Benjamin Nemzer and Cassandra Ruiz were married on October 19 at the United Palace Theater in New York City. The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Laurence A. Sebert of the Town & Village Synagogue. The show prior to the couple’s first dance featured magicians and other performers. The wedding was highlighted in the New York Times on Sunday, November 2.
Nemzer graduated from High School North and Mercer County Performing Arts High School in 2004. At Marymount College he majored in theater and acting and graduated in 2008. His minor in education led to his teacher certification in New York State — which he has never used.
Ben Nemser — as he was known while growing up in West Windsor — became interested in magic when he was eight and was being hired to entertain at parties when he was 11. He became the only non-adult member in the Society of American Magicians and took first place at one of the club’s annual magic competitions.
Nemzer changed the spelling of his professional name for several reasons. “It is easier to remember, nobody is ever going to not use the Z, and it is easier to pronounce,” he says. “The original spelling of my name probably had a Z.”
During college Nemzer worked doing shows here and there, including at FAO Schwartz in New York City, monthly shows at Loews Regency Hotel, and “Monday Night Magic” in the West Village. Nemzer has been seen on Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Discovery, the Game Show Network, and the Stardust Hotel in Vegas. After more than four years of networking in the city, he is a full-time magician. “It’s a very non-traditional job,” he says. (WWP News March 2, 2012).
His father, Stewart, is a chiropractor with an office in North Brunswick. His mother, Irene, helps with North’s Thespian Society. They have both become involved in community theater, mostly in North Brunswick. His sister, Aliyah, was a bridesmaid; and his brother, Ari, was best man. They also graduated from North.
The bride, born in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island, is a graduate of Westminster Choir College. She is the daughter of Michael and Rosann Ruiz.
The couple met on a semi-blind date through comedian Harrison Greenberg. She became part of Nemzer’s magic act several years ago, now called “Ben Nemzer and Cassandra’s Magical Illusion Show,” and they performed together at High School North in 2012.
“My husband dared me to dream more than I ever could have, and not only was our wedding covered in the New York Times this morning, it was the largest mention taking up an entire page,” says Cassandra Nemzer on her Facebook page. “The coverage of my ultimate fairytale wedding shows, it’s not in the dress or the shoes or the venue, it’s in the love and dreaming power of a couple so in love, that they challenge the other to make what seems like only a distant hope a reality.”
Visit https://vimeo.com/110066489 to see a video featuring highlights of the wedding.
