It’s a Marriage Party!

That’s a phrase we said to each other very early in our relationship and it remains true. Simply put, we genuinely like each other. We respect each other. We’re both positive people who love what we do and how we live our lives. We bring each other the joy and calm that comes with finding the right person to share the rest of this life with. We know what we have is special and we never take that for granted. Our families and friends are spread across the country and our story of how we met starts with us living 800 miles apart. Jen was in La Grange, Illinois, accepting an offer to relocate for a new job in White Plains, New York. About a month before she moved, she decided to change her online dating profile to say “New York” as a way to start meeting new people before she got there because she had never actually been to or heard of White Plains. Howard was also new to the online dating scene while juggling his busy days as a high school teacher, coach for three sports, and father of two young kids. He’s in New Jersey, about 30 minutes from White Plains. Jen saw his online profile and said Hello. He said Hi back. We texted and talked for that month. On the day Jen got off that one-way plane ride from Chicago to New York, we had our first date that night at Applebee’s near him. That was April 18, 2015. Since then, we have nurtured our love and our home life together. We’ve been by each other’s sides in good times and bad, and in sickness and in health. Most of you know we have a very healthy competition cheering on our rival Big Ten teams, Howard’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Jen’s Iowa Hawkeyes! We will be married in a small civil ceremony on April 18, 2024, exactly nine years after our first date. Join Us for the Party! We look forward to seeing you at the party celebrating our continuing love story on August 3, 2024!