navigational skills to connect with Anjali. Les is honored to be considered one of their many friends. Best wishes for a lifetime of love, fun and adventure. And when Bueller’s impeccable navigational skills take them off course, Les is sure Anjali is more than capable of steering the ship.

A Classic Mugshot.

Susan Sears (Attendant) I met David the day he was born.  Things were great those first years when he was smaller than I was, though I don’t know that I fully appreciated it at the time.  When he was still smaller but getting stronger, I could keep him in line by threatening not to fix his breakfast for him (amazing how well that one worked — food is a big motivator for Dave).  But inevitably he got way bigger than I am, so now I have to outsmart him.  He’s found a great match in Anjali who keeps him grounded, and has a quick wit and an adventurous spirit of her own.  I can’t wait to be part of this unique wedding and to see if the ring bearer really can walk in a straight line without getting distracted – his able attendant will have to be quick on her feet!

Bharath Modayur (Attendant) When Oofie came into Joo’s life (the what and the who now?) I started a careful, exhaustive process, much the same as I’d initiated when I met my wife, by which I determine the answer to the question: “Um, why is this person so unbelievable?” I am not saying that this process bears fruitful answers. None, in fact, to date. I found one. Apparently, Oofie has flat feet. But then, Vibram Five Fingers fixed that one. It is back to the drawing board. Or I could just accept that life can be pretty darn wonderful in the exquisite way it lets love blossom and sustain. I met Joo over 17 years ago while working on our first and last theatrical performance. She’s remained one of my closest and dearest friends ever since. It will be truly a singular honor to be part of this wedding. You kids are all right!

Kat Notter (Attendant) Kat and Anju met long ago in medical school, and have been close friends ever since. Their friendship has been sustained over the years and through multiple distant locations since then, fueled by shared interests in music, the outdoors, and other artistic endeavors. Kat met Ferris 4 years ago, and knew with immediate certainty that he was the one for Anju. On the other hand, Anju met Kat’s husband before either of them knew Kat, but claims to have known early on that Luke was the one for Kat. Kat and Luke have two girls, and another due soon, just in time for the Big Day on Orcas Island, all of whom are excited to share in the festivities.

Steve Sears (Attendant) I fell in love with David’s sister and so he just came along with the package. I do owe him a debt of gratitude since he is the one that actually found me on datingfaces.com; don’t ask me why he was looking for guys on the internet. Maybe he knew he didn’t need to look for women because he would find his love at a party where he was the drink ticketeer and his wife to be was a ticktee. Over the years we’ve bonded and I’m proud to call him brother. I look forward to being a part of this wedding and helping to make it unforgettable in his and Anjali’s lives.

Caroline Penwarden (Attendant) It all started with a mutual love of Monty Python and very frequent acts of random silliness. Along the way: an ice skating accident leading to a lovely scar over David’s eye, a Sadie Hawkins dance, numerous theatre productions, a senior prom, camping in Ireland, many New Year’s Eves with close friends, an abundance of laughter, and now the blood, sweat and tears of starting a company too. After all these years, it’s been beautiful to witness my dear old friend find the love of his life!! I am honored to participate in celebrating the union of two truly marvelous human beings. Yahoo, David and Anjali! So happy for you both!

Tommy Weiser (Attendant) Tommy Weiser met Anjali during “Burns”. Now, that is not “Burning Man”, although that would have been a much more interesting story, but the “burn service” during junior years of their residency in Northern California. Somehow this grotesque experience created a bond that has lasted 8 years, probably due to a mutual love for eccentric costumes, late-night raves, good wine, and uninterrupted sleep. Tommy is content in the knowledge that Ferris has even more outrageous outfits and can always dress to impress.

Terri Schneider (Attendant) David and I became friends among the dirt and sweat of a coach/athlete relationship prior to inserting ourselves in the mud and leeches of the Borneo Eco Challenge. We’ve since coached together, trained long, fast packed, and climbed several peaks on a few continents. I have witnessed impressive feats of silent tent wall-staring by this man of many words. But a friendship that started happily in the dirt, ultimately blossomed through our mutual wit, extended ponderings of life, parallel intellect, more rolling on the ground laughter than most might experience in a lifetime and frequent exquisitely painful conversations on the why’s of ex-loves. For the latter, I thank Buddha that David finally met the love of his life and I’m quite pleased to be a part of this poignant celebration.

