We met the now seemingly old fashioned way - because of one right swipe! We matched on the dating app Bumble back in Summer 2017. Jessie was drawn to Sean's big genuine smile and mention of his *eclectic* musical taste (i.e. African Jazz?). She could just tell he was the kind of guy to walk into any room and bring the party. Sean liked that Jessie seemed down to earth and not trying so hard in her photos (even though her profile pic was very much a classic *staged* candid laughing pic). He definitely was attracted to her Ivy-League smarts too. After several witty messages were exchanged for a day or two, we made plans to meet up in West Philly at Clarkville for pizza and beer. They sat us side by side at one of the windows with bar seating overlooking Clark Park. It was a great view for people watching, but man were those barstools tiny and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we talked for hours about everything - college stories, our love of nature, bluegrass music (Jessie was shocked he knew about her favorite band, Nickel Creek), family, religion, and grief. You know, the usual first date small talk...Arguably the best part of the date was when the restaurant messed up our order, so they brought us an entire extra pizza for free. Sean always said that extra pie was a life-changing pizza for him, and it was a life-changing date for us. Since that summer Sunday night, we've shared countless nights of pizza and beer. We've also grown immensely - individually and together. Some of our favorite memories together include rustic camping in the Poconos, hiking in Zion National Park, the Eagles winning the SB, making way too many cocktails at home during quarantine, spontaneously going to Cedar Point for the day, Jepsen reunions in Utah and Asheville, cooking new recipes together, and all the visits to Ohio and East TX to spend time with our families.

Sean proposed on December 11th, 2021. It was a beautiful and unseasonably warm day in Philly’s Wissahickon Park. There, we had a short hike and perfect picnic overlooking the river and enjoyed each other’s company for hours. Sean got down on one knee with that same big smile Jessie fell in love with, and of course she said yes (and proceeded to happy-cry for the next several minutes)! After we left the park, we went to Clarkville and got the same pizza that they gave us by accident years earlier. It tasted even better this time. We are extremely excited for this next chapter of marriage, and we hope to keep telling our story for decades to come.