It was autumn 2021 and the world was slowly starting to emerge from the pandemic. Sophie had just moved home from her three-year secondment in London, started a new role at PwC, and decided to move back in with her parents who had built a lovely home in the Hudson Valley back in 2018. Just 30 minutes up the road, Conor had just accepted a new role at LinkedIn and moved back in with his parents after needing to leave NYC during the pandemic. Both Sophie and Conor were having mixed feelings about living in the Hudson Valley - Conor was born and raised there and was considering a new adventure. Sophie was considering moving closer to friends and work in Hoboken/Jersey City, New Jersey. Until one night... Sophie's parents (Petri and Fraser) decided that Sophie needed to see some more of the Hudson Valley before making a decision and took her out to dinner in Poughkeepsie. After dinner, they wandered down the street to a local brewery where they met the brewery owner and started talking. After a few beers, the owner turned to Sophie and said, "you should come back tomorrow night, we're having a Halloween party. There's someone who helps me bartend some nights who I think you should meet." Sophie was understandably hesitant having only just met the brewery owner that night! That same night, Conor was at a Rangers hockey game at Madison Square Garden in NYC. If you know Conor, you know nothing gets in the way of Rangers hockey! Conor also had a few beers that night and woke up with a slightly sore head the next day, wondering if he should go to the Halloween party. Saturday morning, October 30, 2021 - After much convincing from her parents, Sophie decided to go to the Halloween party. With most of her belongings still in boxes, she wandered around the closest Spirit Halloween looking for a costume, ending up with a single black wig (considering it was Oct 30 and most costumes were already sold out!) So she put on a black dress, black tights, black makeup and the black wig - to complete her look as Wednesday Addams. Conor's hangover had subsided and he made the decision to head to the party to help out his friend behind the bar. So, along with her parents and friends BJ and Patricia (her entourage!), Sophie arrived at the brewery. She walked in and could feel her heart in her throat, "a blind date, what was I thinking?!" She looked behind the bar to see if she could find her mystery man, and there was Conor. "If this is him," she thought, "I made the right decision coming here tonight." She walked up to the brewery owner and introduced herself as "the girl from the night before except now I'm wearing a wig," to which he nodded and gestured to the guy behind the bar, "yeah, this is Conor". Conor and Sophie bonded over their mutual love of hockey - although he was a NY Rangers fan and she was a NJ Devils fan...more to come on that! Conor probably poured Sophie a couple more drinks than she needed, and ended the night with an exchange of phone numbers. Plans were made to meet up for coffee the next morning, and the rest is history :) We can't wait to celebrate our wedding with you all and hopefully get the chance to show you all how special the Hudson Valley is to us!