Our story began in August 2019. We had both been living in the Boston area for a few years; Ricardo was midway through his PhD program, and Brian was just starting to apply to grad schools to change his career. When Brian saw Ricardo on Tinder, he was drawn to his cute outdoorsy photos, his favorite song being Bon Iver’s, and of course his adorable round glasses. When Ricardo saw Brian’s profile, he liked his many photos with friends and family and his very mid-2010s, cheesy Instagram captions. After several weeks of very dorky flirting, we found a time to meet up. Our first date was on September 6, 2019, at the Longfellow Bar in Cambridge, MA. We were having too much fun talking when we finished dinner, so Ricardo brought Brian across the street to Beat Brew Hall where we shared a few too many drinks, met a girl who swore she'd be the next president of Mexico (we’re still rooting for her), and closed the place down. Flash forward six months: surprise, it’s a global pandemic! After two weeks in Vermont with his family, Brian missed Ricardo too much to be apart, so he asked Ricardo to join him in Vermont for “a week, maybe two, just to ride out the madness.” Mind you, Ricardo had not met Brian’s parents yet! That “week or two” turned into five months in Montpelier, VT, where we deepened our relationship and our love for family. During that time, Brian was accepted into the same graduate school as Ricardo, allowing us to stay in the same city! Spring 2021 was our next big step: moving in together. Our first apartment, located in Kendall Square in Cambridge, became a haven of mismatched furniture, kitchen messes, and the occasional existential debate about whether we could survive grad school. That summer also marked the first time since the pandemic that Ricardo was able to go home to Puerto Rico to see his parents, which was the first time Brian got to meet them in person. We had an incredible 3 weeks there with great food, movie nights, broken Spanish (Brian is learning despacito), and lots of laughs. In the spring of 2022, as both of our graduation dates approached, we set our sights on jobs in New York City. Ricardo always loved it during college and Brian was up for an adventure, not to mention so many friends and family members already lived here (although several have since abandoned us…how dare you). Our wedding will mark nearly 4 years in this vibrant city where we have advanced our careers, picked up new hobbies, made incredible memories with those we love, and planned our future together. On August 24, 2024, the 33rd wedding anniversary of Brian’s parents, Ricardo set up a beautiful surprise in the park near our home. Three rented piglets in a play pen distracted Brian (who is obsessed with pigs) as Ricardo got down on one knee and we committed to share the rest of our lives together. After a few quick photos with our NYC friends, Ricardo brought Brian to a nearby bar where Brian’s family and even more of our friends who had traveled from far were waiting to celebrate with us. We are so thrilled to have you join us as we start the rest of our lives together because if we have learned anything during our time together, it’s that nothing is more important than family. Everyone invited to join us is our family and we are so grateful for you all. Please read the rest of the pages of this website for the details leading up to our special day. We are very thorough people so apologies in advance for all the detail.