Eric Spross (Attendant) Although Dave doesn’t remember it, he met Eric on a boarding ramp at Heathrow airport in 1989 as they boarded a plane bound for Kenya. Undeterred by this first encounter, Eric went on to befriend Dave. Together they evaded a leopard while battling safari ants on the slopes of Mount Elgon, scaled Mount Kenya’s easiest peak, cheated death in the back of a pickup truck at the Kakamega rain forest, muddied some postcolonial carpeting near Isak Dinesen’s house, and more-or-less avoided temptation at a defunct nightclub in the Nairobi suburbs. Even the great pots of sangria provided by the Spanish ambassador’s chef failed to extinguish these memorable moments, and Eric predicts years of porch-sitting and grousing for the two friends ahead. Inspired by Dave and Anjali’s example, Eric plans to wed his lovely fiancee, Sarka, in 2011.

Michael Penwarden (Attendant) Michael is Cary Penwarden’s older brother, Les Hall’s younger fraternity brother and David’s former roommate, training partner, adventure racing teammate and current boss. Michael is lucky enough to have found — and smart enough to have married — Jill, the woman of his dreams. Together they’ve created life twice: Sasha, 4 and Anya, 6 months. The lot of them live in Truckee, near Lake Tahoe with Ajax the dog and MoJo the cat. Their house has served as a waypoint on several of David and Anjali’s Burning Man expeditions and still contains traces of dust from the Black Rock Desert. Michael was there when David got that nasty scar over his eye.

Quinn Sears (Ringbearer) I’ve only known Uncle David and Aunt Anjali for the past 23 months, but it feels like I’ve known them my whole life. Theirs is a wedding of firsts for me — first time carrying a ring, walking in a straight line, pronouncing the word “wedding.” I may get really excited and yell and run in circles and untie the sashes from the chairs. Will there be books at this wedding? Or stairs? I love stairs. Anyway, if by chance I end up sprinting past the choir and into the lake and the wedding rings get a little wet, well, I hope everyone will understand.

Mohi Kumar (Attendant to the Ringbearer) I first met Anju when I was 0, and for the first 5 years of my life she did all the talking for me! Anju quickly impressed me when she mastered the art of putting her hand on my head and holding me at a distance so that try as I might I couldn’t annoy her like I wanted to. My first impression of David was, “OMG this guy’s a giant!” I am honored to be the Attendant to the Ringbearer. I’m going to need to be in several places at one time if I’m going to keep up with my nephew-in-law! Fortunately, I’ve figured out a way to clone myself.

Mijiza Sanchez (Reader) I met Anjali back in 2004 through our work at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF, but it was at a breast cancer conference in San Antonio, TX, where we totally hit it off. I could not have been happier when Anjali first met David and have watched their relationship flourish over time. I’m so happy to be a part of your special and magical day, but most importantly your lives.

Tod Heisler (Reader) I met David during his young and impressionable years at Conservation International when we thought we could save not only the whales but every other form of plant and animal life on four continents.  Our march to conserve the earth’s biodiversity was second only to our pursuit of snow, rivers and trails at Bonasa, a farm perched on a ridge in the God’s country of West Virginia.  The place was magic and the relationships developed there will be lifelong.  I am delighted that David has found his soul mate.  I know Anjali only through Ferris Files and can’t wait to meet her — a feeling shared by my wife, Cris, and our two children Alexandra and Peter.

Caroline Behler (Reader) Caroline and Anjali first got to know each other at UW medical school, but they really bonded when they both moved to the S.F. Bay Area for residency. Despite living in vastly different cultures (Caroline an internist in S.F. and Anjali a surgeon in Oakland), they found solace together from the mayhem of the medical world. Anjali impressed Caroline with her ability to go out dancing until 2am yet make it to rounds at 5am. She also amazed with her loyalty as a friend, her sense of humor and her lovely voice (singing the most beautiful rendition of Edelweiss at Caroline and Paul’s wedding last month). The first time Caroline first met Ferris, she could tell immediately he was a great guy who was clearly smitten with Anjali. It has been so great to witness their friendship develop into love and marriage. Caroline and Paul are so excited to join in this fantastic celebration!

Sandip Darji (Reader) I met Anju nearly a decade ago through her sister Mohi. Since that time, I’ve become the “adopted” middle sibling. While Anju was doing her residency in the Bay Area, we would dine together, watch movies and commiserate during the holidays. Along they way I got swept up in many of Anju’s side projects. Anju has always been a multi-tasker to the extreme. It is very impressive that in Ferris she has found someone who not only partakes in her frenetic pace, but also pushes her further with his own set of extreme undertakings. To say they make a great pair is an understatement. When my friends threw me a surprise Star Wars birthday party, Anju and Ferris came as Chewlio and Bacchanalia, the furry illegitimate love children of Chewbacca and Princess Leia. I am happy to lend my voice to their wedding!

