Tess and Matt Hall..... Like most modern millennial romances, it began with a swipe. Tess was in Boston for work and Matt was finishing residency when they matched on Bumble. The banter began immediately and within days the two began talking on the phone nightly. They soon discovered that Tess was actually living in New York and Matt was weeks away from moving to Baltimore. Nevertheless, they both decided to give it a shot and met halfway for their first date in New Haven. They met in the train station, liked what they saw, and headed to brunch before spending the afternoon on a strawberry farm. 8 hours later, Matt brought her back to the train station and knew that his next year was going to look a little different. The following year was a busy one for both of them, with Tess living the founder life and Matt in the throes of a busy fellowship. They spent nights on the phone and weekends on Amtraks traveling between NY and Baltimore. What could have been challenging felt remarkably fun and easy. After a year apart the two moved to Chicago in August 2022 to start the next chapter in their adventure. Six months later, Matt surprised Tess with a weekend trip back to NYC. After spending a (very cold) day reliving their favorite date spots and memories, the two headed to Little Island where Matt (very nervously) popped the question, and Tess (equally nervously) accepted. After figuring out which hand the ring goes on and shedding their coats for a few (even colder) photos, the two headed to dinner with Tess’s sister Lisa and her fiancé (also Matt). Tess and Matt realized they had something special when they could just spend hours talking or just walking around for >20k steps at a time (always beating their last record) - it was the simple things in life that make them happy together. Hitting 100 classes on the same day at their favorite Chicago gym, Basecamp, after many a 5:15am class. Taking strolls around the dog park (as aspirational dog owners). Debating who makes better eggs in the morning (jury’s still out). Moving in together and building such a special friend group in Chicago. Finding excuses to look up the pie flavors at Hoosier mamas (don’t worry, you’ll all get to try it at the wedding!). Okay, and maybe not *all* simple - boat rides in Capri or Lake Como make for some great memories too. They’re so excited to take on this journey called life together and have each of you be a special part of formally kicking it off. Each of you has helped make them and their families the people they are today and who they are for each other, so thank you. Now, bring your dancing shoes and get ready to rumble!

Matt was in an Uber coming back from the ER after accidentally slicing his hand on a champagne bottle when he super liked Lisa. Lisa was having a wine night with her friends and was one glass of wine in when she swiped right on Matt. After some texting over the holidays, some laughs and one brave question from Matt - they embarked upon their first date. Matt thought Lisa looked pretty and was witty. Lisa thought Matt was cute and smart. On the first date Matt adorably dropped every. single. piece. of the battleship pieces at the beer garden. And just like every piece of that game, Lisa also began to fall for Matt. Their journey continued through study sessions, charcuterie board picnics, board games, and most noteworthy, the pandemic. While they both have always enjoyed the finer things in life - in their relationship, they’ve always treasured the simplicity of it. The comfort, the ease and what they knew early on was the building blocks and foundation for something great. Lisa moved to New York in 2020 and one year later Matt joined her to start residency. They started their journey as a true New York City couple: paying an arm and a leg for rent, overpaying for sushi, enduring the subway heat, and most importantly, absolutely loving it. In Fall 2022, Matt proposed to Lisa with flower petals and candles in the foreground, the skyline of New York City in the background and her family and close friends in the periphery. As Lisa eloquently put it “it wasn’t a yes, it was a HECK YES!”