We can't wait to celebrate an enchanting fall day with all of you.

As daunting as the world of online dating felt back in 2019, it was much more reasonable than navigating various outside-of-work activities that could maybe, possibly, hopefully, potentially lead to meeting a person who was equally looking for a relationship, was willing to get to know each other, had the same interests, had the same values, had the same type of humor, and so on seemed...about as difficult as running a marathon. If they both trained really, really, really hard, they may be able to do it, but it's like a 1% chance of working out. So to the Plenty of Fish app they each went, mindlessly swiping, sending lame attempts at first messages to many a failed match, and mostly chatting with people until it fizzled out. Over the winter 2019-2020, Zach and Kelsey had spent a few weeks chatting on the app, but Kelsey was heading off to a handful of graduate school interviews. Her travels led to her asking to text Zach off-app. They exchanged numbers and couldn't stop talking. But Kelsey's travels and the - shall we say - tricky upstate NY winters kept the two from meeting. As the snow and ice began to melt, they got closer to making plans. However, in the background of this story, a terrible little virus made it's way from country to country, to the Pacific North West of our country, and finally began to spread like wildfire around the US. Kelsey, a worrywart, was beginning to freak out about going anywhere. Work for her was already beginning to discuss the plans for remote operations, and the students had left for spring break. (They would not return until the college figured out a complex method to help the students move out with minimal COVID risk.) Zach, on the other hand, was a frontline worker, helping stock multiple grocery stores in the area. He had so many points of exposure, and that scared the bejeesus out of Kelsey. One Sunday, they had plans to meet for the first time. The day before, Kelsey went to what would be her last volunteer shift at the SPCA. She spent the morning at the mostly empty shelter, talking to the few volunteers who showed up about the stories they heard about COVID, and all the precautions they were taking. It freaked her out, and she texted Zach that she was nervous about meeting him, since he had so much more potential COVID exposure. His response? "I just wonder that if we don't meet now, when will we?" He was right. Things were literally only going to get worse before they got better. And so, Sunday morning, they met for Kelsey's favorite meal: brunch. At Sunset Grill, they sat at the bar, ate some delicious breakfast food with lunch sides, and talked easily. The date, remembered less for the conversation (which was honestly, probably kind of awkward) and more for vibes, was comfortable, cozy, full of laughs, and all those jittery first date nerves. Two weeks after their first date, Zach and Kelsey had another date. If it wasn't clear by now, COVID freaked Kelsey out, so most dates were at-home deals. Movies, cooking, walks to gorges and parks. And it was in the first month that Kelsey had to ask Zach if he was serious. And if he could do long distance. At that point, Kelsey was moving away. Either to Vermont or New Jersey - both had attractive graduate school options, and she was wondering if Zach could wait 2 years for her to figure out what was next. And he was. The two decided they would be serious. Date with intention to keep it going. And wherever Kelsey landed after graduate school? Zach would meet her there. They've made their home in Maryland, where they introduced their cats. (They don't hate each other...usually.) They've settled into their jobs. They've gotten engaged. And now it's time for a wedding!