Alex and Lou

Lou and I met at work in the fall of 2014. We had a few shared clients - and one of them had phoned up Lou - the account manager - about a project the company was working on. Lou crossed the room to chat with me, the writer on the account.

It wasn’t long after that before we began filling up our work days with conversation and coffee walks. Talking was effortless. Our primary language became sharing links to our favorite music - creating playlists that took years to finish.

In June of 2015, I moved to Boston's North End, directly across the street from Lou’s apartment, where he had been living for the past year or so. Pasta dinners were shared and music was blared for the next three years.

Across those years, our friendship blossomed and evolved. We got to know each other’s friends and families. Fourth of July  parties and Thanksgiving dinners became annual traditions. It was the official start of a long, happy romance.

We've been inseparable ever since. Early in 2020, once the pandemic took a foothold over daily life, I found an apartment in the North End big enough for the two of us. We moved in together in May of that year. Two months later, Clarence, our Bernese Mountain dog, joined the band. He’s kept us laughing - and vacuuming - ever since. Across the intervening years, our connection grew deeper. We were each other’s only  coworker, entertainment, confidant, and support system. Being together 24/7 was easy.

In April of 2022, we were on vacation in Ocean Isle  Beach, North Carolina. Lou took me on a long walk down the beach, while our friends got busy stringing up lights and setting the stage for a proposal.

Back at the house, Lou dropped to a knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I said yes.

Since the day we met, we've had endless interests in common. But the top of that list was always the importance of family and friends. We've spent countless nights talking about the kind of life we hope to build, and making sure there’s something on the stove and a seat at the table for anyone who wants to join. That was the thesis we designed our wedding day around - we wanted it to be a celebration with our whole community.

It was a beautiful (and rainy) day in the city, filled with all our favorite people. We had great food inspired by the Italian neighborhood we fell in love with, an open bar with a signature drink named after our dog, Clarence, and a DJ that kept all the generations on the dance floor all night. Every detail was perfect, including my dress.

I'm not a frills person, so I knew I wanted my dress to be understated but elegant. Something that would photograph beautifully, and hug me (and not slip) all night. I went to two dress appointments in my hunt for the right look for wedding day. The first time out, I found a dress that I loved but it was too heavy and full for me to comfortably move all night. The second time around, I went shopping by myself and found this gown at a bridal salon in Boston. It resembled the other dress I loved, but was lighter, a better fit, and breathable. I loved that I could customize it with the buttons down the back, and that the sleeves were  adjustable for however I wanted to wear them that day. Those little details made it feel personalized to me, and allowed for other elements of my look (jewelry, makeup, hair) to really be the focus.