On April 2, 2024, Tom and Amy got married by the Mt. Lebanon Magisterial District Court Judge. It also happened to be Amy's birthday, and she was thrilled to receive two best gifts she could ever request: a husband and really great health insurance. We are thrilled to celebrate our Jewish wedding (also serving as our 1st legal anniversary and Amy's 39th birthday party) with all of you!

The short version: we met through a wonderful matchmaker, Rita Lourie-Galena. The detailed version: we both had been looking for our future Jewish life partners for many years, and in 2023 we were each suggested to sign up with a Jewish matchmaking website. Tom heard about it via his brother-in-law's sister, and Amy was inspired by the Netflix series "Jewish Matchmaking". In late July 2023, Amy received a message from her assigned matchmaker Rita to have an introductory phone call. Amy and Rita spoke on a late Sunday afternoon to get to know one another, bonded over previously living in the Philadelphia suburbs, and Rita asked questions to better understand what Amy was seeking in a future husband. Mid-sentence, Rita exclaimed, "Amy, stop talking...I found him! He lives in Philadelphia, grew up in Pittsburgh, and works for HUD [Federal Government agency for Housing and Urban Development]." "Rita, oh my goodness, the organization I work for has a HUD-funded housing program! I'm guessing he and I will probably share many similar values and views. Keep talking!" Amy exclaimed. Rita continued to share many more wonderful qualities about Tom and sent Amy his pictures. Tom's genuine warm smile and kind, sparkling brown eyes stood out. But unfortunately, Amy had maxed out on her active matches (she wanted to have a few polite phone conversations before ending them), which prevented Rita from officially setting up the match online. Rita suggested to go rogue. She could send him a text message with pictures and information about Amy and ask if he was interested in having a phone call with her. Amy agreed to the plan. Rita told Tom she was having some technical difficulties in setting-up the match, but Amy was interested in speaking and had a trip planned to Philadelphia in a week-and-a-half. (Amy had a date planned with an out-of-state match, and there was limited enthusiasm.) Tom agreed, and he and Amy spoke later that evening for a couple of hours. And the two of them continued to speak for hours every day until their first in-person meeting, scheduled for lunch August 4. Amy drove to Philly the evening before and planned to get together with her childhood friend Michele and her wife Vanessa. About 30 minutes prior to arriving, she called Tom, "You know something funny, it just occurred to me that Michele and Vanessa in live in West Philly, too! I wonder if they live near-by." "Oh really?" Tom inquired. "What's the address?" Amy shared the address. "Amy, I think you're confused...that's my address." "Tom...oh my goodness! No, I'm not confused...that's their address, too! They live on the sixth floor, two floors above you!" "Oh wow, that's too funny. I bet we've met in passing in the hallway or even in the laundry room! Well, I'm at home now. Are you close? I could come meet you and help you find parking nearby. It can get a little tricky at night, if it's your first time coming here." About 20 minutes later, we met for the first time in front of Tom's apartment building. We had prolonged lunch date the next day (during which time we took our first picture together - see below), followed by a longer date that evening, and then spent the entire day together in Ocean City, NJ the following day. We continued to spend more time together until Amy had to return to Pittsburgh. About a week and a half later, Tom came to Pittsburgh to help Amy care for her parents' dog Lady while Amy's parents were on vacation. It was during that week that we each separately decided we had found the person we wanted to marry.