Theresa was born (in Southampton) and bred in Shelter Island, the youngest of Alfred and Diane’s four daughters. Alfred came to Shelter Island via the Bronx, worked as a carpenter and built a small farm on which he and Diane, a local girl, raised their girls. Theresa attended Binghamton University, which brought her to Graz, Austria on a study abroad that lasted three years. After many adventures across Europe, including a solo trip to Ireland, she returned to the States and moved to New York City, where she started her professional career. Padraic is from the West of Ireland, born in Ballina, County Mayo. He is the middle child of seven. His father Francis was a farmer, and his mother Anne was a nurse. Padraic attended the Institute of Technology, Sligo and after completing his studies, moved to London where he worked as an engineer. He crossed the pond and found his way to Yonkers following in the footsteps of his brothers Frank and Bob, eventually becoming a floorologist (lol). But city life was not for this brother from the West of Ireland. Like many of his friends, he was lured to the East End, lived in Sag Harbor, worked in the Hamptons and Shelter Island, eventually falling in love with the Island, where he would buy land and build his home (which happens to be one mile from Theresa’s childhood home). On August 15, 2015, Theresa and Padraic went on a double date with Theresa’s oldest sister Rebecca and her husband Michael. Mike and Padraic first kindled a friendship on South Ferry, which later developed at a weekly poker game. Padraic enquired if Mike knew any single women with whom Mike could set him up; Mike did not hesitate to suggest Theresa and sweetened the deal by telling Padraic that she was loaded (a far stretch of the imagination). After a classic Shelter Island first date that started at Sweet Tomato’s restaurant and ended at The Dory (What happens in the Dory, stays in the Dory), Theresa and Padraic spent the next 9 years slowly but surely opening up their lives to one another. Theresa’s entire family – parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins and more all live on Shelter Island and hence, were inescapable. Padraic took Theresa to Yonkers to meet his brothers for her first real session and his sisters years later at his brother Bob's birthday party. All her years hanging out with an Irish clan in Austria and NYC paid off in helping to decipher the Rutledge boys’ Irish brogue. Most importantly, she would meet his son Jack during one of his many yearly visits to the Island. And eventually, Padraic would take Theresa home to Ireland to meet the extended family. Padraic would occasionally spend time in New York City where Theresa lived and worked. At a company holiday party, Padraic met Theresa’s boss Larry, who over time started nudging Padraic to propose marriage. Theresa laughed this off, as she considered Padraic a confirmed old bachelor. For her, it was enough to have a companion with whom to travel, walk the trails of Mashomack and on the beaches with their dog Suka, to dance with at weddings, work with at the farmstand, and to support each other through sickness and surgeries. Padraic was also taken by Theresa’s cooking; having once questioned if they did break up, would she be willing to still cook for him. On the ninth anniversary of their first date at Sweet Tomato’s, Theresa was in the city working. Padraic went to have a pint with Alfred on the porch of the farmstand and asked for Alfred’s permission for Theresa’s hand in marriage. The following evening, as Theresa and Padraic were closing the farmstand for the night, Padriac nonchalantly mentioned his discussion with her father. Thinking that Padraic was trying to be funny, Theresa ignored him. Then she realized that he was serious. She said, ‘yes’, and Padraic ran off to his weekly poker game.