We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Our mutual friend (and officiant-to-be!) Cam invited Richard over to his house for dinner and drinks in the summer of 2018, failing to mention that it was his roommate Dave's birthday party. As Richard was stuffing his face with brownies in a room full of people he did not know, Cam introduced another one of his roommates, Angela. Richard was speechless, but fortunately, the brownies provided a convenient excuse for his lack of words. We chatted for much of the evening, and both voiced interest in watching the new RBG movie together with Dave (a Bridesman-to-be). Richard stayed two hours after the party ended, helping to clean and making it very clear that he was interested in Angela - even explicitly mentioning it to Cam. Unfortunately, Angela did not pick up on any of Richard's signals. Thinking he was a very nice guy that she probably wouldn't see again, she and Dave went to see the RBG movie (without Richard) later that weekend.

Richard pestered Cam for weeks about putting us back in the same room. Cam, wanting to be a matchmaker but not wanting to be too up-front, dropped subtle hints: "[on his way out the door] I'm going to watch a Celtics game with some guys at Whitney's Cafe. Richard will be there! Want to join?" Angela wasn't in the mood to drop her task at hand to watch a random basketball game with a group of guys she didn't know in a loud dive bar, so she declined. All hope seemed lost for Richard... ...until Cam needed team members for Tuesday-night Trivia! Though we were the worst-performing members of the team, we got along swimmingly. After talking in Angela's kitchen for a few hours, Angela gave Richard a ride home, after which he asked her out on a date. Elated by Angela's "yes," Richard skipped toward his apartment. Angela knew he forgot to ask for her number, and found the ensuing awkward chase-down of her car before she pulled away to be quite endearing.

We met at Sulmona (Richard's favorite restaurant) in Cambridge at 8:00pm. Angela was excited for a yummy dinner, given how much Richard had previously raved about the food. Richard, on the other hand, meant for the date to be drinks-only. He knew Angela "didn't drink much," which he interpreted as "let's have a cocktail or two, but not go crazy." In reality, it meant, "I physically react very poorly to alcohol." Ignorant to this reality, Richard insisted the cocktails were great and that they order some. 90 minutes into the date, Angela had consumed two polite sips of her cocktail and no food. Sensing time for a change of pace, Richard suggested going to a live performance at the Burren, an old Irish bar. While past performances involved live music, the night of our first date was open mic night. Unfortunately, the aspiring comedian on stage was only able to deliver uncomfortably crass humor, so we retreated from the open mic night to a different room. Watching Angela sip on yet another drink she would not finish, Richard jokingly offered the citrus on the rim of his Blue Moon glass to Angela. She scarfed it down, figuring an orange slice is better than no dinner at all... Richard now offers the following lesson to single friends: "If you really like a girl, take her on a first date she hates. That way, if she sticks around for date #2, it's definitely for you and not the experience!" His strategy worked! Despite the imperfections of our first date, we had a wonderful time getting to know each other that day, and every day since. We've navigated long distance, had our fair share of adventures, and we're truly grateful to have each other and all of you in our lives. We can't wait to celebrate love, family and friendship with you at our wedding.