rehearsal dinner 

Bedford Village Inn

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

Our story began at Hayward, where he was the new guy with a "no dating at work" policy, and she was the shy girl in the lab who tested his code (and found a bug or two!). Despite some initial missed connections and a healthy dose of social anxiety, we found ourselves drawn to each other through a shared love of video games. Fate intervened with a timely dating app encounter and a paddleboarding adventure. Later, a coworker needing a cat sitter gave him the perfect excuse to visit her in Rhode Island. We navigated a long-distance relationship, a chaotic move-in experience (complete with a COVID surprise!), and the addition of a mischievous puppy named Sudo to his growing family—which already included his two cats, Freyja and Marceline. His April Fools' Day proposal was so unexpected that he ended up proposing twice just to be sure she knew he was serious! Through it all, we've found that our romance, with its lucky breaks and near misses, has a rom-com quality that makes us laugh and appreciate the journey that led us to each other.

Our Story

It all started when I finally flew the coop and moved out of my parents' house. I landed a job at Hayward, and during my first interview, my eyes locked on a cute, dark-haired girl in the lab. She seemed shy, and I was instantly smitten. But there was a catch – I had a strict "no dating at work" policy. Of course, fate had other plans. We ended up working closely together. She was responsible for testing the features I coded, and, well, let's just say she had a knack for finding bugs. (Hey, it comes with the territory in software development!) Even though romance wasn't in the cards at that point, we had some great conversations, bonding over our shared love of video games. A couple of times, I tried to break the ice and invited her out with friends, but she never showed. Fast forward to February 2020. I accepted a new job, and with my departure looming, I was determined to finally ask her out. But it seemed like the universe was conspiring against me. I heard through the grapevine that someone had sent her flowers at work. Not wanting to interfere, I ended up leaving without even saying goodbye. Then, out of the blue, I received a text with a screenshot of my online dating profile. "Is this you, or is it a catfish?" it read. I knew immediately that whoever sent it knew me, but I had absolutely no clue who they were. We started chatting, and in June 2021, I invited them to join me and some friends for a day of paddleboarding. The entire time, I was racking my brain, trying to figure out who I was talking to. Finally, they showed up... and it was her! All those missed connections, and here she was. We had an amazing day on the water, followed by dinner and even more conversation. There was just one problem: I was living in Massachusetts, and she was in Rhode Island. But when a co-worker needed a cat sitter, I saw an opportunity. I told her about it, and suddenly, I was making the hour-long commute to Rhode Island almost every night. One evening, we went to see "The Hitman's Bodyguard's Wife," and I spent the entire movie trying to work up the courage to kiss her. When I finally did, she seemed genuinely shocked. Later, she confessed that it was her first kiss. Eventually, we started talking about moving in together. I helped her find a job closer to me, and before long, she was moving in. Of course, in true comedic fashion, we both came down with COVID the day after she arrived. (I still blame her family!) We spent our first two weeks together sick, miserable, and with a nearly empty fridge. Not exactly the romantic start we had envisioned! But things got better. The following February, I took her to see the ice castles in New Hampshire. As we were walking, she pulled me aside, acting incredibly nervous. My first thought was, "Is she going to propose? It's too soon!" Then I saw the sparkle of a bracelet in her hand. "Pinky promise," the card read, "I promise to wear this and to remember how lucky I am to have you." We were settling into our life together, but she often talked about how much she missed her childhood dog. A few days before my birthday, I decided to surprise her. We went to pick out a puppy, and Sudo became the newest member of our family. We thought we were so clever, naming him "Sudo" after the Linux command. Little did we know his superuser permissions extended far beyond the computer! He's been a source of both chaos and joy (sometimes in equal measure), but most importantly, he's brought us even closer When it came time to propose, I had no grand plan, just the ring. It was April 1st, 2024. We had just returned from a trip and needed to pick up Sudo from daycare. "Want to come with me?" I asked. She said yes, but took forever to get ready. Impatient, I went to get Sudo myself. When I got back, I let him outside and asked her again if she wanted to come with me to "pick him up." She practically sprinted to the car, completely missing Sudo at the back door! "Where are you going?" I asked, letting Sudo into the garage. "April Fools!" Later that day, I took her to dinner in Manchester, then to a local park. As we were walking back, we passed a statue of Ralph Baer, the "father of modern video games," with a plaque that read, "Follow your gut and instincts, because you won't be happy if you don't." Using the oldest trick in the book, I pretended to tie my shoe (it wasn't untied) and got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" I asked. She said yes! But then I panicked. It was April Fools' Day, and the whole thing might have seemed like a cruel joke. So, the next morning, I "stole" her ring before she could put it on and asked her to marry me again, just to be sure.

