Maya Catherine Popa and Sam Matthew Nester were married Nov. 23 at the Explorers Club, a professional society based in New York that promotes scientific exploration, where they are members. The Rev. Charlene Powell, a Presbyterian minister, officiated.
Ms. Popa, 29, is an English teacher and the director of the creative writing program at the Nightingale-Bamford School in New York. She graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College and received an M.F.A. in poetry from N.Y.U. She also received a master’s degree from Oxford.
She is the daughter of Catrinel I. Popa and Radu D. Popa of New York. The bride’s father is the associate dean of the law library at N.Y.U. and a writer. Her mother was, until September, the vice president for design at Hue, the fashion legwear company, in New York.
Mr. Nester, 31, works as the artistic director of the Bridge Arts Ensemble in New York, and is a member of the trumpet faculty for the Juilliard School’s music advancement program, for which he is also the artistic administrator for community engagement. He is also the director of brass bands at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School in New York. He holds a doctorate in musical arts from the Manhattan School of Music.
He is a son of Christine A. Nester and Matthew C. Nester of Brisbane, Australia. The groom’s mother is an assistant in nursing at Seasons Aged Care in Kallangur, Queensland, Australia. His father, who is retired, was the financial coordinator for major infrastructure projects for the Brisbane City Council.
The couple met in 2011 at Joe, a cafe in New York.
