Richie and Tessa met on Lily's balcony in downtown Manhattan in Jan '13 when Tessa was visiting from Boston. Tessa distinctly remembers Richie coming in from working the graveyard shift at the Verizon building nearby. She could hear him on the phone say "you ladies want coffees?" and remembers thinking, “how thoughtful, sounds like a sweet guy.” Upon meeting, they both talked their faces off on that balcony, which is shocking, right? Lily just watched them chatting away thinking, "what have I done?" Fast forward to August 2013 and Tessa just accepted her offer for Macy's Marketing Manager in Midtown. She called Richie for some Brooklyn neighborhood advice as he was a city native. They sent a few e-mails back and forth with Richie offering up his street smart advice about where was safe for a single girl not from the city to live. Once Tessa landed in NYC in September 2013, she and Richie starting hanging out and talking on the phone, naturally. He came with her to check out her first apartment in Crown Heights before she signed the lease. He said he was just there to “check the outlets” for Tessa. Classic smooth electrician move! Soon enough they were spending most of their time together: clubs in the city, Knicks games, Sit & Wonder coffee shop, H&L Bagels, Tessa’s rooftop, Pegasus, Shore road and Richie’s Bay Ridge apartment. They have fond memories of hanging out on Tessa’s rooftop, lying in the hammock, or just admiring the beautiful city skyline together. This is when they began to fall in love in the city they both love so dearly. They moved in together in October 2014 in Bay Ridge and have truly enjoyed building a home and life together in NYC. They took an unforgettable trip to Europe in Spring 2017 (Paris, Amsterdam & London) and are excited to be travel buddies & best friends for life. Tessa decided to stop drinking on Feb 1, 2014. Richie has been Tessa's rock during her journey of sobriety, and she is forever grateful for his unconditional support.

Richie and Tessa are choosing to leave the bricks for the weekend to get married in the sticks. Mountain Springs Lake Resort reminded both of them of the very special place where Richie proposed to Tessa: her family cabin in the Adirondacks. Richie and Tessa started going to the lake their first summer as a couple and have made a point to go at least once every summer. They typically go with Tessa's parents for a weekend of sun-bathing on the dock, kayaking, and floating around enjoying the beautiful lake. This time, they decided to go solo for Labor Day weekend, and Tessa had NO idea what Richie had in store for them. It poured rain all day, so it was a Netflix kind of day. They binged on Ozark Season 1 and cooked a modest cabin meal together that night. They danced in the kitchen to Frank Sinatra. Their favorite thing to do is admire the stars while standing on the dock; the beauty is overwhelming. Mother Nature was not letting the moon out, nor the stars. Tessa dragged Richie back in as quickly as he dragged her out to the dock. She was confused why he wanted to be outside on the dock so badly if the weather wasn't nice. Once inside, Tessa read her Grandfather's weekly e-mail (Page from the Sage) out loud and it made them both shed a tear. Tessa was impressed that Richie was so moved by it but slightly confused. He then declared his love for her, pulled a ring out of his pajama pants and popped the question. Tessa blurted out yes and there were lots tears of joy. The next day (Labor Day) they woke up early and called all their loved ones to share the news. The sun was as bright as ever and glistening on Lake Eaton. A lot of their favorite memories are admiring the stars together (Tessa’s apartment rooftop, a rooftop bar in St. Martin and their dock on the lake). Although they weren't looking at the stars as Richie had planned for, it was still perfect. Richie managed to transform a very special place to Tessa to the most important place in their lives.