We’re getting married!

Amy and Justin met at UConn in 2009 when she was a Freshman and he was a Junior. One day, Justin and two other SAE brothers walked into Amy’s Theta chapter meeting to announce that they’d be their coaches for their annual philanthropy event - a Powderpuff football tournament. To raise money for cancer research, sororities could pay to enter. Amy noticed Justin, leaned over to one of her sisters and jokingly said, “He’s cute, I’m gonna play,” and then signed up for the team. Amy went to the first Powderpuff practice and someone yelled, “Yo Shea!” and because she thought someone was calling HER name, she looked up. She saw that Justin had looked up, too. They laughed at their similar sounding (but very different) names. After some practices, Amy would swipe Justin and the other coaches into the dining hall to hang out and eat :) This was the start. They started hanging out in the library until 2am when it closed, just to spend time together. Winter break came and since New Canaan didn’t have any cell phone service (lol go Rams!) they had to talk through Facebook Chat. Justin joked about Amy going down to see him for New Years, and she actually did it! To keep it a secret from her parents, Amy arranged rides to UConn (thanks Josie and Jimi!) where Justin picked her up. He introduced her to his family and friends and they rang 2010 in together. Back at UConn, Amy and Justin celebrated Valentines Day and a few weeks later, Justin finally asked her to make their relationship official. They laughed, because neither of them meant to fall for anyone, but Amy said yes! March 21, 2010 :)

Justin and Amy spent the first 5 and a half years of their relationship separated by 150 miles. And on top of that, the first 3 years of their relationship was kept secret from Amy’s parents. She wasn’t allowed to date. It was hard, but Justin never let that get in the way of being with her. They were “just friends” for a long time. But since then, Amy’s parents have grown to absolutely love Justin, along with everyone else in her family! And Amy fit seamlessly into Justin’s family, too. In 2015, after years of weekends that were too short, and weeks in between that were too long — Amy got a job offer in Greenwich, CT! (How that happened is a story for another time, over drinks.) Justin had just moved to Stamford with his brother a month prior. So Amy moved in with the boys, and finally, she and Justin were living together!

After 2 years in Stamford, they were ready for their next step — they knew they wanted to move into their own place. New York City was never part of the conversation, but Amy got into a grad school program there, and decided to take the chance. The timing was tricky, so they weren’t able to leave Stamford and find a place in the city just yet. They spent one more year apart, only seeing each other on weekends, while Justin stayed in Stamford and Amy stayed in New York (on Justin’s moms couch, thankfully!!) — and even when they were able to sublet a friend’s apartment in the city (thanks CC!) it wasn’t until November 2, 2018 that Amy and Justin moved into a place of their own. Justin landed a great new job at YumEarth, and they continued building their life together. New jobs, new degrees, and a new city. Justin proposed to Amy in Central Park on a beautiful October day. They had a “City Day” planned — where they hoped to check out some cool spots in their neighborhood to really appreciate their life in New York. That morning, Amy had no idea! Maybe an inkling...but not really. They started with brunch, then went to the Frick Collection, then had a picnic in Central Park. Amy thought they were done with their “City Day” and asked to leave the park (her feet hurt!) — Justin convinced her to just walk a little longer to the Fountain. And along the way, he made a detour. Justin asked Amy to stand by the water so he could take a picture, and while down on one knee, he snapped a picture, then switched the phone out with a box. He popped the question, and she said yes! For over 11 years, Amy and Justin have been through it all in terms of love, loss, and life. They’ve traveled to many places together and are just getting started. And now, they've added Lincoln to their family!! It took many years of hard work, trust in each other, and faith in their timing, but they are finally ready to take this next step in their life together!