Saint Elizabeth Seton Church

Wedding Day

Wedding

The Lake House Catering

Reception

Our Wedding

They were freshmen when Chase spotted Kristin from across the infamous freshman dining hall of Union College. She was heading to join her field hockey team for lunch. It was at this moment that he realized what all of those movies meant by finding love at first sight. “She is the one,” he quietly thought to himself while eating lunch surrounded by friends from his football team.&nbsp; Would Chase go over and introduce himself like a true gentleman? Of course not -- he would much rather avoid the potentially awkward situation and wait for another opportunity.

Months later, on a Friday night, Chase and his teammates made their way over to a friends dorm room to begin a long night of “studying” before heading to the fraternity parties. He entered the room of blaring music and BOOM! There she was. After peeling his jaw off from the floor, Chase immediately seized the opportunity to challenge Kristin and her friends to a game of beer pong. They graciously accepted his generous invitation and to this day the true winner of the game is still up for debate. 







The next day was the first warm day of spring and coincidentally the first spring party in the quad. Out of hundreds of students wearing tank tops and sunglasses, Chase was quick to spot Kristin.&nbsp; After a few more genius pick-up lines he worked up the courage to ask for her number. It wasn’t long before they went on their first dinner date at Apertivo.&nbsp;

The rest is history.

How We Met

After months of strategic and secretive planning, Chase popped the question on the evening of June 16th, 2017 at the Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport, RI. The cover story was a celebratory birthday weekend for Kristin, but Chase clearly had something else in mind. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day, but luckily the clouds disappeared for a brief one-hour window during the time Chase had planned to drop down on one knee. Kristin was completely surprised, but was even more shocked when both families from Florida and Connecticut came running up with champagne! They capped off the perfect day with a big family dinner at The Black Pearl&hellip; what a memory!!!

The Proposal

Our Story

Things to Do around Connecticut

Mystic Aquarium & Seaport

Mystic Aquarium has both indoor and
 outdoor exhibits with thousands of creatures from New England's only 
beluga whales to the endangered African penguin, rescued seals to 
colorful fish and more. (<a href="http://www.mysticaquarium.org">www.mysticaquarium.org</a>)

Also check out Mystic Seaport: The museum of America and the Sea, the largest maritime museum in the United States.&nbsp;(&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.mysticseaport.org/visit/">https://www.mysticseaport.org/...</a> )

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casinos

Mohegan Sun Casino ( <a href="https://mohegansun.com/">https://mohegansun.com/</a>)

Foxwoods Resort Casino (<a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.foxwoods.com/default.aspx">https://www.foxwoods.com/defau...</a>)

Boston, MA

Boston is a 1.5 hour drive from Hartford and is our favorite city to visit! We highly recommend spending a day in the city if you are from out of state.

Newport, RI

Newport is where we got engaged! It is a 1.5 hour drive from Hartford and a beautiful place to visit in the fall with plenty of boutique shops and restaurants.&nbsp; Be sure to check out the Cliff Walk and visit the Newport Mansions.&nbsp;

New York City, NY

For our out of state guests interested in visiting NYC: Manhattan is&nbsp;2 hours from Hartford and easily accessed by the Metro North train out of New Haven. Spend a day exploring the city that Chase works in!

Details

Photos

As an older brother, Hunter   was always a role model for Chase growing up. It all started at a young age, when Hunter would sit on the stairs in the hallway and wait for Chase to fall asleep on nights their parents were out to dinner. Chase also has many memories of Hunter sticking up for Chase when his friends wanted to pick on his younger brother. What really brought them close was when Hunter began playing the guitar in his early years of high school. Chase was inspired, and decided to follow in his footsteps. After many late night jam sessions, Hunter and Chase developed a deep love for music together. Although they have  pursued different paths in separate states, they will always hold on to that strong brotherly love. 

Hunter Richey

Side by side or miles apart, sisters will always be connected by heart.&nbsp; Friends from the beginning, Kristin has always looked up to her older sister Sarah.&nbsp; From playing field hockey together in high school, to late night tutoring sessions in college (yes, Sarah is the smart one!), Sarah has always pushed Kristin to work hard in all aspects of life. Although she set high expectations to live up to, Sarah always reminded her that it is important to laugh and enjoy life (aka, eat endless amounts of Reese's peanut butter cups when you’re stressed).

Sarah O'Connor

Nick and Chase met in 2009 while playing football together at Union College. Although they were both recruited as competing quarterbacks, it was not long before Chase changed his position to wide receiver... and a friendship was now possible. In the spring of their junior year, Nick and Chase decided to live together when they studied in Italy for a trimester. When Chase lost his father, Nick was his family away from home and helped Chase through the toughest phase of his life.  Shortly after graduation, they decided to continue the bromance in Boston. After two years of living together, Nick and Chase moved to separate states,&nbsp;though not without dedicating one night a week as a "bro night" through Skype where they would drink beers and catch up.&nbsp;

Nick Hayes

Taylor and Kristin met on the first day of 7th grade at Corpus Christi School. It wasn’t long before they became best friends, tackling the awkward teenage years together, matching their jean skirt outfits, and getting in trouble for chatting during class. They quickly became part of each other’s families where they joined as the third child during vacations and holiday parties.&nbsp; After 15 years, their favorite place to hangout, along with Darlene and Lauren, is still around the Funaro’s kitchen island (as long as there are fresh ricotta cookies!).

Taylor Funaro

Jared and Chase met in sixth grade in math class and on the basketball team, but did not actually have a full conversation until seventh grade at a mutual friend's birthday party. Chase noticed that Jared was playing "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath on guitar and immediately knew a friendship was in the making. Once Jared learned that one of Chase's passions was also the guitar, the two immediately set up a formal jam session as Jared's house. Jared's father listened for a few minutes, and then generously offered to buy them another massive amplifier and a drum set so that they could play together (as long as they picked 100 oranges off the tree in the backyard). One hundred oranges later, they finally had a set-up in the garage where they jammed every weekend for years. This was only the beginning of a lifelong friendship that Chase will cherish forever.

