We're getting married!

September 22, 2018 was a memorable Saturday night in Federal Hill... Richie was hosting a diaper party for a good friend and Abby was having a night out with her girlfriends. After the boys emptied the beer at the house and the girls finished dancing to the piano man at a local bar, they each found themselves at the best cheesesteak spot in town, Magerks, although I can't say if anyone actually ate a cheesesteak that night. As Abby and her girlfriends were dancing along to the DJ, Richie's friend strongly encouraged him to go talk to "those young hot girls" on the dance floor. One dance led to another and after Abby's best friend opted for the promise of ice cream, Richie made the best second choice of his life and turned to the girl wearing a Nirvana t-shirt, who was still a little irritated from her friends dragging her off of the couch. That didn't last long and Richie convinced Abby and friends to walk back to his house where they found a house full of diapers, ate an entire bag of family size Doritos, and shared stories all night. After many attempts from Richie to schedule an actual date and a couple months later, we had our first date at Outpost, which is now our favorite place for cocktails, Mac and cheese, and nachos while playing a game of SkipBo. On January 26, 2019, Richie awkwardly but officially asked Abby to be his girlfriend while at a romantic dinner during our first snowboarding trip to Steamboat, CO. Three and a half years of law school, two cats and one pandemic later Richie got the nerve to ask me to marry him somewhere on the coast of Oregon.

While on a just took the bar exam, in between jobs, celebratory West Coast vacation Richie asked Abby to marry him on March 16, 2021. We flew to Portland, OR, hung out for a couple days, then rented a car and met Abby's dad on the coast in Seaside, OR. We spent the first night on the coast having a fire on the beach and watching the sunset, a perfect night to propose... if only Richie didn't leave the ring in the hotel room. The following day, Abby, Richie and Richard (Abby's dad) hopped in the car to make the 4 hour journey south to Reedsport. 4 hours took us 7 and a half because we stopped at almost every pull off to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Oregon coast. About 4 hours into the trip, most of which Abby and her Dad were telling Richie how to drive, Richie thought of the only way to get them to shut up...propose. We pulled off at a beautiful spot called Devils Churn. After a bit of convincing, we all walked down the long flight of stairs where the ocean opens up next to narrow a rocky inlet. Richie hands the phone to a completely inexperience photographer (Abby's dad), turns it on record and hits play. While Abby is standing on a little rock with the waves crashing behind her, yelling at Richie to hurry up and stand next to her so they can get a picture, Richie is standing the freezing cold water looking up at Abby, trying to get her to stop talking, when he pulls out a ring and asks "Will you marry me?". After about 28 seconds, Abby realizes he's looking for an answer and says, "YES, OBVIOUSLY". The walk back to the car and the next fifteen were silent. Until Abby's dad starts excitedly saying "we're getting married" and so the talking continued, except this time we weren't telling Richie how to drive.