His Story

Sometimes, our romance feels like a rom-com to me. There were times when we were incredibly lucky and times when we weren't. I don't think I minded; it was fun and brought us together in the end. We first met at Hayward. I had been working there for a couple of years before Tom joined the company. My first impression of him? He was cute, and that was the end of that. At that time, I thought he had a girlfriend, so nothing really happened. We worked together—meaning I got him in trouble by doing my job testing his code—and sometimes we talked about possibly hanging out outside of work. That never happened, though. My social anxiety would never let that happen. However, he was someone easy to talk to. I felt a little sad hearing that he quit for work elsewhere. His last day at Hayward was in February 2020, a month before the COVID lockdown started. A year had passed in lockdown by the time we next interacted. While I didn't mind the lockdown too much, a year was a long time. I was going stir-crazy. At that time, my mom kept pushing me to look for a boyfriend. My siblings had someone, why didn't I? She was insistent until I showed her that I signed up for a dating app. The app of choice: Coffee Meets Bagel. It was to appease her, and I had no intentions of actually speaking to a stranger. It was by chance that I passed by Tom's profile. It sparked memories that he had asked me to hang out with his friends before. I had his number, I briefly thought, and dug out my phone. It was a miracle that I hadn't deleted it at this point. With an excuse to make things less awkward, I reached out with a screenshot of his photo. "Is this you, or is this a catfish?" I admit, I'm a little bit oblivious. I had been hopeful that I could make a friend at the very least, or maybe something more to get me out of the house. I didn't know when it started, when we started actually dating. I told my mother the hangouts I had with Tom were dates to get her off my back, and with Tom, I didn't want to push anything, so I don't think I mentioned dating. The thing that made me finally realize we were dating was when he kissed me after we went out to the movies. He lived in Massachusetts at the time, and I was just crazy enough to drive up to see him every other week. The long distance was taxing on both of us. After a couple of months, we discussed moving in together. At the time, I was not happy at my job, so I was given a goal: we could move in together if I got a job in Massachusetts. It took a while. I dragged my feet applying to other places, and the interviews had me panicking. He was right there, though, trying hard to cheer me on the whole way. Finally, I got a job, and we started looking for a place. Tom moved in first. I had a family trip planned to visit my younger sister in South Carolina. Still tired after the plane ride, I pushed myself to gather all my belongings that I had packed before the trip. Excited about finally moving in together, I moved my things in the very day that I got back. Only when I finally stopped did the trip catch up to me. In the middle of the night, I had a fever. Then in the morning, my siblings started mentioning that they had COVID. I wasn't an exception…neither was Tom. Our first two weeks in our new place were spent sick. We had no energy and no food since we hadn't even had time to fill our fridge. He still hasn't forgiven my family for getting sick. We…no, I didn't plan on getting Sudo. It was true that I missed Tucker, my family's German Shepherd, greatly. He was my encouragement to wake up every day when I felt down from the lockdown. Tom had joked about looking around for a dog. We were just looking, we said, when we stumbled upon Sudo. He was too big to be sold, and no one wanted him, they said. However, he stole our hearts away when we saw him. I immediately regretted it the next day. The first full day that we had Sudo, Tom had to go into the office for work. I was at a loss as to what to do with him. I still had to work and figure out how to keep an eye on Sudo while he was getting used to our place. I failed to notice when he needed to go, so he had a few accidents inside. I was out of my mind by the time Tom got home. Maybe this was a mistake was a thought we had so many times as we were raising Sudo. He's an angel now, but he wasn't always one. I'm still glad we got him. It was tough, but it made our bond grow stronger. We were pushed to the edge of our comfort zones. However, I saw how well Tom handled Sudo and found myself thinking, "Yes, this is the one." We talked about marriage before the proposal happened. Tom kept hinting about going out together and looking at rings. I made little hints about my ring size. The proposal still caught me by surprise. We went out for dinner on April 1st and then decided to take a walk along the Merrimack River in Arms Park. It had rained recently. The river was rushing by quickly, and the skies were gray. We saw the mural for "The Father of Video Games," Ralph Baer. Since we both worked with technology, the title caught our attention. There was a statue on a bench and a plaque that mentioned something along the lines of "follow your dreams, or you won't be happy." I don't know what I was thinking, but I paused by the plaque and asked Tom to take a picture of me with it. As I stood up, he suddenly mentioned his shoes were untied. They weren't. I had taken a few steps away, thinking that it was a prank, when he pulled out the ring in a wooden box. My first thought was that this was a prank. We had been pranking each other with little things all day. My second was that there was no way that the ring was real. I sputtered in shock before my brain got itself together and said yes. It was really thoughtful. It was adorable—the cute wooden box with a space theme on it, and how awkward he had been getting down on one knee. The morning after, he stole away the ring and got down on one knee again, just to make sure I knew it wasn't a joke. It wasn't.

