Today I’m sharing with you Timmy and Mary’s Pearmund Cellars engagement photos. These two both went to UVA, had their first date in 2014, and were engaged on Cinco de Mayo! Mary is a 6th grade teacher and Timmy works in healthcare data analytics. Their wedding is taking place this summer and while I was already so excited for their big day, after seeing their chemistry and getting a chance to meet these two adorable people in person, I’m even more eager for June to arrive. I am so excited to share with you a few images from their session and a bit about their love story below. Cheers and congrats to you both!
Timmy: We met our first year at UVA at a first year Catholic retreat. We didn’t talk much then, in fact I don’t know if she remembers meeting me 🙂 I remember us playing soccer and she had a twin. That was over 9 years ago!
Mary: I have photo evidence of us together at the first year retreat for UVA’s Catholic Student Ministry the second week of college, but I have zero memory of meeting Timmy. A few weeks later, we showed up to the same small group for CSM that met every Wednesday night. We both wore puka shell necklaces because we were just that cool, and we also realized that we both liked the Yankees.
What was your first thought when you saw or interacted with him/her for the first time?
Timmy: I remember her love for food and the New York Yankees, which of course was attractive to me. As our first year in school went along, I quickly realized how loyal and faithful she was to her sister, friends, and family. Then I also remember hearing a lot of cheesy “Flood” puns.
Mary: As an 18 year old just showing up to college, I was lucky that I even remembered Timmy’s name after first meeting him! I remember my first year in college seeing Timmy as the super nice guy who was good at soccer and got along with everyone he met. There was definitely only a friends vibe at that point!
Timmy: We really became close throughout our fourth year in school, beach week, and graduation activities. I remember sending her a text the night after we graduated, after late night pizza of course, and she said something along the lines of “I have a feeling we will be seeing plenty of each other in the near future”, which was the biggest enigma. I have never re-read a text so many times. Sure enough, we went to a baseball game together a few weeks later, which may or may not be considered a first date since there was originally supposed to be 3 people going. Either way, I visited her in Charlottesville just a few weeks later and we made it “official” after spending the day at a winery and visiting her family.
Mary: I started looking at Timmy differently the fall of our fourth year at UVA. We argue over this frequently, but I still maintain that I started liking him first. After enjoying the rest of our fourth year and graduating, we kept in touch and finally went on our first date in November while I was in grad school. I 100% considered it a date because he literally drove down from Maryland to Charlottesville for the weekend to see me, but Timmy says he was too nervous to call it that. We went to Moss Winery, cooked dinner together, and watched Pootie Tang. And I randomly brought him over to meet my parents (and my illustrious labradoodle Mr. Robinson) on the way back from the winery…haha oops no pressure.
Timmy: I remember talking to my friends and family about Mary quite a bit before our first date even! My best man An was also great friends with Mary, so I remember exploring Europe after graduation with him, randomly bringing up Mary when I could. In fact, she had recommended most of our Italy adventures too. As for my family, I remember going from Charlottesville, after we made it “official”, to my grandpa’s condo with my parents. I was super awkward and said something like “oh yeah by the way Mary and I are official now”.
Mary: I remember chatting with my roommate a couple months before our first date about liking Timmy. There was a lot of squealing and giggling in that conversation. We have so many mutual friends so they were all semi-surprised when we told them but thrilled that the two of us were together.
Timmy: I wouldn’t say there was a singular point in time where I knew Mary was “the one” – although of course I should probably say the first day I saw her 😉 I do think our road trip in California was definitely the point where I knew that I wanted to marry her. Two weeks driving over 2000 miles through forest fires and steep cliffs definitely brings two people close together! By the end of the trip, I wanted to do it all over again and again.
Mary: I could list so many moments and experiences where it became very obvious to me that Timmy was the guy I wanted to marry! Early on, I loved getting to see Timmy in his “natural habitat” when we would go to his parents’ house for dinner. Those dinners showed me this guy who dove into intellectual conversations (arguments) with his brothers, who rattled off cheesy dad jokes with ease and who clearly loved his parents. The way that Timmy interacted with my own family is what truly showed me that he is somebody special. His compassion and understanding when my mom’s health declined demonstrated that if I married Timmy I would be with a man who truly understands and respects the vows you make in marriage.
Timmy: Mary and I had wanted to go camping for a while, and decided to go to Shenandoah one weekend. I knew there was going to be a chance of rain, so I had secretly booked a yurt (fancy camping). The weather looked reallllllly bad leading up to the weekend, but I was insistent we still went and made up excuses about how camping in the rain isn’t a problem (it is). She was surprised! Since I had originally planned on proposing at sunset but the weather was real bad, we hiked earlier in the day. We had passed a couple on the way up and Mary could tell that I was booking it. At that point, she knew but was a good sport. I popped the question at the top of the mountain and she said yes! We went to Luray, VA afterwards to call our families, then met up with her dad and my parents the next day at a vineyard for pizza and wine.
Mary: We had a series of three fun weekends coming up in April/May so I had a feeling Timmy was going to propose during one of them. We planned to go camping and as the weekend neared, the forecast was bleak. Timmy had put so much thought into this camping weekend after me nagging him for years to take me camping. I felt so bad for him so I just kept telling him that I was totally okay to camp rain or shine even though I secretly had spent the week Googling if you could get struck by lightening in a tent. After driving past all the campgrounds, Timmy surprised me with camping in this awesome fancy yurt. We went hiking and reached the top just in time for Timmy to ask me to be his wife right before it started to rain. My answer was immediate and obvious and I was so excited for him to put this new sparkly ring on my finger! The next day we met up with my dad and Timmy’s parents at a winery to celebrate and eat pizza. I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend!
What quality/qualities do you love most about your partner?
Timmy: Mary is a teacher so I thought an acrostic would be most appropriate:
M – Model. While she is a model (check out our engagement photos!) in my book, she is a role model to everyone she meets. The way she has overcome challenges in life and maintains a strong, selfless attitude inspires me, her students, her friends, and her family.
A – Artistic. Mary has taken up pottery and is a ROCK STAR. Most of our bowls and cups will be made by her, which is awesome. What is so special is she is always looking to give her pottery to others first before herself. Every friend or family we visit has Mary’s pottery on display!
R – Researcher. This is not an adjective, but Mary has always been very interested in family history. Anyone that has spent more than 2 minutes with Mary knows how much her family means to her, so I am very excited to share my life with someone who also values the importance of family, both new and old.
Y – Y did I choose an acrostic with the letter ‘Y’. Let’s go with yummy? Mary is an INCREDIBLE chef and food plays such an important role in our lives, whether it’s fancy DC restaurants or a night in with a “simple” Mary recipe that teaches me confidence and that Lean Cuisines are a meal of the past.
Mary: Timmy is definitely the most selfless person that I know. He’s always looking out for other people even if it presents a challenge or inconvenience for him. And he does all this with love and gratitude!
Timmy: Her music choices. The juxtaposition of Celine Dion followed by Ludacris on an everyday playlist has become the new norm and I love it.
Mary: Timmy likes to double (and sometimes triple) check things. This works out well for me because I’m impatient and often rush through things.
Timmy: I should say when I first see her walking down the aisle, and that is my answer, but I am also looking forward to the first moments we have alone at the reception even if just for a minute…and then saying some type of dad joke that I thought of earlier in the day.
Mary: Every second of it!!!! I think I’m most excited to hear the priest say “I now pronounce you husband and wife” and knowing that at that moment, we will be officially married. I have a feeling the entire night I’m going to be like “Hey Timmy! Guess what? WE’RE MARRIED!” accompanied with some cheesy victory dance.
