
Like a lone fighter on a quest, I set out to design a party from scratch.

I looked online for inspiration, expecting a Pinterest bonanza of D&D party photos featuring dragon cupcakes and knightly decor, but to little avail. I remember poring over my brother's hardback game manuals and cheating the rolls as we built super-powerful character sheets to take on basilisks, elementals and floating eyes. I knew what I wanted the theme to be: Dungeons & Dragons. I immediately googled "best man duties" and discovered I was responsible for planning the bachelor party. I'm fortunate to be a member of a geeky family that revels in everything from Star Trek to "Game of Thrones." My brother's name "Ara" is a shortened version of "Aragorn" from "Lord of the Rings." And then he told me it was going to be a "Lord of the Rings"-theme wedding.


My brother texted to say he was getting married and he asked me to be his best (wo)man.
