Professional Photo Gallery - https://matthewkark.passgallery.com/-juliabrendanswedding/gallery Guest Photo Album (Feel Free to Contribute!) - https://photos.app.goo.gl/nsu3Dka6eptewLry6 Wedding Ceremony Recording - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cOS2znxhWj-hd4EhOhUnDdPPEu5tRLPU/view?fbclid=IwAR0_mOQc2QD3kLdhmk1MFtZCLH-WDM-v_i3KYJnk0CbJgT5xXvH7DgQoEpA

We first met lifeguarding at Ocean Beach on Fire Island way back in 2010. I thought Brendan was cute and he thought that I was...underage. When we had stand shifts together we'd talk about athletics, school (for some reason we both thought engineering was a good idea), and future jobs. During parties after work, Brendan would chivalrously drink my sips during drinking games like Ride the Bus, so that I could play without drinking. We got along well, but were just friends back then, even if I hoped it would be something more...

Fast forward to the summer of 2017. Brendan was working in the Netherlands and looking for jobs back in the US. We connected via LinkedIn (everyone's favorite dating app) and started chatting over messenger. Between talking about my work travel plans in London and Madrid, I suggested that we meet up in Europe. For some reason Brendan said yes, and we began planning our first trip together in the exotic locale of Malta. The trip started out inauspiciously for me. I left my passport, wallet, ID, and cash in the taxi from the airport, and therefore was unable to buy any food or drinking water. Fun fact, tap water is not potable in Malta. Brendan was sitting on the plane ready to take off reading a stream of panicked messages from me, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Luckily the taxi brought all of my stuff back and things went uphill from there. By the end of the trip, Brendan was planning visits to come see me in NYC. In the fall of 2017, Brendan moved back to the US to North Carolina and we started dating long distance. One year later he moved up to NYC and we've been here ever since, sharing a cozy 550 sqft apartment with my sister Ari.

Our first international trip since the onset of Covid-19 was to Croatia. Due to uncertainty with the virus, we planned everything extremely last minute. When we arrived in Dubrovnik for our last leg of the trip, our Airbnb host told us about a Michelin star restaurant located on top of the city walls. We signed up for the waitlist and managed to get a reservation for the following night. That day we explored the old town during the day and went scuba diving in the afternoon. In the evening before our fancy dinner, we sat on our Airbnb terrace overlooking the water at sunset and watching the sky change colors. We sipped prosecco while reading our favorite books and chatted about the future. Brendan asked if we could take a picture together with the beautiful sunset in the background (my first clue that something was up as Brendan hates taking pictures), and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes! And, here we are planning a celebration for August 2022. We're so excited to celebrate with you all!