Chris and Shannon's love story began in the summer of 2015 when they met while attending Skate and Surf Festival in Asbury Park. Chris was there to see his favorite band at the time, The Front Bottoms. Shannon was there to see everyone but her least favorite band, The Front Bottoms.

They first interacted during day two of the fest, where Shannon asked Chris “why do you look so familiar?” The reason was probably because they were in the same group all weekend, just with one degree of separation: Shannon was with her hometown friends, including her maid of honor, Emily, and Chris was with his college friends, which included Emily’s then-boyfriend and soon-to-be-husband, Kevin. The two briefly chatted throughout The Gaslight Anthem’s set, and things kicked off from there. A few days later, Chris asked Kevin something along the lines of, “Who was that blonde chick? What's her story?"

After weeks of non-stop texting and a few beach hangs with their friends, Shannon and Chris went on their first solo date: dollar pizza on St. Marks Place, followed by an acoustic Tigers Jaw show at Le Poisson Rouge. What they didn’t realize was it was a dinner show with reserved tables, and they were one of the few who bought standing room tickets. This actually worked out for the better, because they were able to bond throughout the show instead of sitting silently with a group of random people. The night was a success, and it didn’t take much longer until the two decided to make things official!

Shannon and Chris have experienced many different stages of their relationship within the nearly 10 years they’ve been together: from originally living 65 miles apart, to going to colleges in separate states, to graduating and starting careers in New York City, to a pandemic that cut that all short, to the present. They now reside together in Cranford: a hidden gem of a town with a lively atmosphere, and a perfect middle ground to each other’s hometowns.

The two enjoy sharing their love for music, going for walks around the neighborhood to investigate all of the suburban drama, watching reality TV, and embarking on the occasional trip to one of the USA’s many national parks.

They are excited to celebrate 10 years together by making it officially official – and no better date to do it than 10/10!