Hang on everyone…this is not a short story! There is a lot to recap over our 10 plus years together.

James and Alexa met in 2008 in Mrs. Dulsky’s 7th grade Algebra class at Unami Middle School. It was not quite love at first sight. In fact, James found Alexa and her friend (now bridesmaid) Sarah Lynch’s constant chatter during class to be slightly annoying. As James and Alexa shared more classes together, they bonded and competed over their schoolwork and athletics. While Alexa played soccer in middle school, she ended up joining the track team to spend more time with her bridesmaid, Kaitlin Poeisz. Meanwhile, James had been following in his siblings’ Steve and Emily’s footsteps and had been running track and field since 7th grade. James and Alexa started to see more and more of each other, and by 2014, their senior year of high school, James and Alexa were spending hours hanging out before and after track practice.

In the spring of 2014, James asked Alexa to Senior Prom and they continued to make memories throughout the spring and summer. They even got to see James’ favorite band at the time, Cage the Elephant, live on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland during Senior Week – a memory they will never forget!

College came and James and Alexa competed in track and field at rival schools in the Lehigh Valley – Lafayette College and Lehigh University. The 20-minute drive was well worth it to take a break from the struggle of academics and Division 1 athletics. Although they had their ups and downs during college, they came out of school stronger than ever.

In 2018, James graduated from Lehigh University and started his career as a process engineer at W. L. Gore in Maryland. Alexa graduated from Lafayette College and started Physician Assistant’s school at PCOM in Philadelphia. They spent their Saturday nights at the Oyster House in Wilmington, DE (with the best man, Luke DiGangi and his fiancé Allie Lane!) and cherished Sunday mornings in Mommom’s kitchen in Bryn Mawr, PA. In 2020, they moved home and spent days on end with family in lockdown, making some of their favorite family memories despite the circumstances.

In 2021, James and Alexa finally moved in together in their favorite neighborhood: Queen Village, Philadelphia. They found their groove of working, running, cooking dinner, and watching Jeopardy during the week, then spending time bar-hopping and exploring the city with friends and family on the weekend. In 2023, James and Alexa moved in with the Kwapinski’s to save a bit of money for a house. That same summer, despite having COVID, James surprised Alexa and proposed in one of their favorite and most special places, Sea Isle City. The proposal was quite literally a dream with a beautiful set up on the beach (thanks Julia!), professional photos (thanks Ben!), a stunning ring (woohoo James!), followed by a socially distant pizza party with immediate family and close friends.

A few months later, in October of 2023, James and Alexa bought their first home together… and it is a special one. They bought Alexa’s Mommom’s house in Bryn Mawr. Throughout the last year and a half, one project at a time, they have continued to make the house their own, while preserving the memory of Mommom Kwapinski.

Today, James and Alexa are busy working hard at their jobs, on the house, and planning their wedding! If you made it this far, you are a real one. We hope our story will help you feel the love even more on our big day. We can’t wait to spend it with you!

J&A

Wedding Day

Reception