Ashley and Joe met on the apps in August of 2020. He inquired about her status as a self-proclaimed cinephile. She asked if he really does watch birds for fun. They texted and the small talk continued. Joe asked Ashley if she wanted to meet. She ghosted him!

So how did we get here? Joe desperately followed up a week later. This time, Ashley pleaded for forgiveness. She had been busy with “work.” They met for a margarita at Lolita’s in Center City. It turned into a few drinks. By law, it turned into chips and salsa, because apparently COVID meant you had to order food too? Sure. Three hours zoomed by, so they agreed to hang out again. And then again. And again. And again.

The pandemic wasn’t over, so they watched movies together while apart. Thanks, Netflix Party. Ashley adopted Seymour. Joe had no say in the decision, but it’s resulted in the second-best friendship he’s ever had. The three of them shared the twisted joy of getting to experience normal things again. Cheesesteaks. La Colombe. Unmasked walks at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. A Sixers collapse. Joe knew Ashley was a keeper when she comforted him the night they watched the Game 5 loss to the Hawks in her Rittenhouse apartment. It was either then or when she accompanied him on a literal wild goose chase in Fairmount Park (which was unsuccessful). For Ashley, Joe was clearly the one when he tolerated bar studies taking over both of their lives and joined her on shopping excursions to buy nothing.

It all paid off. Ashley, Esq., graduated from Penn Law, passed the bar and moved to New York. Joe commuted to the Big Apple. His two-day stays stretched to four. Time back in South Jersey felt even longer. So the young couple and their boisterous dog found a home together in West New York, which is in New Jersey and that’s not confusing at all. Now they do everything and go everywhere together. They’ve traveled to rainy Belgium and sunny Aruba and … the incomparable Staten Island.

Comfort in each other’s company — over the internet, over drinks, over distance and even over Seymour’s incessant barking — has always been what’s made Ashley and Joe’s love special. They can’t wait to celebrate that love with you.

A&J

Wedding Day