Jamie Luv (Greeter and Social Coordinator) I am DnA’s cwazy colorful, uber sparkly, let’s get this party flowing friend 🙂 We met in 2004. Last year they decided at the last minute to go to Burning Man. There were 50,000 people there, and they chose to comb the playa until they found me, and help me with my project. Really, how cool is that! They love me because they know that I am fully and 100% committed to having the most fun possible in every moment, and making sure that everyone else is too! I am going to bring so me of my silliest skills from my days as a summer camp director, dish up some saucy tricks as professional hula hooper, and get you all in the right place at the right time with my event planner’s hat on. I love these two big time, and I am pretty stoked to be their friend, create community and meet you all and play and have fun times. This is going to be AWESOME! HOO-RAY!

Meredith Medland (Emcee) Meredith met David almost ten years ago at a 24 Hour Fitness where David was working as a personal trainer and Meredith was teaching yoga. Over the years, Meredith helped David navigate his first Burning Man, upgrade his cool factor and buy his first “real” surfboard, and then witnessed the incredible transformation into a man falling deeply in love with Anjali and talking about a lifelong commitment. Meredith is a displaced Midwesterner living the life of her dreams two blocks from the beach with her fiance Tim Saseen. When they aren’t chatting with their cat Charlee,  they love to get outside and run, skip, jump and play. They are both in attendance and are taking lots of notes so they can heavily plagiarize this extraordinary LOVE FEST between David & Anju for their own wedding, on the beach in Carpenteria, CA on Oct. 23!

Tim Aldridge (DJ) I first met Ferris in my Men’s Circle where we supported each other in living lives of purpose. Eventually that purpose included seeking out and savoring tasty Belgian ales. Of note, I also taught him every thing he knows about humor (the funny stuff that is – any corny material was not a result of my gifts to him). I had the pleasure of first meeting Anj at one of the Ferris family Thanksgivings (she’s ruthless in Apples to Apples, by the way). She’s now a collector of my art and likes to shake her booty when I’m on the decks.

Leslie & John Ginnes (Wedding Coordinators) We came to Orcas full time in 2000, but it had already stolen our hearts in 1993 when we came to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Before that we lived in New York City and Venice Beach (CA) working in the film business.  As producers we worked on location all over the world.  Now our endeavors are on the rock called Orcas Island with Patina Floral, making wedding wishes come true. I have done hundreds of beautiful weddings where the bride walks down the aisle to Pachabel looking over a sea of loving faces. But this is the most interesting, fun, imaginative, distinctly different wedding — a sort of wedding yoga — in which I have ever had the privilege of being involved.

Juliana Capdeville (Chef) My family moved to Orcas Island in 1970. I went through middle school and high school here. My mission, if you will, is to take the fear out of food and get people to try new things. I host culinary workshops (orcasculinaryretreat.com), work as a personal chef and do custom baking. Since January I have been cooking with kids every Wednesday after school, and our home in Olga is the site of two organic gardens (mostly berries, because I have grandchildren with insatiable appetites for those sweet little morsels). What better way to create community than to do it through the thoughtful preparation of a meal?

Paul & Amy Kawabori (Photographers) Paul and Amy Kawabori met and fell in love in Seattle, were married on the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii, and now live and operate Kawabori Photography out of Los Angeles. While they photograph weddings, portraits and events all over the country, the Pacific Northwest holds a special place in their hearts and they can’t wait to travel to Orcas Island to capture beautiful memories for David, Anjali and all their friends and family as we come together to celebrate their special day!

Ancora (Wedding Singers) Ancora is a women’s vocal ensemble. Many of us are alumnae of the Seattle Girls’ Choir and sang with Anju around Western Washington and across the globe when we were all teens.  So essentially, we’re a bunch of ex-choir geeks who never grew out of it!  We strive to take the boring out of women’s ensemble music, take your ears on an awesome journey, and basically kick some vocal ass.

The Contra Dance Band Members of “Amy and Paul’s Contra Dance Wedding Band” also perform their traditional old-time tunes as the “Pig War” and “Farmers’ Market Band” on San Juan Island for various island functions and social settings. They perform weekly for the Farmers Market and National Park Service. The background of their music is described at www.contradanceband.com.