We're getting married!

Unlike most millennials, Stephen and Melissa met the old fashioned way, at work. Stephen was impressed by Melissa's unapologetic competence and used to pin her Zoom video. It wasn’t until a happy hour a few years after they met, when Melissa tried to set Stephen up with two of her friends, that Stephen asked her out. Their first date was on Election Day and Melissa hadn’t voted yet, assuming she’d be home in time to vote. Melissa emphasized that if she was going to ruin her perfect voting record, they better get married. Spoiler alert, she did not vote, so here we are. In Stephen’s defense, it was an off-year election. Over the course of the next few years, Melissa and Stephen maintained a long distance relationship from South Philly to Fishtown and Melissa dragged Stephen to pop-ups and new restaurants. They discovered a shared love of word games, took long walks in the Wissahickon and West Virginia, explored murals in Lancaster, and met each other's family and friends. Despite having just renovated his house, Stephen moved into Melissa’s house in South Philly, mostly to be closer to his favorite coffee shop. In January 2023, Stephen proposed on a hike in the Wissahickon, and surprised Melissa with a private dinner by one of their favorite chefs and a giant box of international chips. Instead of planning a wedding, they planned block parties and trips to France, Switzerland, the Canadian Rockies, and Morocco. In 2024, they welcomed their daughter Noelle into their lives. These days Melissa, Stephen, and Noelle can be found at the Singing Fountain, the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park, and the Central Market in Lancaster. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love our new family has received from our incredible community, and can’t wait to celebrate with you all in Stephen’s hometown!