Jared Hara

Beth and Kristin were paired to be roommates during their first field hockey preseason in 2009. They instantly became known as “The Girls who are Friends” and stuck by each other’s sides throughout college (from studying in the library, meeting up to eat buff chick wraps at Reamer, traveling to Ireland together, to dressing up and trekking across campus in high heels to the frat parties). An exciting highlight of their friendship was when their pictures were featured on the Union Athletics website after assisting and scoring the game winning goal in overtime against Rochester together.

Bethany Crowe

Chase and Baylor have been super close friends for 15 years. Many of their earliest memories go back to the middle school basketball days, where they actually had a play called "The Flying Tree" - because Chase's hair flipped out on the sides like wings, and Baylor was tall with puffy curly hair. Real clever - but the play worked and Baylor never missed a shot! These two goofy kids went to basketball camps together, took beach trips with the families, attended high school parties together, and even went to Wisconsin for a week-long vacation.&nbsp;When Chase books a  flight back to Orlando, Baylor is always the first phone call.&nbsp;

Baylor Johnson

Darlene and Kristin met as freshman in high school. They played on the Lacrosse team together and Kristin was always amazed by Darlene’s stick skills. While in high school they loved going to First and Last to visit her boyfriend Paul (but really because they loved their focaccia bread and mac n cheese).&nbsp; Darlene moved to Idaho for a few years, but distance didn’t keep them from staying close friends. They continued to meet up when she was home for the holidays. Luckily, Darlene has recently returned to CT, which has allowed them to pick right back up where they left off!&nbsp; 

Darlene Vadasz

Lauren and Kristin also met as freshman in high school. &nbsp;Lauren was an all-star Volleyball player while Kristin was on the field hockey team, but this didn’t stop them from becoming friends. They always have a blast when they are together. Kristin’s fondest memories include visiting each other in college, hanging out at the Yoia annual pool party, and many trips to the beach. Although she is currently living in Virginia, Lauren always finds time to visit Connecticut with her dog Sam, and it feels like she never moved away.

Lauren Yoia

Chase and Parker were football teammates, fraternity brothers, and senior year roommates in college. Needless to say, they shared a lot of time together throughout their 4 years. Some of Chase's favorite memories from college include Parker's notorious rants about how "average" he is at everything (i.e., football, school, talking to girls, etc). The best part is that he is now a lawyer at one of the top law firms in Boston - which doesn't really fall within my definition of "average".&nbsp;

Parker Niles

As football teammates and fraternity brothers in college, Harrison and Chase quickly developed a close friendship. At the end of their junior year, Chase flew back to Boston from his term abroad and immediately moved in with Harrison and his grandmother for the summer. They both had internships in the heart of Boston and commuted together everyday. Although that summer was packed with many fun memories, Chase took some weekends to go visit Kristin in CT and will always be appreciative of Harrison's understanding and support! Six years later, Harrison still remains one of Chase's closest friends. 

Harrison Kim

This New York City fashionista has been helping Kristin improve her style since freshman year of college. Alexa and Kristin always have fun shopping, getting pedicures, eating cupcakes and drinking margaritas together. In college, they were housemates and sorority sisters, which equated to plenty of cherished memories. Luckily, they currently live 10 minutes away from each other so they continue their girly traditions (and Kristin can shop in Alexa’s closet).

Alexa Campbell

Sam and Chase met on the first day of preseason football camp going into their first year of college. Chase, who didn't know a single person yet, was walking down the stairs of the dorm when he heard someone say, "heyyy, what's up dude?!!" in the most genuine voice you could imagine. Sam introduced himself and made Chase feel like they had been best friends who hadn't seen each other in years. Since Sam was a defensive back and Chase was a wide receiver, they became EXTREMELY competitive in practice - lots of trash talk. Sam and Chase have one of those unique relationships that you know will last forever.&nbsp;

Sam Goldman

Together, Kara and Kristin helped each other manage the grueling hours of PA school.&nbsp; They immediately bonded over similar interests, such as shopping, their love for Boston, and how similar their boyfriends were (both working in finance). &nbsp;When they meet up in Boston, they typically lose track of time and manage to walk through the city for hours talking and laughing. It was clear from the beginning of PA school that they would be life long friends.

Kara Donati

Wedding Party

Registry

Q + A

We have reserved a block of rooms at the Hartford Marriott Downtown for
 a special rate. Please ask for the O'Connor/Richey room block 
when booking your room for our wedding. &nbsp;You can also click "Visit Website" below to book online. &nbsp;Please book before September 1, 2018 to receive our discount. 

Transportation will be provided to and from the reception for guests staying with us at this hotel. Upon check-in, please inquire about timing and location of the shuttle bus.&nbsp;After we return from the reception, the celebration will continue at the "L Bar" in the hotel lobby!

Hartford Marriott Downtown

Bradley Airport is a 20 minute drive from Hartford Marriott Downtown and 30 minutes from Saint Elizabeth Seton Church.

Bradley International Airport

Travel

For those who live out of state, we highly recommend visiting Lyman Orchards, a favorite fall activity of the bride and groom. Here you can pick your own apples and pumpkins, get lost in the corn maze, and try delicious crisp apple cider, warm cider donuts, and best pies around!

Lyman Orchards

Head downtown to West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square for shopping and dining.

West Hartford

Enjoy the beautiful fall foliage while exploring the incredible wineries and vineyards that CT has to offer!

Kristin & Chase