JENNIFER & CHRIS: 2 Ships passing in the Night | Precious Interview
Jennifer and Chris grew up 20 minutes apart, went to the same high school district, frequented the same bars and restaurants — and spent a full weekend at the same vacation house in 2007 without ever really talking to each other. A decade later Bumble matched them. Chris ghosted because work sent him to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria and he had no signal. They re-matched on Tinder. Facebook flagged them in an old photo together after they'd already started dating. That's when they found out they'd been in the same house 72 hours as strangers years earlier. We filmed their wedding at Westfields Golf Club.
How they met
Jennifer: We grew up within 20 minutes of each other, went to the same high school district, frequented the same restaurants, bars, and music festivals — all while never knowing the other existed.
My friend (C) and Chris's friend (J) briefly dated in 2007 or 2008. J invited C on a friends' vacation and C brought me as her plus one. That's where I originally met Chris — although we only have vague recollections of each other from that weekend. I'm not entirely sure we even spoke.
Fast-forward to 2017. We both swiped right on each other and took the convo off Bumble to text. He went radio silent after a few weeks, so I deleted his number and match. No biggie — ghosting is part of the swiping game, right?
He's both my rock and the yin to my yang. He keeps me centered when I'm frazzled. I appreciate his quirks, even when he's using them to be intentionally obnoxious (seriously, how does one person have so many dad jokes?). He makes me want to be a better person.
I'd been waiting a long time to find someone like her, and it was worth the wait. She is kind, beautiful, smart, funny, and understands me in a way no one else has been able to. I feel lucky to have found someone I truly enjoy spending time with.
Jennifer (continued): A month or two later I got a text from a number I didn't recognize. Turned out work had sent Chris suddenly to Puerto Rico for Hurricane Maria aftermath — no internet, no service, couldn't get in touch. I had no clue who the number was, we weren't Bumble-matched anymore, and I was ready to let it go. As luck would have it, he remembered we'd also matched on Tinder.
After a few months of dating, Facebook sent me a notification — two of us in a picture together. I had no idea what picture Facebook was trying to show me. It was J's album from that vacation years ago. That's how we found out we'd spent 72 hours together before we (technically) even met.
The sparkle moment
Jennifer: We'd only been dating 2 months when I asked him to come on a ski trip with me and some friends. I didn't think he'd say yes — but he did. We survived a 4-hour trip up, wet, dark, sleet-covered winding mountain roads, no GPS, and made it wanting to spend the whole weekend together. That was it. The sparkle.
The proposal
Jennifer: He'd chosen our favorite holiday to propose. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know when. He'd been building himself a mancave in our basement — remember this, it's important later.
Christmas 2020, I woke up and something was suspect. He wanted to bring me breakfast in bed. Cute, but why? It's Christmas. He wanted to shower and put on real clothes before opening presents. Again — why?
COVID was new, so we were spending Christmas by ourselves. Presents were opened. None of them were even close to the size of a ring box. A big dip in the roller coaster. Then stockings — upswing. (IDK why we did presents/stockings backwards.) Nothing. Downswing.
He grabs a beer. He never day-drinks at home just because. When I called him out, he said it was to relax while he watched basketball. Huge fan, but also suspect.
Presents done. NO RING. I thought that was the end of that. Some time goes by, he says he's going downstairs to set up the gaming chair I'd gotten him. Comes back up, says he needs help moving some furniture around. As I go down the stairs I see he'd decorated the railings with Christmas lights all the way down — and in the main area he'd lit candles in the shape of a heart with flower petals in the middle. He'd made a playlist of all the artists whose concerts we'd gone to together. It was already playing.
He asked. I happy-cried. Here we are.
The day
Jennifer: We had 2 years to plan because of the pandemic. We're both laid back, so Chris thought he'd have breathing room between proposal and wedding planning. But I'm a BIG planner. Give me a date and an objective and I'm a dog with a bone — can't stop, won't stop.
I was never one to dream about what my wedding would be like. At best I had a list of friends I'd ask to be MOH/bridesmaids. We venue-shopped for weeks until Chris happened across the golf club that became our venue. Clean, modern, romantic — simple, elegant.
Dress: I went to one store. I'd filled out BHLDN's webform linking the dress style I thought I'd like. First dress I tried on was that one. I tried a few others. First one was the winner.
The moment Jennifer would relive
Jennifer: The reception was the best part — being surrounded by all of our loved ones. Our friends and family live all across the country, and some of our long-time friends had never met our respective families. It was great to be surrounded by so much love.
Dear Jennifer & Chris
You two really took the long way around. Thank you for letting us stand at the finish line with the camera on. Fairytales are real.
Sincerely yours, Precious Pics
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