His Version: Legend has it that we first met while having fun on the playgrounds and fields of Bergen County while our brothers, Eddie and Jason, played baseball in the same leagues. Although neither of us remembers this clearly, both of our mothers have confirmed the story time and time again. We may never know if the first sparks of our forever love were initiated during these younger times. Many years would pass of Ellen doing lots of homework and playing lots of softball, and I - well I don't really remember what I was doing - before we would meet again. This time in a very romantic, very elegant, very remarkable place - Match.com. Our first communication consisted of me asking Ellen if she remembered me, and Ellen asking me if I drank a lot (to which I responded “no”). And as they say, the rest is history... Her Version: Although our parents claimed we played together while older brothers Eddie and Jason played baseball together, neither of us remember these early encounters. I was a freshman in high school when Chris was a senior and though we never hung out together, Chris says he remembered seeing me at softball and thinking I was cute. After college we both joined Match.com. My profile warned that I was quirky but that didn't stop Chris from reaching out. Since I knew he was from Ridgewood and could vaguely remember him from high school, I returned a message to the cute firefighter who said he enjoyed cooking and sports.

His Version: Those who know Ellen would not be at all surprised that our very first date was at Applebees in Paramus, and we have only been there about 6,792 times since that beautiful night. I showed up with a buzz, and the most romantic thing I could muster up was wearing a Devils sweatshirt to show my loyalty to our mutual favorite hockey team. Ellen hummed and swayed back and forth the entire night, to which I inquired if she “always does that”. There was such a deep connection during dinner, that when Ellen asked afterwards if I wanted to go bowling or something else, I quickly and most lovingly responded with “No”. We then went on our separate ways. Her Version: Chris picked Applebees for our first date as he knew it was my favorite restaurant. He wore his Devils sweatshirt, not knowing at that point that we would one day enjoy a season membership together. I hummed and fidgeted the whole time in my usual anxious way. I ordered mozzarella sticks and he ordered beef nachos. This started a tradition that we would use to celebrate our engagement, destress from bad days at work, and reward ourselves after long runs. The servers even know our orders without having to ask.

His Version: I had already decided that I would most likely propose on a long hike, which is something that we both enjoy doing together quite often. One day in July, just before the celebration of one year back together, we had decided we would go hiking in the morning. Faced with a very obvious opportunity, I began looking for the perfect hike. After some research, I found a highly rated trail called the Ice Caves, and thought it would be a very cool, new place to pop the question. I soon discovered the name of the town nearest to the caves was ELLENVILLE! This opportunity became too good to be true, and the ice caves would be the spot. Next morning, upon reaching a place that I deemed best, I removed the ring from the backpack, got down on one knee, and basically fumbled all of my words (of which none I recall today). Then I proceeded to hand Ellen the entire ring box, with the very romantic order to “Here, take it!” Her Version: Since Chris knows how picky I am, I went with him to pick out the perfect, unique ring. We had discussed that I wouldn't want a public spectacle, but instead would prefer a night at home together or while on a hike. So for the next 5 months, I wondered whether each hike we went on would be the one. One night Chris asked me if I wanted to go on a 4 mile hike or a 7.5 mile hike the next morning. I said the 4 mile hike but Chris said the longer one got better reviews. On our one year anniversary of dating, we arrived in Ellenville where I soon learned there were ice caves. Chris snapped pictures throughout the hike, which was unusual, but didn't raise any suspicions from me. Midway through the caves, Chris proposed and I said yes. After exiting the ice caves, we hiked 3 miles to a huge waterfall where we enjoyed lunch before trekking back to civilization and sharing the good news.

His Version Our greatest adventures so far have certainly been the outdoor escapades, most notably training for the Disney half-marathon last year and now, full marathon this year. The best thing about the time we spend together is that we are able to turn anything we do into an adventure, if it doesn’t get turned that way already by some sort of arising conflict. Ellen stuck with me through a very difficult time in my life, and because of that we were able to turn our lives around together and start a new life beyond our wildest dreams. We love going on vacations together, and if there is hiking and kayaking we are happy. Every day is a new adventure! Her Version: Chris will say that he's not a runner and when I asked if he would join my family in our traditional runDisney half marathon event, he said no way. But he did agree to going on short runs with me. When those short runs became 7 miles in length, I convinced Chris to sign up for his first ever half marathon. As we rounded the last turn at the 13th mile, heard the gospel choir singing, and saw the finish line ahead, Chris turned to me and said, "Thank you for making me do this." We held hands as we crossed the finish line and Chris said he was done with running... until I convinced him to sign up for his first marathon in Disney this January. During this training, we completed 3 more half marathons, so far... The runs take us to new places and foster new memories. On the long runs, we talk about our plans for the future.

His Version: After the wedding, we plan to start a family and pass on to our children the same love that was passed on to us from our families. Our vision is family vacations, youth sports and/or clubs, school concerts and play dates. Until then, stinky diapers, little sleep, colic and spit up. In the meantime, we plan to continue spending time together on vacations, watching the Devils, being outside, and meeting our health and fitness goals. In the simplest terms, I plan to contribute to this relationship in a manner in which my mother would be proud of! Her Version: Both coming from large families, having many nephews and nieces, me being a teacher, and Chris formerly working as the camp director at YMCA, we envision ourselves having a large family. We hope to move back to Ridgewood to a street where the kids can wave at Daddy as he rides by in the fire engine. Until then, we hope to renovate our current Hillsdale home, updating the kitchen with an Applebees-esque booth, and adding a master bedroom and bath upstairs. We're also hoping to get two dogs to complete our family. Since we love kayaking and hiking, we'd love to have a lake house one day.