Spring Love: Stephen & Alexa Tie the Knot

18 April 2015
Boston, Massachusetts

Stephen and Alexa tied the knot in Boston this Spring. This blog post is very late and since the wedding even more exciting news…they are expecting! Double congrats! (And sorry this is so late.)

In 2005, Stephen, along with our friend Julie, and I worked together and most importantly, we carpooled together. The epic carpool lead to alot of life sharing and many sing-alongs. Our favorite song (or my favorite) was She’s in Love with the Boy by Trisha Yearwood. In between recapping tales of “what happened last night” and pondering “is this what I want to do with my life?” we played the song on repeat like a commercial break.

The carpool era is etched in our collective memory as a special period in time: We were in our early twenties and we had found safety and comfort in each other. There is less loneliness/confusion/worry when you know you have forty minutes every day to discuss it with friends.

That year, my college friends (Lilly) planned our first beach share at the Jersey Shore. I asked Stephen if we wanted to join — and he hopped right in. That was the beginning of many seasons together, long after I left the job that brought us together. In fact, Stephen rallied all of our friends for my first (group) date with Harry. He helped me “create” a happy hour so that we could “casually” meet up. (Thanks man!)

Only in retrospect did I realize how special those early non-college friends are at propelling us forward. Stephen helped me lean into what’s was now. And he naturally folded into the college group helping to evolve us from college buddies, to a close group of twenty-somethings. A testament to Stephen’s personality: all-present, approachable and just lovable

In October of 2012, in a tiny pizza shop in the West Village, Stephen told me that he had been seeing someone. A jetsetter (always up for a trip anywhere) and perpetual bachelor, it became apparent (after several glasses of wine) that this lady was giving him pause. He revealed that he was attending a wedding with her family. WOW! I yelped. (And in the true “push for more information” carpool spirit I asked: are you guys staying in the same hotel room!?) He wasn’t in a rush to make anything official, but I got the feeling that he did want to impress her family. Plus he chatted on and on about Alexa. She had played soccer at NYU and had a cheerful demeanor. She was assertive, yet so kind. I was so happy for him.

A few months later, we had this wonderful gchat exchange:

On the big day, their happy love was so evident. All the pictures tell a bit of the story.

Sidenote:
Stephen and Alexa sat me at a table with his new carpool friend (they even live in the same building!). After I remininced about our carpool discussions, he admitted, they don’t share all of their hopes, worries and Friday night bar stories. It was a special moment in time for us: freedom, confusion, and idealism. We landed together in a car and opened up about all of it. I’m thankful for the talks. Even though we don’t stay in touch as well as we would like, I know that next time we end up in a bar on a Friday night (or in a car together), we will talk about the real stuff.

My love to you guys. xo