Summer Wedding at Birchwood Vineyards

Tell us how you first met? Who, what, when, where, and why?

We actually met in high school! Marrying your high school sweetheart is not for everybody, but we knew in our hearts that this relationship was special, something that would last, even if others along the way told us that it wouldn’t. As teens and young adults, we went through a lot and faced some of the most fragile and intense times of life head-on together. We shaped our adult voice together which sort of defined our adult relationship. We never would have guessed that we’d be marrying the person who sat two seats away in sophomore chemistry class, but by some unlikely odds it turns out we were just right for each other and we can’t imagine it any other way.

When did you know he/she was the one? Was there something he/she did?, etc.

I think this is best answered by paraphrasing Robert Fulgham’s “The Beginning to End”: Throughout our relationship, we had been making promises and agreements in an informal way. As our relationship grew and became more serious, we discussed our future with sentences that began with “When we’re married” and late night talks that included “someday” and “maybe” and even made unspoken promises. For Nicole, she really knew Buddy was the one when she could no longer picture her future without him. For instance, Nicole always had plans to pursue her Ph.D. When applying to graduate programs, she was invited to interview at institutions all across the country, from Massachusetts to North Carolina to California and Washington state. But even if she liked a school, if she found out that it looked like Buddy wouldn’t be able to work in that area, suddenly the program became much less attractive and she found a reason to rule it out. Buddy left his job and uprooted his life to move somewhere completely new where he knew no one, sacrificing everything and putting his own career on hold to stay by Nicole’s side. For Nicole, that’s when she (for sure) knew he was the one!

Tell us about the proposal. (Did you see it coming, how long was it in the planning?, how did you feel? nervous, excited, freaking out?)

The day of the proposal, we went to brunch at New Leaf restaurant in Fort Tryon Park in Manhattan. (We were planning to visit the Met Cloisters museum that day). We had been looking at rings for a long time, so while I (Nicole) knew it was coming eventually, I was still very surprised when he got down on one knee in the gardens of the park! Apparently Buddy was pretty nervous and was relieved when I said “yes”!

Tell us the one thing you love most about each other.

Our personalities balance and we bring out the best in each other.

If you feel comfortable, share with us something silly or quirky the other person does.

Buddy twitches in his sleep(!). Nicole constantly quotes movies even if no one gets the reference.

Besides getting married – what’s the one thing you are looking forward to on your wedding day?

Since we had a 2020 wedding during COVID honestly we were just excited to even have our wedding day and be in the presence of whoever could be there with us.