Her Story

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Moments Prior

Photos

Tena Vo

Ben Tomo Okeya

Jackie Carr

John Domanski

Danielle Morrin

Marielle Le'Floch

Morgan Burt

Jeff Minck

Crystal Hunt

Josh Berse

Christine Hill

Sudo

Amaiya Carr

Wedding Party

&nbsp;This is where it gets interesting! New Hampshire is famous for having no general sales tax on most everyday items. Think clothes, groceries, electronics – you won't see that extra charge at the register.&nbsp; However, there are a few exceptions where you will encounter taxes:Dining out: Restaurants and takeout have an 8.5% Meals and Rooms Tax.&nbsp;Staying overnight: That same 8.5% tax applies to hotels and short-term rentals.Renting a car: A 9% tax is added to your rental bill.Phone and internet: These services have a 7% tax.So, while you can shop 'til you drop without sales tax worries, keep those exceptions in mind when planning your trip or budgeting!

Does New Hampshire have sales tax?

Q + A

We recommend this one. Its 3.4 miles to the venue. Just off the I-293/Everett Turnpike split, five miles from SNHU Arena in downtown Manchester. It's 10 minutes to the Mall of New Hampshire and six miles to Saint Anselm College. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is four miles away. Enjoy our pool, free hot breakfast, and free WiFi. There is a taxi service which will pick up and drop off to the Manchester Airport and also a shuttle service to the venue.

Hampton Inn & Suites Manchester-Bedford

Celebrate with us from start to finish! Our wedding ceremony and reception will be held at the beautiful Bedford Village Inn &amp; Grand Hotel. This luxurious property offers a truly special experience, and we encourage you to join us there if it aligns with your budget. To help make your stay more affordable, we have secured a special discount for our wedding guests. Choose from the historic charm of the Inn or the modern elegance of the Grand Hotel for your stay. For a contemporary experience, we recommend the Grand Hotel. We've arranged a special discount for our wedding guests to help make this exceptional hotel more accessible. To reserve your room at this reduced rate, simply use this link:&nbsp;<a href="https://be.synxis.com/?adult=2&amp;arrive=2026-09-11&amp;chain=10237&amp;child=0&amp;config=MHTTG&amp;currency=USD&amp;depart=2026-09-13&amp;dest=BEDFORDVILLA&amp;group=DUO260CH&amp;hotel=75787&amp;level=hotel&amp;locale=en-US&amp;productcurrency=USD&amp;rooms=1&amp;theme=MHTTG2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Click here to reserve a room at Bedford Village Inn &amp; Grand Boutique Hotel</a>. This will take you directly to the reservations page with the discount code already applied. If you prefer, you can also call the hotel directly at 603-472-2001 to make your reservation.

The Grand at the Bedford Village Inn

About an hour drive from the venue, generally has affordable flights

Boston Logan International Airport

The local airport. 5 miles from the venue.

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport

Travel

Tickets should be booked in advance. Spooky World presents Nightmare New England and the Haunted Hayride is New England’s Largest Haunted Attraction on more than 80 acres. Horror Fanatics from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New England and across the country travel to visit us every year for thrills, chills, screams, and fun! Get a full night of fear for one low ticket price!

Spooky World Presents Nightmare New England

Full of Hiking trails and beautiful fall foliage for the more outdoorsy types. Remember to dress warm and bring water.

White Mountain National Forest

The Butterfly Place is a beautiful indoor garden with regional and tropical butterflies, birds, and koi fish.&nbsp;

The Butterfly Place

New Hampshire is famous for its fall foliage. Take a drive along Route 101 or Route 3 through the countryside and enjoy the vibrant colors. Consider a trip up north towards the White Mountains for even more dramatic scenery (though peak foliage there is usually a bit later in September).

Take a scenic drive

Sept 19-21Experience the spirit of Scotland – distilled into a single weekend at the NH Highland Games &amp; Festival. See world-class athletes, enjoy live music and entertainment, Scottish food &amp; drink, free seminars, demonstrations, and much more.

Loon Mountain Resort

Merrimack Premium Outlets is a shopper's paradise with a bonus: tax-free shopping! Located in Merrimack, NH, just off Exit 10 on the Everett Turnpike, this outdoor mall boasts over 100 stores with incredible deals on top brands. You'll find everything from designer clothing and shoes to home goods and accessories, all without paying sales tax! With plenty of dining options and a welcoming atmosphere, it's a great place to spend the day hunting for bargains and keeping more money in your wallet.

Tom & Huong

Tom & Huong

Q + A

Are children invited?

What is the dress code?

What will the weather be like?

Does New Hampshire have sales tax?