If you're having trouble booking your rooms, shoot Izzy a text at 516-640-9567! Haven't booked yet? Call the hotel at 516-221-8100 and mention the “Caneda-Dubin”wedding for our promo rates!

Greg and Izzy matched with each other on a dating app in February 2022. On this app, users can respond to pre-written questions/prompts to get to know them better. Izzy's profile had the prompt "The best way to ask me out is..." to which she responded: "With a rolled up newspaper yelling Out! Shoo! Get out of here!" Greg responded to this with a message that read: "I would put a cup over you and slide a paper underneath and gently release you outside." Though the joke landed, it would be a while before they met in person. Izzy was in the midst of moving to a new apartment and Greg came down with a horrible case of laryngitis. Several weeks later, Greg suggested they go to the Strand Bookstore. Izzy showed up with her hair in a buzzcut, a nose ring, and two White Claw hard seltzers in her tote bag that she decided to bring last minute (they were leftover from a recent night out with friends). She found Greg, with an undercut and a top-knot, sporting a white t-shirt, red camo-print pants, and a pair of chunky Doc Martens, by a display table, reading the back of a book. She said his name, but he didn't look up, so she gently kicked his shoe to get his attention. They both said something funny, but did so at the same time, and laughed despite not hearing what the other person said. They perused the Strand, and found themselves on the lower level by some books about politics. Greg provided some light commentary on a few authors, and Izzy politely nodded despite not knowing who these political figures were. She wasn't the only one who heard his commentary, and a man chimed in with a contrary opinion. After a few tense moments with this stranger, they left the bookstore in search of a place to chat. Greg is vegan, so Izzy proposed they eat at Peacefood, a vegan restaurant nearby with outdoor seating. They sat down and ordered a light lunch. Greg asked Izzy ten different questions in rapid succession, a dizzying experience that made Izzy think: "Wow, is this what I sound like to other people?" At one point, Greg smiled at a passing baby in a stroller and turned to Izzy to say "so cute!" Izzy took a mental note of this, as meeting her family entails being around a lot of nieces and nephews. 10+ Good Guy Points for Greg It was a fairly warm day in May, which made Izzy recall the White Claws in her bag. She put them on the table and joked "ain't no laws, when you're drinking Claws," cracked one open, and asked "do you want one?" Greg rubbed his eyes and said, "I don't drink, I'm straight edge." Izzy looked down at the opened can, up at Greg, and slowly put the other can back in her bag. -10 Points for Izzy "I am so sorry, I didn't know!" "It says so on my profile!" "I thought you just said that to look good!" After a good laugh, he took her through what being straight-edge meant (no alcohol, smoking, or drugs, but plenty of rock n' roll). They continued to talk in the weeks that followed. There had been an ebb in conversation, after which Izzy explained that her dad, Victor, was in the midst of chemotherapy. It turns out, just the year before, Greg's father, Mark, had also been treated for cancer, and so Greg was able to empathize and emotionally support Izzy through a really tough time. These perfectly imperfect moments are what shaped their loving, understanding, and at-times hilarious relationship they share today.

We went over to Greg's Bed-Stuy apartment, where I would eat the first of many delicious meals that Greg would cook for me in the coming years. I asked if I could bring something or help cook, to which Greg responded in his best tough-guy impression, "just sit there and look pretty." We chatted in the kitchen while Greg meticulously prepared vegan banh mi sandwiches. He had pickled the veggies himself! When the sandwich was nearly done, Greg realized that he didn't have a bread knife to cut through the baguette. Rather than get sauce on his roommate's hand saw (which we seriously considered for a moment), I joked "we could Lady and the Tramp it." We moved to the living room where we picked up either side of the sandwich and chomped away. Now, we do this every year on our dating anniversary to commemorate the moment when I knew Greg would be the perfect partner-in-crime for any stupid idea I might have. If he's half as committed to me as he is to a funny bit, then I'm set for life.

In September 2022, Izzy and I went to see Holy Fawn at Saint Vitus, one of our last times at the venue before its untimely closure. It was a good show, and around midnight, as we walked across the bridge from Brooklyn to Queens, we hatched a scheme to get some food. I hadn't had a real meal all day, and I could really go for some take out from Luanne's, the vegan asian restaurant where I only got food poisoning once. We got back to what, at the time, was Her apartment, and waited for the food to show. It arrived around 12:30 and we chowed down before heading to bed. 4 hours later I was woken up by stomach cramps. What followed next could only be described as "food poisoning." I spent the next four days doing things no man should ever do, like throwing up and having diarrhea. That whole time, though, Izzy was there to take care of me. We'd only been together for a few months at that point, but she hardly even seemed to care that I'd gotten liquid poop on the floor of her bathroom. Yes, even though we were still relative strangers in the grand scheme of things, she gave up her time and energy to nurse me back to health, when all I could do in return was make weak conversation and suck on freezie pops. When those four days came to an end, I knew I loved her. Here was a girl willing to go above and beyond to care for someone, to help them in a time of need. She helped me understand the "unconditional" half of "unconditional love." And I knew then that, more than anything, I wanted to give the same to her.