Jeff and Rachel first met at Mural Miles, a group run in Philadelphia focusing on the celebration of murals in the city (Philadelphia is known as the ‘Mural Capital of the World’ with over 4,300 murals). Jeff had been active with running and fitness groups in the city, while Rachel had found it was a great way to explore her new city (after moving there, by way of DC and NYC). At each mural along the route, the artist would speak about their work and the group would attempt to take a picture in front of the artwork. During one of these pictures Rachel and Jeff ended up near each other and chatted briefly about mundane topics (the weather, the number of people) and important topics (the snacks at the end - John’s Water Ice and Federal Donuts). As the run progressed, they ran near each other but didn’t interact much more, both enjoying the post run ‘block party’ and going about their Saturday afternoon.

They communicated digitally for a few days after the group run and decided to relive the Mural Miles block party experience by going to John’s Water Ice again a week later. With ice cream in hand, they went on an impromptu walking tour where Jeff tried to recant facts from his Philadelphia Architecture book. After the stroll, not wanting the evening to end, Jeff suggested grabbing a drink, and Rachel agreed to ‘a drink’. One drink each lead to a shared ‘city wide’ and a longer conversation than both were expecting. The next day was date two, which led to many more dates in and around the city. Rachel suggesting new restaurants to try and Jeff suggesting hidden gems throughout Philadelphia. Jeff met Rachel’s brother, sister-in-law, and nephew at Bok Bar and after passing the sibling introductions, he was invited to Rachel’s nephew’s first birthday party where he met ALL of Rachel’s family (thankfully a majority of the attention was focused on the one-year-old cake smash). Rachel met Jeff’s friends and family in less of a Big Bang approach, often in smaller groups in and around the city. Time flew by with many dates in Philly and trips around the country. They attended weddings, housewarmings, birthday parties, and baseball games. Jeff enjoyed joining Rachel for many restaurant openings (a perk of her job designing restaurant kitchens) in St. Petersburg, Phoenix, DC, LA, Palm Springs, Boca, and even Philadelphia. They celebrated many milestones together. Jeff started a new job in tech sales after over a decade in consulting. They moved into their first apartment together - after aligning leases and touring many potential neighborhoods. They went on their first (of hopefully many) international trips together, starting with London.

Jeff is not the quickest decision maker, but he knew for sure that he wanted to propose to Rachel. While Rachel was out of town on a work trip, he scoped out locations. Although the Magnolia Garden, one of Rachel’s favorite parks in the city, was closed for renovation, he didn’t want to wait to start the next phase of their journey together. Under the guise of attending First Friday (a monthly event showcasing artists at local galleries) Jeff invited Rachel to join him for an evening of art followed by dinner. On the way to the first art gallery, Jeff steered their walk past the Magnolia Garden; which tipped off Rachel (she claims) that something was special about the evening. Already knowing that the garden was closed for renovation, Jeff acted surprised and continued the walk to the art gallery. Rachel’s anticipation waned, thinking that any potential surprise was spoiled by the garden’s closure. Jeff then steered their walk through Philadelphia’s Rose Garden. Rachel’s anticipation grew again, but then Jeff steered them out of the garden towards the art gallery. After two perfectly suitable locations for Jeff to use to propose had passed, Rachel wasn’t anticipating anything out of the ordinary and realized this would most likely be a ‘normal’ First Friday at the art galleries. Jeff then continued their seemingly random walk through the 18th Century Garden, where Jeff stalled to embrace Rachel, and proposed. They celebrated with champagne and calls to family to announce the news.

Rachel and Jeff look forward to affirming their love for one another at Blooming Hill Farm in Monroe, NY on June 1, 2025. The farm-to-table venue is the perfect location to celebrate with family and friends over a delicious meal.