A short story about our journey to forever.

In 2009, during much simpler times, who knew that all it would take was a simple piece of looseleaf paper to make someone fall in love? Follow us on a journey back in time to the moment when Christina and Andrew met: the first day of sixth grade in September 2009.

But first, let’s remind you what was happening back in 2009:

∙ Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th U.S. president

∙ Hannah Montana: The Movie and the original Avatar film were in theaters (and an average movie ticket cost $7.50)

∙ Michael Jackson died at the age of 50

∙ Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift during her VMA acceptance speech

∙ The Jersey Shore premiered on MTV

∙ The WHO declared the Swine Flu (H1N1) as a global pandemic

It was on their first day of middle school — amongst the chaos of making sure your hair was perfect, worrying what other people thought about your “first day fit” and, most importantly, investing your energy in making the “right” new friends — that Andrew met Christina in Ms. Dinella’s study hall. The stars would align that day, but it would take one stupid, egotistical mistake for the sparks to fly…

A few weeks into the school year, Andrew and Christina would get into their first argument. Christina told him that he was getting on the wrong after-school bus, but Andrew was convinced he was right (nothing has changed). Once the bus driver confirmed that Christina was indeed correct, and after Andrew ran off the bus to catch the right one, a simple text from Christina would not only mark the beginning of their friendship, but it would also set the tone for what their relationship would be: “I told you so!” she wrote. She had asked a friend on the bus for Andrew’s number just to rub it in — the kids these days would say that she “slid into his DMs”. That confidence, playfulness, and determination is what hooked Andrew, but it would be Christina’s thoughtfulness and genuine care for him that would convince Andrew to ask Christina the six most important words of their lives.

The two continued to develop their friendship throughout the sixth and seventh grades — learning what made each other feel happy… and sad, excited… and disappointed, loved… and alone. At first, they had an unspoken feeling for each other that went beyond their friendship. For example, in true twelve year old fashion, Andrew used to tell Christina she was “beautiful” to get a piece of looseleaf paper in Mr. Hayden’s history class (fun fact: this is where Andrew’s nickname for Christina comes from). Do you do that with your friends? When Andrew missed class the following year for a band lesson, Christina typed out 12 pages of notes on her flip phone, so that he could prepare for Mr. Vetrano’s history exam (so much “history” between these two). Do you do that for just any friend? All of this effort, yet there never seemed to be the right opportunity for either of them to take that crucial next step.

Despite this, the game of cat and mouse would come to an end in Summer 2011, when Andrew finally gained the courage to vocalize his feelings to Christina, and summarized them using three simple words: “I love you”. And after a summer of learning even more about each other and their relationship, Andrew did not waste any time when they returned to school. It was on the third day of eighth grade, outside of the afternoon busses where it all began, that Andrew slipped a heart shaped necklace around Christina’s neck and asked her those life altering six words: “Will you go out with me?”

The two continued to grow up with each other — from middle school graduation to high school graduation, experiencing so many “first times” and creating even more “remember when’s” together. It’s surreal to take a step back sometimes to recall some of those moments: like “remember when we were under the Mexico sun doing water-aerobics in the resort pool, without a worry in the world?” Or how about “remember when we turned off the GPS and drove for hours chasing the sunset around all of Bear Mountain?” These memories would eventually become hallmarks in Christina and Andrew’s relationship forever, but the two would have to get there first — to their forever.

And how does one get to something intangible and seemingly fictitious like “forever and always” you may ask? The answer is not simple, but rather hard (extremely hard they may add): it took them enduring and making it through seven years of long distance, together.

To this day, when someone asks the couple how they accomplished what everyone thought would never happen, they still don’t quite know. Sporadic visits throughout the school year, and long distance date nights certainly helped. They became pros at hitting play and pause to start a Netflix movie at the same exact time, and the local Domino’s delivery driver in Ithaca, NY certainly came to know Christina on a first name basis from all of the times Andrew would send her dinner at the library, where she sat and studied for days on end. And in December 2018, after Christina was gone for 18 weeks on her study abroad trip, many people were surprised that the two were able to pick up right where they left off… but they weren’t all that surprised. When you love someone that much, for that long, you realize early on that they are your life partner and that you are theirs — and there’s no amount of time or distance that could come in-between a love like that.

After the couple graduated undergrad in May 2020, they did something that seemed incredibly scary at the time: they signed up for three more years of long distance. Andrew took a finance job in Raleigh, North Carolina and Christina remained at Cornell as a doctorate student in their College of Veterinary Medicine. Andrew’s move to Raleigh delivered a sense of permanence to the long distance that was absent during their years at university — Andrew balancing a full time job and Christina balancing being a full time student with a long distance relationship would be the last true test that the two would have to pass before they could enter the next phase of their relationship…

But who has the time to take a three year test? Not Andrew. His mentality was that if he waited too long for the perfect moment to do something, the perfect moment would pass him by. And it was this mentality in February 2021, the day before his birthday, that would lead Andrew to make one of the biggest decisions he’d ever make in his life: he was going to ask Christina to marry him, and he was going to do it in her favorite place in the world.

In April 2021, the couple was at Dolphin Run #445 in Hatteras, NC — the exact house that Christina’s family had been renting for 17 years. Christina hadn’t been back to the house, or even to Hatteras, in over 5 years, and was now sharing it with Andrew for the first time. It was an unforgettable and special time in Hatters Village for many reasons, but most importantly because the two were creating new memories together as partners in a place that was at one time only known by and important to Christina. Remember the power of “remember when’s” we were talking about earlier? Here’s the most powerful one of them all, something that Christina and Andrew still say to each other to this day: “remember when we went to Hatteras and got engaged?”

On April 15, 2021, Andrew got down on one knee on the beach in front of the Dolphin Run house and asked Christina if she would marry him. He swears the image of Christina’s smile and the way she violently shook her head yes will be engrained in his memories forever. And, as if the excitement of getting engaged wasn’t enough, after their “Notebook”-esque engagement photo shoot, the couple had their closest friends and family welcome them back into the Dolphin Run house, where they all laughed, danced, and drank the night away. This was truly one of the happiest days of their lives, and they can instantly be transported back to that night with two simple words: “remember when…?”

Since that wonderful day in Spring 2021, Christina and Andrew have been making the most out of their long distance engagement. Still conducting long distance date nights, late night FaceTime calls, and long drives to see each other. Recently, Andrew moved back to Westchester County, where the two purchased their first home together and have begun to set up their forever. They are looking forward to Christina’s graduation in May, when the long distance journey will come to an end and they can finally grow together in-person. And, even more than that, Christina and Andrew are looking forward to April 26, 2024 — when their forever will officially begin.

A message from the bride and groom:

We appreciate each one of you following along on our path to forever. Some of you have been there since the beginning, and some of you have entered our lives more recently. Either way, you are a part of our journey, and we cannot wait for you to join us on the day that we officially begin our forever.

See you the week of April 21, 2024 in Corolla, North Carolina — the last part of our journey to forever.

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