Lydia and James met in Zurich, Switzerland while she was a graduate student in geology and he was a postdoc in chemistry. Their first date was at a cafe-bar called Kafischnaps, where Lydia tried to show James the value of chocolate cake, followed quickly by a second date at The International Beer bar, where James successfully demonstrated the importance of quality craft beer. A year later, while drinking coffee on James' balcony they decided to move to the United States so that Lydia could pursue her PhD and James could live closer to his family. Not knowing how large the U.S. is, Lydia chose Arizona.

As a great European farewell, Lydia and James spent almost 3 months backpacking through Spain, then Greece, hitchhiking and busing their way to Poland. It was somewhere around Albania that James knew he had found the perfect travel companion and life partner.

Being dramatic, he wanted to make sure he created the perfect moment
to propose, so he waited another year and a half before asking Lydia-
atop an active volcano in Costa Rica.

We want to give everyone the opportunity to celebrate with us while still being mindful of the carbon footprint of our wedding. Since we grew up in different countries and met in a third, we've gathered close friends all over the world and wanted to make sure we could get as many of you involved as possible. The best way to do that was to host 3 separate events (the wedding in Connecticut, the blessing in Preston, and the low-key party in Tucson).

Your invitation will reflect our best attempt to match you with the nearest reception, but you're welcome to come to any of the events (including multiple, if you'd like)!