It all began on August 31, 2019, when we met on our first date at the McKittrick Hotel for a speakeasy magic show. We'll be the first to admit that it was a bit of an odd choice for a first date, but we were immediately put under a spell! Within a couple of months, Mary introduced Brad to all of her girlfriends, pumpkin spice lattes, and her favorite eateries of the Upper East Side.

While living in the city, we explored all of its wonders together. Many dates were spent gallivanting in Central Park until Mary's feet were sore. A common ritual was our date nights at home, which consisted of Blue Apron dinners, Wall Street Journal Wine Club, an oil lamp light, and serenades by Frank Sinatra. As an added bonus, Brad now had someone help to make his apartment look a little more polished. Mary now had someone to mount TVs and hide the cords and do spontaneous gestures like strapping a pink couch to the roof of Brad's Pontiac Vibe and drive it over the Brooklyn Bridge.

In Fall of 2020, Mary convinced Brad to road trip from New York City to Lynchburg, Virginia to pick up Pippa! (So long as Brad could detour over the Skyline Drive totaling 15hrs). Mary talked about getting a dog the first 365 days of the relationship. She had always wanted one since college, but waited to be "an adult" to get one. Brad diligently attempted to record Pippa's introduction to Mary, but of course forgot to actually press the record button until the interaction concluded. Even so, we became a happy little family almost instantly.

We ended up living hours apart during the Covid years, but still made every effort to see each other. Many weekends were spent traveling between New York City and Upstate but, the distance made it so apparent that we missed each other's company! As luck would have it, we both began working remotely and were able to buy our first home in 2022! Since then, we've traveled the world and created a home in Upstate New York. We are so fortunate to have found each other and cannot wait to continue on this journey of life as Husband and Wife.