According to the Groom: Paige and I met while I was visiting some friends in Chicago during the time I was living in Dallas. As young people do, we decided to go out to the Chicago bars and ended up at the esteemed Lion Head Pub in Lincoln Park. When I found out Paige was a serious Bears fan, I had to talk to her. We proceeded to bond throughout the night over our love for the Bears and other similarities in our lives. When I found out that we had the exact same password down to the capital letters and special characters, I knew right away that this wasn't some ordinary bar conversation.
According to the Bride: The year was 2017 – a time when I would still “go out” in the Winter and partake in a “pre-game” beforehand. I tagged along with my roommate to go out with some of her friends from high school, and ended up striking up a conversation with Nick at Lion Head Pub. We immediately had two of the most important things in common: a love of the Chicago Bears and shared political views. The rest is history!
According to the Bride: 4 weeks after we met, Nick flew up from Dallas to visit. I met him after work at Untitled, where he was waiting with my (then) favorite drink, a Tito’s soda with lemon. Following drinks we went to Celeste for dinner, and rounded out the meal with a stop at Firecakes for way too many donuts and an ice cream sandwich. We ended the night by sharing a bottle of white wine, as it would be one more day before Nick turned me onto red wine for good.
According to the Groom: While I was still living in Dallas, I was able to convince Paige to go out on a date with me on a weekend in Chicago. We went to Untitled Supper Club for some pre-dinner drinks, and from previous conversation I remembered her drink was a vodka soda lemon (not lime) and ordered her one ahead of time. We went to Celsete for dinner after that and had a great conversation and a good meal. I distinctly remember sharing some nachos because I don't think I have seen Paige eat a single nacho since.
According to the Groom: We spent 1 year and 10 months dating long distance. Fortunately, with my job, I was able to travel on the weekends fairly easily and made it a point to get back to Chicago to see Paige as often as possible. Paige also made an effort to come down to Dallas to visit often. Eventually, we had to make a decision - given both of our families and friends were in Chicago, it made the most sense for me to come back home. Dallas will always have a special place in both of our hearts, but Chicago will always be our home.
According to the Bride: We spent the next 22 months bouncing back and forth between Dallas and Chicago, though I will admit Nick did most of the traveling (he has miles to spare, afterall)! In Dallas we found our favorite Friday night hangout spot – The Library – where we would listen to vocalist and musician Goga over cocktails. While our weekends in Dallas were some of our favorite memories, an official move to Chicago was underway ahead of the holidays in 2018.
According to the Bride: While I suspected an upcoming proposal, nothing tipped me off quite as much as Nick planning a sunset hike with me on an upcoming trip to Scottsdale. After enjoying a few glasses of champagne at the spa, hiking up Pinnacle Peak was no easy task for me but it was worth it! When we arrived back at the house, both of our families were there to surprise me and we had the most beautiful night celebrating together! It was the best night ever!
According to the Groom: Despite sharing a lot of similarities, I know that we have our fair share of differences too. Paige enjoys intimate moments with family and friends whereas I enjoy a bit more grandeur and outspoken gestures. Knowing this, I tried to find a happy medium for the proposal and landed on a trip to Scottsdale. I took Paige for a hike right before sunset at Pinnacle Peak with a photographer waiting for us up on the mountain. This was the perfect combination of Paige's love for exercise and intimate moments. The grand gesture that I was most excited about came when we arrived back at my dad's house - both of our families were waiting to celebrate with us and surprise Paige. The rest of the night consisted of delicious food, drinks, and bonding between our families. It was the best night of our lives to that point, and a night that we will never forget.
While we were unable to have a large wedding in 2021, we simply could not wait to get legally married! Our immediate family joined us for a beautiful, intimate ceremony and celebration at Paige's parents home on March 27th.
We are looking forward to being able to take the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic church with all of our friends and family surrounding us this year.