How our story began
“I just drove through El Paso a few weeks ago on my way here! The food there was amazing. Also you have excellent taste in earrings.”
— Charlie’s first message to Elaine
“I know I miss it!! Where were you coming from? And thank you! No one’s ever said that. You got yourself some nice glasses!”
— Elaine’s first message back to Charlie
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Charlie and Elaine met the new old fashioned way… On a dating app!
In February 2019 while Elaine was living in Long Beach, Charlie had just moved to San Pedro for a semester long artist residency as part of his master’s program. Their texts to each other soon became short novels back and forth and they began to refer to each other as pen pals.
When they went on their first date in person, sparks quickly flew when they realized all of their fun and uncanny similarities — their fathers are both professors, they both were in marching band in high school, Elaine’s sister and brother-in-law taught at University of Nebraska (the same university Charlie’s father received his master’s degree) and her sister also taught at Bennington College (the same small college Charlie’s brother received his bachelor’s degree).
They bonded over their love for movies and art, and their first date even included them watching the short film Thunder Road on YouTube in a Yard House. They laughed and talked so much they decided they had to, at the very least, remain friends since Charlie would be returning to Syracuse in three months to finish his degree.
As you may have guessed, being friends didn’t last long! They happily spent as much time as they could together and fell head over heels in love. Not even cross-country long distance could keep them apart!
And the rest is history —
Charlie and Elaine went from across the country long distance, to Elaine moving to New York and being quarantined with Charlie while he finished his degree during the Covid-19 pandemic. In their 6 years together, they have done a cross-country road trip, have moved 5 times, have celebrated them both earning their master’s degrees, have supported each other with new careers, became engaged in May 2023, and adopted their beautiful Pomeranian puppy in June 2024— Cala!
Charlie and Elaine chose to officially marry in March 2024 with their families present. They were raised with the core value of celebrating and honoring their families and chose to begin their union with a private ceremony uniting their households!
They are so excited to have a celebration of their marriage and union with you this July 2025! They hope this can also be a vacation as they appreciate everyone’s efforts in attending. Please expect lots of delicious food, an overflow of drinks, plenty of dancing and games, and all the fun vibes!
