There's no real date we can look back on as "the day we met". Instead, we like to think of having met three separate times. The first was in 2010 after Caitelin transferred into the NYC Lab School sophomore year of High School where they somehow became ingrained in the same friend group. The second time was in 2015 at the Village Den diner the winter break between Caitelin coming back from London the fall of junior year and Jim leaving for London the spring of junior year. Jim asked Caitelin out to dinner to ask for recommendations and advice while living abroad in a new city. Here, we caught up on the last three years and talked for so long that neither of us realized how much time has passed until Caitelin realized she was running late for plans she had later that night. The third time we met, and the one that stuck, was in 2017. A few months after we each graduated we started having "catch up" brunches at the Chelsea Square Restaurant. Sporadic meals turned into more frequent plans, and eventually grew into Jim inviting Caitelin to trivia at The Crocodile Lounge with some of his friends from Syracuse. Here is where friends started to become... more than friends. But we didn't see it that way. We were just really good friends who loved spending time together. We saw each other every week, most weekends, and talked nearly all the time, took a walk the length of Manhattan one day, but we were just really good friends. Right? In the spring of 2020, everything changed, as it did for everyone. But for us, we realized in a time when we couldn't go anywhere, or see anyone in person - other than those we already lived with - all we wanted to do was see each other. Late one night, Jim called Caitelin because he "wanted to talk to someone, and the only person he thought of was her". Eventually we would spend upwards of 3 hours on the phone most nights. When it was finally declared safe to see people, we met up for a walk reminiscent of the first long walk we took and it felt like the world was as close to right as possible once more. Around that same time, Caitelin adopted her dog London. One night while walking London through Riverside Park, Jim took a step that changed the course of the relationship forever. He shared that his feelings went beyond that of platonic friendship - which Caitelin was VERY happy about as she had been feeling that way for a while but didn't know how to or what to say (other than "Yes" when Jim asked her out on a formal date). We had our first real date September 12, 2020 at a restaurant that no longer exists in Battery Park. We had our first real kiss in Battery Park down the path from The View (our wedding venue!), and became an official couple January 9, 2021. Since that fateful day in Riverside Park Jim informally adopted London, and we moved in together, bought a home, and planned a wedding. We are so excited to celebrate the next chapter of our lives with you!