We met how everyone meets these days - online. We got a drink late on a Tuesday night at a bar in Philly neither of us has been in since (because we decided it was awful). Heather wowed Chris with stories of cadaver dissection, and she thought his beard was very handsome. A second date was for dinner, we met at the Franklin Institute for our third date, and the rest is history. If you don't count the few short break-ups (we don't), it will be almost seven years together by the date of our wedding. We've shared two different apartments (and a few months sharing Heather's efficiency on Walnut Street), two foster dogs through the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (possibly 3 by the fall of 2022); we survived Heather's Clinical Specialist certification process and the completion of Chris's Bachelor's Degree. We've been through a few ups and downs and have been able to count on each other through it all.

Heather has been vacationing in Maine her whole life. Her Mimi and Bubba (maternal grandparents) grew up in Turner, ME, moved to CT after they married, and bought the Orono Cottage in Bayside from family friends in the 1970s. The highlight of every summer was a two week vacation in Maine - sailing, swimming, and running around until (and past) dark with friends. While she was in college, Heather had the opportunity to "take one for the team" and spend all of June and July in Bayside with Mimi. Tina and Kat took her under their wing during those summers, first as a "shot girl" and later as a bartender and waitress at the Lookout Pub and Delvinos in Belfast. She was lucky enough to have a job in Maine to come back to in the summers throughout college and grad school. Truth be told, Heather considers Maine more "home" in her adult life than MA where her parents live. Chris had heard all about this magical place called Bayside, but had his doubts. He first arrived in Bayside after a flight to Boston and a 4-hour drive in the dark. The next morning, he woke up to arguably the best view in the world, on the best porch in the world, and he was hooked.