Join us for a day in the garden

Picture this: Jacob and Madi were best friends all through middle and high school. Eli and Madi were best friends and roommates in college. In 2016, Madi had the good sense to introduce these two friends in the hopes they might all get along. Reader, they did. Cut to 2019: Everyone's living in New York City, Jacob and Madi are now roommates, and Eli is visiting not infrequently. It wasn't until September 2020, however, that our heroes would start dating. After six months of pandemic-related delays, Jacob asked Eli out during a well-timed trip "down the shore" in Avalon, NJ. Eli said yes. And the rest is... Today, we've been through five apartments (most of them Jacob's), more than a dozen jobs (Eli still freelances), and zero pets (though Eli keeps asking). By the time of our wedding, we'll have been together for more than six years and known each other for more than a decade. We see our wedding as our chance to celebrate the relationship we've grown together, the community that helped us to nourish it, and the life that will blossom from it. We couldn't have done it without YOU, which is why we cannot wait to celebrate with YOU.

The photo included in our Save the Date and the matching shots on our website were taken during a trip to the New York Botanical Garden in our first year of dating. NYBG was one of the first gardens we visited together, our first shared nonprofit membership, and the first organization to send us a piece of mail with both of our names on the address. 4+ years later and we still return to the garden regularly to explore the grounds, enjoy the flora, and experience the incredible annual shows – including the Holiday Train Show and the Orchid Show. (Fun fact: Eli's grandfather made a living donation of orchids to NYBG more than 30 years ago!) We're truly grateful to host our wedding in a place with so much shared history and meaning. We cannot wait to spend a day in the garden with you.