The last thing I wanted to do that night was go to a club, but my friends convinced me and I found myself at Teak, standing at the bar a few minutes before midnight, waiting to order a water. A very tall (and handsome!) man was standing in front of me and he looked back as I approached the bar. Then he did a double-take. Then a triple take. Finally, he leaned over and whispered, "this bartender sucks, huh?" From there, we started up a conversation, exchanged numbers, and went our separate ways to dance with our friends. Tom thought I had left. I thought I'd never see him again. I danced, the ball dropped, and then we found each other again at the bar, but this time, it was 2020, a year that would change everyone's lives forever. Tom was funny and genuine, his heart showing through even in those early conversations at a loud bar with a bad DJ. A few days later, we went on our first date!

I met Jamie at a New Year's Eve Party at Teak, a restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, on December 31, 2019 (just months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic). After first noticing Jamie, and re-noticing her twice more (the classic "triple take"), I strolled up to her and blurted the classiest and most seductive pickup line I could think of: "This bartender sucks, huh?" Jamie gave me her phone number, believing she likely would not see me again. Jamie quickly found out that I am persistent. Upon texting Jamie the following morning, I immediately realized her intelligence, her witty sense of humor, her talent for banter, and her friendly and inviting nature. Jamie and I dated throughout the winter and spring and became "official" in June 2020. Over the past nearly two-and-a-half years, I have discovered numerous things I love about Jamie. She is passionate, creative, artistic, curious, lively, disciplined, accountable, has excellent values, and is a loving and generous companion. My relationship with Jamie has been the most fulfilling relationship in my life, and I am thrilled to not only have met Jamie, but to commit to her as her lifelong companion.

After our first date, we started going out once a week to local restaurants, learning about each other and our families, and sharing our big dreams for the future. In March 2020, Tom took Jamie out to dinner before she left for a trip to Naples to see her family. By the time she landed, COVID-19 had broke and the lockdowns were about to start. With Tom's encouragement, Jamie went back into the field as a nurse to do testing and for the next few months, they would social distance. Tom would bring over sandwiches and they would eat in their respective cars, the windows slightly cracked. When Jamie had to quarantine for weeks on end, Tom would bring her sandwiches to her balcony. Jamie would tie a bag to the end of the string of lights on her porch and Tom would put in a sandwich and they would eat together, two stories apart. Tom kept bringing sandwiches, though, and Jamie kept falling for him, and in June 2020, they made it Facebook official. The world opened back up and they were finally able to meet each other's friends and get to know each other's families. They signed a lease together in March 2021 and started the next step of their journey in Highlands, a town they have both fallen in love with.

On a cold day in March, Jamie and Tom had plans to go to Sandy Hook Beach for a picnic. Little did Jamie know that Tom (along with his sister Nikole) had been planning this day for weeks. As they started to walk onto the sand, Tom pointed out how Sandy Hook was appropriately positioned between New York City and Highlands. He explained how he thought the location of the beach was a metaphor for their relationship. Specifically, Tom mentioned that while they each valued chasing big dreams in an energetic fashion (a la New York City), they also wanted to embrace a smaller town, with a slower paced, relaxed atmosphere with great neighbors (a la Highlands). They then turned the corner around the dunes, and Jamie saw a picnic set out with candles, pictures of the two of them together, and her favorite flowers. Jamie started to cry (A LOT) and Tom got down on one knee and asked Jamie to "make him the happiest man in the world." Jamie said, "YES," as a (hidden) photographer captured the moment. It was perfect.

We met only a few short months before the start of the pandemic. We spent almost three months social distancing, dating from behind closed windows of our respective cars. As travel and gatherings were restricted, we did not get a chance to meet many of each other's friends and family. Here's a little bit about each of us so we can start to catch up! Jamie was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey. She went to college at the University of Maryland - College Park (Go Terps!), nursing school at Drexel University, and received her graduate degree in Public Health from the University of South Florida. She currently works as a health consultant for the United Nations. While she is trained in the sciences, her first love is the arts. You can find her painting, drawing, and writing as much as she can. She enjoys country music, historical fiction, and ice cream, in no particular order. Tom was raised in Toms River, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College, where he was a member of the Men's Varsity Basketball team. He later graduated from St. John's University School of Law. He currently serves as a Deputy Attorney General with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, where he fights for truth and justice. While he is a lawyer through and through, he has a musician's heart and spends his evenings serenading Jamie with guitar. Tom loves pickles, Reddit, and comedy specials, in no particular order. He does NOT love long walks on the beach.

We cannot wait to celebrate this incredibly meaningful moment in our lives with those closest to us. We would not be here without the love and support of our family and friends. Each person has influenced us in a way that brought us to Teak that night and made us who we are today. We cannot wait to share our day with you!