Jessica & Shaun
Our Story
Jess
The Early Years
Jess grew up in Niskayuna, NY - not far from Albany. She enjoyed hiking and biking along the trails in town, snowboarding in the nearby Adirondacks, and could be found rowing many mornings and afternoons on the Mohawk River as a member of the Niskayuna High School crew team.
Shaun
Growing Up
Shaun grew up in Mt. Laurel, NJ - about 20 minutes outside of Center City Philadelphia/near Cherry Hill/Exit 4 off the Turnpike. He developed a love for hockey early and can still navigate blindfolded from his childhood home to the five nearest Wawas.
New York City
Shaun and Jess Find Their Way to New York
Jess attended Wellesley College near Boston and studied Chemistry. After graduating in 2007, Jess moved to New York City to become a chemistry teacher at the Bronx High School of Science. Shaun moved to New York in 2004 to study Physics at Columbia University. After he graduated in 2008, he started as a physics teacher at the Bronx High School of Science.
They Found Love...
...In a Hopeless Place
Soon after Shaun began at Bronx Science, he met Jess. They soon became friends, bonding over Lost and their love of science. Not long after, in March 2009, they went on their first date - sushi at Ging on the Upper East Side. They later found a mutual love for Rihanna and Calvin Harris's 2011 hit single "We Found Love" and its eerie parallels to their early days together. Since then, they've changed careers, earned degrees, and lived all over Manhattan - on the Upper East Side, on the Upper West Side above the Gin Mill, and on 42nd Street near Times Square. Most importantly, they fell in love, which brings us to...
The Engagement
(She said yes!)
On March 12, 2017, Shaun concocted a series of thin premises to lure Jess back to the Upper West Side, just blocks from their old apartment above the Gin Mill. With an elaborate, thoroughly over-engineered plan in hand, a couple accomplices, and the promise of a nice meal in hand, Shaun managed to make it to the big moment without raising Jess's suspicions. Then, just as they passed the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, Shaun proposed. Jess said yes! And now here they are - ready to share their big moment with our family and friends!