Pack Your Bags

Mike and Lex met in Venice Beach, California. Mike was in medical school at the time living in Springfield, Massachusetts and Lex was residing in Belmar, New Jersey living her best beach life. Both were on vacation on the West Coast with their close friends respectively, Nick and Jackie. The unlikely meet-cute occurred as a result of failed travel plans: Upon arriving at the airport to head out to Cali, Lex's airBnB unexpectedly cancelled, forcing her and Jackie to scramble to re-book a new accommodation. Upon arrival, Lex went for a swim in the ocean and B-lined it to the beach, straight from their newly booked airBnB. Mike and Nick were sitting on shore, called her over and the three started chatting about their travels, sites to see, and then made plans to meet up later that night for some live music at Santa Monica Pier. Lot's of dancing, laughing, cocktails, and sparks transpired. Lex and Mike parted ways, but would share pictures and updates as their California adventures continued. Mike was going to be in New York two weeks later, so the two vowed to meet up. Lex and Mike continued to stay in touch like this for two years. Mike would rotate around the country for medical school -- Cleveland, Chicago, New Jersey, Florida -- and the two would spend weekends together adventuring around, going the distance to stay connected despite logistics not always making the most logical sense. Mike landed his Orthopedic Surgery residency in Long Island, New York around the same time Lex moved to the City to start her job at Microsoft. They were essentially in a 'long-distance relationship' with Mike driving to the East Village and then Brooklyn to see Lex, and Lex often times missing the LIRR train but eventually making the next one to go out to visit Mike. In May of 2022, Lex and Mike moved in together to their Astoria apartment in Queens, and Mike proposed in March of 2023. The celebration of their wedding marks an exciting new chapter of their life together -- another leg of this journey that has taken them across the US and Europe -- and an adventure that they can't wait to share with family and friends.