Actor, Writer and Comedian Joel Kim Booster Marries Video Game Producer John Michael Sudsina
Actor, writer and comedian Joel Kim Booster married video game producer John Michael Sudsina on 30 December 2025 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The wedding was a celebration that reflected the couple and was built around their chosen family.
Photographer Mandee Johnson | Location San Francisco, USA
Joel and John Michael met in 2021 while holidaying in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, during the first large group trips either had taken since the world reopened. Introduced through mutual friends on their first night, neither was looking for anything serious. An immediate connection turned them into “vacation boyfriends”, a beginning that quietly grew into something lasting.
Four years later, Joel proposed on Jeju Island in South Korea during a trip of deep personal significance, marking his first return to his birthplace since being adopted as a baby. After a day of hiking and sightseeing, a planned private boat ride proved anything but “private”. Despite everything going wrong, Joel proposed. “Everything that could go wrong, went wrong,” Joel says, “and by the time we got to the boat I was told it was actually not private and there were about a dozen other people on the boat as well. At some point I worked up the courage, tried to remember all the sweet things I was going to say, got down on one knee and proposed,” he recalls. “Hilariously, our tour guide Jessica (who was filming the proposal) can be heard on the video saying ‘please clap’ to the rest of the boat after he said yes (no one clapped),” creating a moment that was heartfelt, imperfect and entirely their own.
Wedding planning was described as miraculously smooth, guided by strong communication and perspective. With Jessica Carrillo of Art & Soul Events leading the process, the focus stayed firmly on what mattered, rather than getting lost in unnecessary detail.
The ceremony took place in the Exploratorium’s West Gallery, transformed within an hour from a science museum into a sanctuary-like space. The wedding party proceeded to Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell, while Joel and John Michael entered to Sam Cooke. Florals by Cobra Lily lined the aisle and altar and, for an extremely personal touch, the ceremony was officiated by Joel’s childhood best friend, now an ordained Methodist minister, and featured handwritten vows and a ring-warming ritual shared with family and friends.
The grooms tell us they felt “extremely emotional” when describing their wedding ceremony. “We were both crying pretty much beginning with the processional, and while we were able to choke out our vows, it wasn’t without completely blubbering,” they say.
Celebrations continued in the Central Gallery alongside the Exploratorium’s GLOW exhibition, with Korean-influenced dining and dancing beneath large-scale light installations. Looking back, the wedding is remembered not for changing their love, but for revealing the depth of support around it and the community that will carry them forward.
Joel and John Michael ’s Team
Wedding Planner & Designer Art & Soul Events
Venue The Exploratorium
Photographer Mandee Johnson
Videographer Joey Reger
Floral Design Cobra Lily
Catering Carrie Dove Catering
Rentals Bright Rentals
Lighting & Audio Got Light
DJ Alexis Tucci | Percussion Justin Ra
Linens Napa Valley Linens + Reverie Social
Event Branding Cale LeRoy
Invitation Printing: Czar Press
Signage Printing Preferred Projects
Welcome Party Hi Tops SF
Photo Booth Selfie Booth
Officiant Reverend Sarah Casey
PR Sechel PR
Getty Ready Location 1 Hotel San Francisco
Hair & Make up Page Beauty
Stylist Chris Horan
Custom Rings Elliot Gaskin
JOEL Wedding Look
Suit Bode
Tie Bode
Shoes YSL
JOEL Party Look
Trousers MM6 Maison Margiela
Shoes YSL @ysl
JM Wedding Look
Suit Peter Do
Bowtie Tom Ford
Shoes YSL
JM Party Look
Top Jacquemus
Trouser Peter Do
Shoes YSL
Exploratorium GLOW Exhibit Artists
Sunset (large acrylic mirror sun): https://jacquelinehen.com/
Wave by Squidsoup (lights over dance floor): https://www.squidsoup.org/
Reflecting Holons by Marten & Visser (shimmering teardrop sculptures of light and motion)
The Dreamer IV by Angela Yuen (three-dimensional sculptures that cast colored shadows resembling the Hong Kong skyline)
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