We can't wait to celebrate with you . . . finally!!

How did Jen and Gary meet? A) Saw each other at a party across a crowded room. Music stopped. Time went into slow motion. Love at first site. The rest is history. B) Gary got a flat tire in a rain storm and drove into a ditch. Jen pulled over, pushed the car back on the road, and put on the spare. The rest is history. C) C'mon, it was 2017 . . . they met online! OK, we don't have an exciting "how we met" story. But between both growing up in North Jersey, both living in and around Hoboken, and also spending significant time in the Boston area, we're pretty sure our paths crossed a number of times before we actually met. And it was worth the wait!

Our "how we met" is kind of boring, so we had to make our engagement more interesting! Jen may or may not have given Gary a deadline to pop the question, so he was running out of time and had to come up with something. Fortunately, they had tickets to an immersive theater show called "Drunk Shakespeare," so Gary saw his opportunity. Over a romantic dinner beforehand, Gary informed Jen that they had been randomly chosen for the King and Queen Experience at the show, so they would be sitting in thrones, interacting with the cast and audience, and getting free drinks. What Jen didn't know was that Gary set this up in advance (since he would never normally pay for something like this, he didn't want Jen to be suspicious). The show was a lot of fun, even if Jen and Gary might have been blushing a bit from being the center of attention. At the end of the show, the "drunk" Shakespeare actor presented Jen and Gary with a portrait he drew of the King and Queen, which contained a special message. To the crowd's delight and Jen's complete surprise, Gary confirmed it was real and popped the question! See our photo page for a picture, or, if you see us, ask to see the video!

We were so close. The invites were sent, RSVPs were received, the table assignments were done. All the vendors were in place. Menu and songs were chosen. Hotel rooms were reserved. Dresses and tuxes were fitted. Bachelor and bachelorette parties were celebrated. Honeymoon was booked. Marriage license was obtained. We were all set to celebrate our wedding with 150 friends and family . . . and then COVID happened. At first, we thought it might be an annoyance. We'd put hand sanitizer on the tables, and ask people not to make contact. But an annoyance quickly became a pandemic, and -- with less than 10 days to our wedding -- we realized we would need to change our plans. We ended up changing them about 4 or 5 times as the realities of the pandemic set in. Plan A became Plan B became Plan C became Plan D. We were stubborn and determined to get married on our wedding date, no matter what. When the state of New Jersey limited in-person gatherings to 10 people, our decision was made: we'd do a small ceremony on Jen's parents' porch, and save the celebration for later. So, on March 21, 2020, we gathered under an improvised Chuppah on the porch with the Rabbi, immediate family, and a few close friends and, in the brisk early-spring twilight, we got married! Through the magic of Zoom, many of our friends and family were able to join us virtually (this was a last-minute arrangement since we were pandemic wedding pioneers, but we were so thrilled it worked out!). Afterwards, we celebrated with takeout, champagne, Jonnie Walker Blue Label, and cake. Though we had a very stressful couple of weeks and were initially disappointed our wedding day wouldn't look anything like what we'd planned, we ended up having a lovely ceremony, our family and friends were able to join us from afar, and, most importantly, we got married! Now we are thankful that our family and friends have made it through the pandemic, and we can't wait to see everyone for a much-needed celebration!