Doug and Carly’s relationship started where all proper millennial relationships do: on an app, Hinge. Carly at the time was the Manager of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing at Walden Asset Management and had just downloaded the app. Doug was in his second to last year of Internal Medicine Residency, and had been searching through countless virtual profiles over several years to find the love of his life, but little did he know, she was about to find him.

Carly “liked” that Doug had written on his profile that he was “trying to help people through medicine and policy.” Doug looked over Carly’s profile and was instantly drawn to the beautiful smiling photos of Carly looking back at him. But, he had to compose a message—something to not only get the conversation started, but to also start their relationship off right. He saw one photograph of Carly holding up symbols with numbers.

He decided to kick things off by saying “hey” and saying she looked cool posing with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). When Carly saw this, her heart exploded into a million fireworks of heart-shaped emoticons—not only was Doug not posing bare-chested with a fish in his pictures like most other Bostonian men—but he knew what the SDGs were!

Their first date was at Turtle Swamp, a new local brewery in Jamaica Plain. Doug was punctual and found a table. Several minutes after waiting for Carly to arrive, he received a text from Carly that she was running behind. “What am I going to do with all of these roses?” Doug responded (he didn’t have any roses). “Haha don’t get a girl’s hopes up, you know how we feel about roses!” Carly texted back.

When she finally walked in, Carly’s radiant smile, infectious energy, and the fact that she laughed at his puns more than made up for her being late. Doug’s dashing good-looks, gregariousness, and quick wit more than made up for the fact that he did not have any roses.

Carly had arranged for dinner with a friend a couple of hours after the date started, in order to have an excuse to leave in case Doug was secretly was an Axe-murderer. As a side note—for those of you reading who don’t know Doug, he prefers to murder his victims with bad jokes. Like, did you hear about the butcher who backed up into the meat grinder? He got a little behind in his work.

Anyways, where were we… Carly and Doug were having a great time together, and Carly called an uber to make it to dinner. As Carly’s Uber pulled up, Doug leaned in for their first kiss, and both barely noticed the Uber’s fluorescent headlamps illuminating the kiss for all to see.

Their second date was at a local sandwich shop in Boston in the middle of Carly’s workday. Carly, about to undergo Lasik eye surgery, was nervous about not being able to wear makeup. But despite their poor vision, it was becoming crystal clear—this was the start of something beautiful. That week, after Carly’s surgery, Doug finally made good on his promise and sent Carly roses.

They quickly found out they had so much in common. Both Carly and Doug are lactose-intolerant, sleep with ear plugs and eye masks for complete sensory deprivation, and have issues with plantar fasciitis – and yes, upon reading said list they may both secretly be 80-year-olds. In addition, both are the product of parents who met on blind dates, “Robinhood: Men In Tights” is their favorite movie, and “Smash Mouth: Astro Lounge” was one of their first CDs they purchased. They had so much in common that they had to keep a running list, because Carly keeps lists for everything in her life. In fact, number one on her list of 2018 New Year’s resolutions was to… make more lists.

A few weeks into dating, Doug deleted his dating apps—he was all in. A month into dating, Doug asked Carly to be his girlfriend. After thinking about it for a day, she said yes! But probably most important for their relationship prospects, was that Carly’s dog, Lilah, approved of Doug and his baritone exclamations of “who’s a good dog.”

They embarked on the adventure of a lifetime together. They saw the sunrise at the Taj Mahal in India. They hiked the picturesque Mont St Michel at sunset in France. They experienced significant lactic acid buildup after running in a relay race across 200 miles of countryside and distilleries in Kentucky.

Nearing the end of his residency, Doug was on the hunt for jobs that would, as his Hinge profile had foretold, allow him to help people through medicine and policy. After searching for opportunities to do so, he finally honed in on a role and a team that would allow him to make a big impact working as the Chief Innovation Officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, and had asked Carly if there might be opportunities for her near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Carly found a single role that caught her eye, and in just a few couple of weeks, had been offered the job leading environmental sustainability and ESG reporting at Hershey (yes, the chocolate company).

A few months later—they moved into their first home together in Harrisburg. Doug discovered Carly’s obsession with Home Goods, and Carly discovered that Lilah could, in fact, sleep in a crate at night and not on their Sleep Number mattress. Their love for each other was growing every day.

After a year and a half of dating, Doug planned a way to stealthily ask Carly’s parents, Monique and Dan, for her hand in marriage when they visited Denver for Thanksgiving in 2019. When Carly excused herself for a bathroom break at dinner, Doug seized the chance to ask—and they were very excited to say yes! So excited, in fact, that Carly’s mom blurted out as soon as she came back to the table, “Carly, we have great news to share!”

The surprise ruined, Doug plotted the perfect proposal. He forged a ring from a diamond made by Carly’s grandfather. He reserved several nights at the fanciest hotel in Boston. He arranged for space for an engagement party at Turtle Swamp, the brewery where Carly and Doug first laid eyes on one another and kissed.

2020 had something else in mind. As COVID-19 started ripping through America, the Boston trip fell by the wayside. Undeterred—Doug took Carly on a walk to City Island, and dropped on one knee next to the Susquehanna and asked Carly to marry him. She said yes! Several of Carly and Doug’s friends lay in wait, prepared for a socially distanced outdoor celebration.

They started dating in March 2018 and so have dated for 7 years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020, and 2021 (adjusted for amount of time spent together). They couldn’t be more excited to get married, make it official, and go on a honeymoon. Thank you for being a part of this celebration, but more importantly, for being a part of their lives.