We’re getting married!

Like most modern pandemic love stories this one started with an app... shout out to Hinge. Tory shared on her profile she was watching all the Marvel movies to cure her boredom during lock-down in April 2020. Gary thought he hit the jackpot finding a girl who loved Thor, Iron man, & Captain America as much as he did. He likes to joke now that Tory tricked him because she hasn't watched a Marvel movie since (oops!). After 5 weeks of talking & texting, Gary finally got Tory to agree to a date... she really leaned into the covid excuse those first five weeks hard... "Sorry, I don't feel comfortable leaving my house yet." "Sorry I can't get my niece or grandfather sick." "Sorry, I can't cross state lines." But Gary was persistent and he didn't give up. Finally, Tory agreed to a date but she was doing Whole30 and wasn't going to quit (If you know Tory you know she takes Whole30 seriously!). Gary planned their first date at Upper Garwin Falls in Wilton, NH complete with a fully Whole30 compatible picnic (restaurants were still closed). He pulled out all the stops to impress Tory- homemade mayo, sugar-free bacon, and all her favorite beverages including water, spindrift, & iced coffee with nut-pods (And, yes, Tory drank them all & really had to pee). Of course Tory shared her phone location with her mom and sister because "He's taking me to the woods what if he's a serial killer!" (Yes, Tory watches way too much true crime!) But it didn't take long for Gary to charm his way into Tory's heart and she sent her best friend mid-date a text saying "I'm going to marry him!" In September of 2021 Gary & Tory had planned a vacation to Mexico. Unbeknownst to Tory, Gary had a ring in his backpack and had taken her parents to lunch weeks before to ask their permission to propose. Shortly after arriving at the resort in Mexico, Gary asked Tory to go check on the room with the front desk while he went to make a dinner reservation with the concierge (sneaky, sneaky he already had everything set up and needed to make sure things were all set for that night). After getting settled in and relaxing by the pool on their first day, Tory was getting ready and Gary asked if she wanted to take a picture on the beach before walking to dinner (Gary knows Tory loves a good selfie with a beautiful background!) Of course every single girl on planet earth thinks to themselves when on vacation with their boyfriend "hmm am I getting engaged on this trip..." (and you're lying if you say anything different!) So, of course, it was in the back of Tory's mind but when she started to think logically she talked herself out of an engagement in Mexico. But Gary had other plans... They walked down the beach to take a photo and they walked by a guy taking a nap on a hammock. They walked past him letting him enjoy his nap on the beach and went to take their photo. Tory starts to fix her hair for the picture (because hello Mexican humidity!!) and Gary says "Tory, you know I love you very much, right" and drops down to one knee and pulls out the most beautiful ring. To be honest Tory doesn't remember much else he said because she could not believe it was actually happening! At the same moment Gary got down on one knee, the guy napping in the hammock jumped up so fast and ran over to them and started taking his own photos! Gary had planned ahead and hired a photographer to capture the entire thing (shout-out to Fernando & his fake nap!) After capturing some of the most beautiful photos before the sun set they walked to the other end of the beach where Gary had set up a romantic private dinner. There were rose petals, candles, music, a private waiter (we miss you Daniel!), and a bottle of champagne (yes, Tory had to drink the bottle alone) waiting for them with the most amazing view of the moon over the ocean. Gary planned & pulled off the absolute most perfect engagement Tory could have dreamed of! We cannot wait to share the rest of our love story with you all!