Brian & John: From Tinder to Hinge, Second Time's a Charm!
Photography by Alicia Petitti
“We had our first encounter in the summer of 2015. John was interning in Washington, D.C. for the summer after completing his first year at Harvard Law School. Brian had just moved into the city from Arlington, Virginia. We matched one day on Tinder, unknowingly living only a few blocks from one another. We traded pleasantries, but Brian quickly snuffed out that John was only going to be in D.C. for the summer. Looking for something more serious, Brian ended up letting the conversation fizzle.”
One year later in the summer of 2016, John was once again working in Washington, D.C. for the summer, but this time at a law firm that promised a full-time job upon graduation. John and Brian matched again, but this time on Hinge. Apparently, the second time is the charm because Brian agreed to meet John for a date at a Mexican restaurant downtown. John reflected, “I thought Brian wasn’t interested even after our first date because he didn't even give me a hug!” However, Brian saw things differently. “I swear that I liked John and was just preoccupied with work… A few weeks later, we ran into each other at DC's Pride festival and continued to date for the rest of the summer.”
As John prepared himself to move back to Cambridge for his final year of law school, the two agreed to try to make the distance work. “During our first visit, we were hanging out watching TV at John's place and we looked at each other and exchanged "I love you's" after just a few months. We each just felt like this was completely different. Through lots of FaceTime and monthly visits to one another, we made the distance work for the next ten months.”
After graduating, John moved to Washington, D.C. to start work. Finally residing in the same city, John and Brian spent many nights commuting between their two apartments about a mile away from one another. In June 2018, the two finally decided to move in together. “A little over a year later, Brian surprised me when he came home from work and got down on one knee, and I of course said yes. Brian had decorated the apartment with photos of us from over the years and gorgeous flowers. He had also bought us rings, gold for me, platinum for himself! Little did I know, but Brian flew in several of his closest friends and family for a full weekend of celebrations.”
Shortly after getting engaged, John and Brian flew up to Boston to visit wedding venues. “We had long known that we wanted to get married in Boston since we had spent so much of our early dating days in the city. After a long day of looking at wedding venues, our final tour was at the Fairmont Copley Plaza with Alice Fay. Upon looking at the stunning Oval Room and mulling it over with a glass of champagne at the Oak Bar, we knew that we had found the perfect venue for our wedding and very own black-tie affair.”
“What we had not predicted was that a global pandemic would completely uproot the world. Lying in bed one night after hearing on the news about how bad the pandemic was getting, we officially decided that we needed to postpone the wedding. We were very thankful and grateful to be healthy, safe, and employed throughout the pandemic, but of course disappointed that we could not celebrate our special day as originally planned.”
John and Brian pressed pause on planning for a year as the world went through the global pandemic. In Spring of 2021, they decided to get back to working out the details, re-planning the wedding of their dreams. “Thankfully, our friends and family were able to get vaccinated and remain healthy. But, of course, another plot twist was waiting around the corner: the Boston Marathon was rescheduled for the Monday after our wedding. We were concerned about what this meant for the logistics of our wedding and travel for our guests, knowing that the finish line is a block away from the Fairmont and that the Fairmont is the official hotel for the Marathon.”
Despite the concerns, things do work out! Brian and John planned their wedding ceremony to be held at the Old South Meeting House, a historic site in Boston and the location where the early debates were held that ultimately led to the Boston Tea Party. The Fairmont was very helpful and accommodating in order to make sure that their reception afterward went on without a hitch.
Brian and John woke up on October 9th for a day that would change their lives forever. Celebrating a black-tie theme that can be best described as “historic Boston,” around 140 of their closest friends and family gathered to attend. “We began the weekend with a large Italian feast for a rehearsal dinner, followed by welcome drinks at a bar located in a historic wharf in Boston's financial district. We had our ceremony and reception on Saturday, followed by a farewell brunch on Sunday.”
Mark Gearan, the head of the Institute of Politics at Harvard, was the officiant. “Mark is a longtime family friend of John, and he was the former president of Brian's college and knew Brian well when he attended. He was the perfect person to wed us.”
The reception was held in the Venetian and Oval Rooms at the Fairmont Copley. “We had a cocktail hour with an iconic Boston violinist playing modern hits on her electronic violin (shoutout to @violinviiv). We then moved people into the reception, where we entered to Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out" and did our first dance to Donna Lewis's "I Love You Always Forever." We had a fabulous dinner, followed by several hours of dancing. In fact, many guests told us at the farewell brunch it was the best wedding dance floor they had ever experienced.”
“We both felt an overwhelming sense of happiness and comfort. We have both been ready for this moment for some time, and really just know how special our relationship is. It was so fun to be able to finally celebrate after over almost two years of anticipation, but it was well worth the wait.”
The most memorable part of the wedding day for John was reading their vows and expressing their love to one another in front of their closest friends and family. For Brian, it was the quiet ride back to the Fairmont after the ceremony in a 1920s Rolls Royce. The grooms got a few minutes of privacy to just enjoy each other and their first moments of marriage. For both of them, the other favorite moment was when Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" played during the reception, and the guests hoisted John and Brian upon their shoulders where they shared a kiss.
As for advice, Brian and John said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. There will be things that go wrong (and hopefully it's not another global pandemic). It's great to have a vision and priorities, but try to focus on what's important: celebrating your love and your future together. Our trolley broke down on the highway on its way to pick us up and we ended up getting a charter bus instead. But it got us from point A to point B, and that's what matters!”
Following the wedding, Brian and John honeymooned in Curacao for a week. “It was incredible to just enjoy each other's company and lay on the beach. We went boating on a catamaran and snorkeling one day, but otherwise spent a lot of time at the pool and eating good food. You will underestimate how tired you'll be after your wedding, so highly encourage a restful honeymoon.”
The newlyweds relished over their dream team that made their wedding day a reality. Their photographer used her incredible talents to capture the day perfectly. “We would also give a special shout out to Alice Fay at the Fairmont who helped us achieve our vision and never judged us for our neurotic detailed questions or frantic phone calls. Finally, our DJ Zeke understood the assignment perfectly and executed exactly what we wanted for our dance floor.”
Ceremony Venue — Old South Meeting House
Reception Venue — Fairmont Copley Plaza
Photography — Alicia Petitti Photography
Videography — Yours Truly Media
Wedding Planner — Alice Fay
Officiant — Mark Gearan
Invitation Design — Crane
Cake — Dessert Works
Accessories — Bonobos
Apparel — Knot Standard
Floral Design — Madison Floral
DJ — Zeke Stern
