Come Celebrate with us!

How cliché - we met at a work happy hour! As both new arrivals to D.C. and recent joiners of IBM, Katie and Henry met one fateful evening at District of Pi, a local pizzeria at a work-orchestrated happy hour. Henry spotted Katie from across the room and quickly made room at the table which he was seated. Katie heard Henry's gregarious laugh which she found charming, if a bit boisterous. The couple began their relationship as friends, slowly developing the core of a larger group of D.C. new-comers, gallivanting about the city and getting into all kinds of mischief. As time went on, they began to separate themselves from the pack, finding themselves the last two standing at the end of an evening, having long debates about the merits of [ ], and, finally, giving piggy-back rides back home from an Irish celebration. At this point, things were trending toward a relationship, but, both being wary individuals, Katie and Henry circled each other for a time. Henry broke first and invited Katie to an Engagement Party weekend with Henry's family. Through the long hours in a hot tub, the fifty degree weather on a would-be skiing trip (Katie was secretly elated about the weather, not skiing herself), and the love in the air, the couple sidled closer together and knew that the friendship would have to evolve into something more.

So, they drew up their plans, prepared their speeches, and settled in for an evening of Grilled Reubens and Eggplant Fries at Galaxy Hut, a dive bar with a quiet outdoor patio perfect for this tet-a-tet. The fated D.T.R. (Define-the-Relationship) conversation ensued. By the end of their baskets with only crusts remaining, the couple was newly minted. Henry had begun to travel for work and the relationship began by spending weeks apart and weekends together. This afforded Katie and Henry the opportunity to travel extensively over those first couple years. They went to music festivals, went camping and backpacking with friends, and took an ill-fated trip to the Keys. Through the car break-in and the later trip to the emergency room, Katie and Henry triumphed over adversity and grew much closer as a couple. They knew that they could depend on one another, to stay calm in stressful situations, and could make the best of the situation. From there, Katie and Henry continued to grow closer, moving into a small loft apartment in Adams Morgan, a neighborhood in D.C. Despite the less than six hundred square feet, Katie and Henry developed a love for hosting, becoming a frequent rallying point for friends. They continued to love to travel and experience the outdoors with a memorable, zipline- and beach-filled trip to Costa Rica, enjoying the canals and parks of Amsterdam, and, finally, a Giordano family heritage tour to the South of Italy.

Little did Katie know, but Henry had something in the works for the year leading up to the engagement. He first tried to mine his own diamond in a field in Arkansas, looking for the perfect, unique stone for his perfect, unique woman. Unfortunately, that trip ended in a mud-stained weekend with little luck. Henry was then offered a family diamond, his great-grandmother's. He worked with a jeweler to reset the stone into the perfect ring. Katie has a Fall tradition of going apple picking and Henry sprung on the opportunity. The couple set out to an apple orchard. Katie thought it a little odd when Henry directed her to a part of the orchard without ripe apples. With a photographer hidden in the woods, Henry, nervous out of his mind, got down on a knee. He proposed to Katie talking about the months of friendship, then magical years together. Katie said yes, and they popped a bottle of champagne on a hillside overlooking the Shenandoah mountains enjoying the fresh apples.

As Katie and Henry were beginning to plan their wedding, the pandemic hit. They labored over the decision, but, ultimately, decided to get married at a small, intimate ceremony and outdoor dinner attended by their parents and the bridal party. The service was held at Fieldstone Farm in rural Virginia - a 1700s Quaker meeting house not far from where they were engaged. Katie and Henry wrote their own vows and were married by their close friend, Andy Brown, in a field behind the house overlooking the Fall foliage and mountains. The wedding was a perfect, intimate celebration, but now, as the world is reopening, Katie and Henry would like to share their celebration with you all!