This story starts with two college grads who moved to New York in the Fall of 2013. Their conjoined circles of friends from Cornell and Duke, introduced through mutual buddies Michael Dezube and Hannah Sieber -- came together to form a band they presumptuously named the "Supper Club". It became a vibrant dinner club for our gang of young consultants and techies, and a good amount of libations and great conversations were had.

Lily and Gleb met a dinner party a Mike's apartment, the inaugural supper club -- and Lily distinctly remembers a guy with a strange name who showed up with a head of kale as his potluck contribution. Gleb was unavailable at the time, but they became friends and their paths crossed again 1.5 years later, when he was no longer dating anyone. Gleb proposed the two go running together on the Chelsea waterfront near Lilz apartment, using a 10K charity race as a ruse to spend more time with her.

What started out as a friendship among workout buddies grew to something more. When Lily's Blue Devils won the NCAA tournament in 2015, Gleb politely declined an invite to an afterparty with Zach and other members of the suppercrew, and instead opted to walk Lily back to her West Village apartment. And there he mustered up the courage to give her a first kiss, on a stoop outside her apartment on the beautiful corner of Bank St. and Greenwich Ave. <3

Lilz and Gleb always found happiness in exercising and hosting their friends together. Gleb was a speedy and safe driver to local area ski mountains, and Lilz could kick up a mean spatchcocked chicken and cocktail party playlist to entertain guests in her cozy West Village apartment. The Supper Crew visited Cornell Homecoming and Gleb attended a very fun 5-Year Reunion at Duke. The Gleb and Lilz were just starting out, but everyone said they looked preeeetty happy together from the start :)

Our favorite NYC Spring or Fall activity was the grass nearby the Chelsea Piers. Some sunshine, a Megaboom speaker, and some tasty snacks were the outdoor reincarnation of the Supper Club in 2017. And we reckon it will continue to be a gathering place for us and our friends forever.

Lilz and Gleb went to a number of weddings together, and took the chance to travel the world in the few weeks we had off amidst work. Our adventures took us to Japan, France, the UK, Portugal, and Slovenia, to name a few. And we loved being foodies and nerdy tourists in different parts of the globe. We took our NYC-founded love for going out and trying new things to off-the-beaten-path experiences in the USA (Milwaukee lol) and abroad)

And one day in 2017, when Lily's lease was up on Bank St. we decided to move in together :) To Lily's parents, we said this was just a temporary, trial-run arrangement -- but deep inside, we knew we wanted to spend all our time together.

After being friends for four years and dating for two, moving in together wasn't too stressful! We were both relatively tidy and comfortable with packing up all our belongings neatly to hit the consulting road. So we ended up making pretty good roommates -- even when Lily's parents foisted their 17-year old childhood kitten Ellie on us. Dealing with a litter box in a tiny apartment quickly taught the couple how to manage chores and shared responsibilities, and they always approached any disagreements with calmness and compassion.

When Ellie suddenly passed while Lily and Gleb were on a ski trip, they were devastated. But a few months later, they found a new furryball friend to adopt - and Timo entered their lives. The 6-month old kitten was the perfect addition to our lives.

On a chilly Friday in March, Lily and Gleb were finishing up a day of working from home in Montclair, NJ - in Lily's childhood home - where they had relocated to from New York due to the pandemic. The winter was winding down and the days were getting longer, leading to some phenomenal sunsets sprawling across the sky. Gleb used this as a pretext to get Lily to join him for a ride up to Eagle Rock Reservation, and they drove up to see the stunning views of the Manhattan skyline.

Here at the highest point in Lily's hometown, Gleb got on his knee and held back his extreme nervousness to pop the most important question of his life :) and she said yes! Yes to a lifetime of laughter, embracing of the awkwardness that the universe has to offer, and adventures around the world for the young supperclub and workout buddies brought together by love, friends and family. <3