Mary & Eric

So, how does a girl from East Tennessee meet a guy from Flushing, Queens? Two words: Johns Hopkins.

As Hopkins’ sophomores in 2007, we ended up living on the same floor of the McCoy residence hall. We became friends, bonded over 2 a.m. homework sessions in the Common Room, and explored Baltimore as part of an extended group of close friends.

So, then we fell in love and lived happily ever after? Not exactly. Ours wasn’t a whirlwind romance. We remained friends during college, went our separate ways after graduation, and used two ancient forms of communication—snail mail and the phone—to stay in touch.

Maybe it was the handwritten notes and postcards or maybe it was the phone calls (particularly when one of us was having a bad day and needed to hear a friendly voice). Or, maybe it was after five years, we realized that the relationship we had built was something worth keeping.

Whatever the reason, it drew us both back to Johns Hopkins in 2012 for an alumni reunion weekend. Back on campus it became clear that we really missed spending time together. We started dating long distance with Mary traveling to Chicago and Eric traveling to Boston (even braving a few wicked blizzards) at least one weekend a month. Thousands of air miles and hundreds of restaurant lunches and dinners later, Mary moved to Chicago (for love and to save money on all the air fare, ha!).

We got engaged in Cancun, Mexico in 2016. And now, almost ten years to the day after we first met as college sophomores at Johns Hopkins, we are getting married. So, thanks Johns Hopkins for the education, for the lifelong friendships with so many amazing people, and for bringing together a girl from East Tennessee and a guy from Flushing, Queens.

And, thank you to everyone who cheered us on along the way, and who are celebrating with us. We appreciate your support and are so excited to share our wedding day with you!