We met how most New Yorkers meet these days...on the apps. We matched on Hinge and didn't think the first date would happen since, in typical fashion, it took weeks to actually get our schedules to align. Luckily, timing was on our side more than we even knew, as we were able to meet up at the end of Jan 2020 - before Covid rocked the city. We had our first date during Restaurant Week - Katie was obviously thrown off by Tom suggesting a three course meal for a first date. It was quote "the most mature first date of my life!" We consider ourselves incredibly lucky because we were able to go out on a handful of "real dates" and introduce one another to a few friends before Covid officially sent us into lockdown. From that point on, we quickly had to figure out how to entertain each other within the confines of our tiny apartment - a unique situation for early days of relationships but one we look back on fondly. We fell in love wearing sweatpants, playing countless rounds of Yahtzee, and seeing each other at our best and worst during a pandemic.

Tom proposed on Memorial Day Weekend - a holiday weekend that has unexpectedly held a lot of meaning for us. We moved in together the previous Memorial Day and our wedding will be on the holiday weekend in 2023! Tom proposed in Brooklyn Bridge Park, at "our spot" - one we frequently visited during Covid days when we needed some fresh air and sense of normalcy. The process of getting Katie to Brooklyn Bridge Park that evening wasn't the easiest (it had rained all day, so there was a lot of questioning around why we can't just Seamless and sit on the couch!). Nevertheless, Tom persisted with little to no detail other than "get in the Uber, let me have this." It was the most special moment, made even more so by Katie's best friend Lindsey hiding inconspicuously in all black behind a nearby tree to snap the crucial pictures.