Written by the Groom-to-be

Our story begins long before we started dating back in 2021. It started at Medford Elementary School back in 1963. That’s where two young boys, Chris and John, (otherwise known as Chico) met in their Kindergarten class and started a friendship that would last a lifetime.

Our fathers have been best friends for over half a century -- from young classmates to teenage teammates, to partners out and about in Patchogue and guys trips from coast to coast. (Sorry to age you fellas!!)

Although, I have to say, I don’t believe a young Chico and Chris would ever believe they would come to find out their children would be sneaking around New York City together.

When I saw Paige for the first time in New York City after not seeing her for years back in June 2021, I fell in love in about 28 seconds. I never believed in that old saying “love at first sight”, but Paige Meyer made me a believer.

After a night out on the town and having my pickup game being overshadowed by some old sweaty guy dancing at the Mean Fiddler, I traveled back to DC telling myself, “Boy, I’m in trouble”.

So, naturally, I decided to deal with the consequences and see where things would go. Little did I know it was the best decision I could have ever made.

For the first month that Paige and I are dating, we didn’t want to tell a soul. We kept it a secret just to see if Paige could deal with my bravado. She succeeded. But woah, you wouldn’t believe how fast words travel on Long Island!

Of course, Paige had a checklist of things for her ideal man. (The list was about 37 different attributes…. Talk about an uphill battle for me). A few weeks went by, and we both decided to come clean and tell our families we were seeing each other. I told my father this was the woman I was going to marry and spend the rest of my life with.

Fast-forward to December 9th, 2023. It was a night Paige and I will never forget. It was actually the greatest night of my life. (So far, let’s just wait till the wedding, it’s going to be a blast!!) We got engaged at the very restaurant where we had our first date, American Brass in Long Island City overlooking the NYC Skyline. Paige and I celebrated with our closest friends and family. From what I’m told, the evening was fantastic…

Our story isn’t your typical love story, it’s more of a Hallmark movie, minus really bad acting and writing. It’s a story of two families who have been loyal, loving, and caring for one another for over fifty years. Now, it is our turn to continue that story for the rest of our lives!

Registry