All right, people. Here’s the thing you have to understand about Gina and Tommy: they are real. And that’s one of the traits we value most in people. Yes, what you see is what you get. But at the same time, they’re real surprising as well. So many dimensions to their fun personalities. And I love the fact that they describe the same realizations about each other after they first met. Eileen and I had so much fun with them and their family when they visited our home studio the other day — laughing and drinking together. It’s so easy to get along with them, and we’re so glad they walked into our lives. I also love the fact that — of all their engagement pictures — the above image is the only one that drives Tommy crazy, and it just so happens to be the image I chose for their sneak peek. I’m afraid his friends will never let him live it down. haha. Well don’t miss this couples fun love story! They’re also brilliant communicators, and hearing this from them got us misty-eyed. Congratulations, Gina and Tommy! We can’t wait for your wedding. Now, take it away…

How did you two meet?
“We worked together at TEKsystmes. We started off friends and realized there was something more there. We ‘secretly dated’ for 3 years! It’s crazy to think about now, but it wasn’t until the end of  2012 that we were an official couple.”

Gina, what is that attracts you to Tommy?
“Tommy is very intelligent, funny and sweet under his manly demeanor. The first thing that attracted me to him was his Alpha Male presence and sense of humor. Tommy was known as a bit of “meat head” in the office when I started; so I was so surprised when he was incredibly smart and hilarious.  He has a serious/intense side, but in reality he’s a goof, and I love that about him. There are a lot of different sides of him which makes him hard to describe to someone who doesn’t spend a lot of time with us or him. He’s this combination of opposing adjectives like intense & relaxed, serious & silly, active & relaxed that all just work together to make this person I can’t get enough of. Tommy makes me want to be a better person for him and myself. I admire his character and have known for a long time that he would be the person I’d spend my life with.

“Tommy likes to be active and is all about hobbies. Anyone who knows him has been invited to participate in one of Tommy’s many activities (rock climbing, Habitat, welding, dodge ball, the gym in general, boating, the list goes on). Rock climbing is one of my favorites to watch; I’m still in awe when I see him climb like Spiderman across a roof. The indoor side of him is always listening to a podcast or reading the latest science breakthrough online. He’s always looking to learn something new or advance his skills. And I have to mention that he LOVES spreadsheets… it’s kind of a running joke on how much he loves Excel and will make a spreadsheet for everything. We probably have a spreadsheet about engagement pictures now. jk.

“For me, Tommy is the perfect mix of masculine, smarts, and funny. I’m excited to capture that in our pictures. He’s cuddly when we are at home (or when he’s drinking, ha) but he’s not big into PDA so I think doing the engagement pictures is a good idea. Great prep for the actual wedding day!”

Tommy, what can you tell me about your relationship with Gina?
“I have been fortunate enough to know Gina for 5 years and have been privileged to date her for 4 of those. If you are from the HR team at TEKsystems, then I have been dating her for about 15 months now and respected her as a valued coworker and team member prior to that. She is the kindest and most loving person I have ever met. I am regularly confounded by the generous and warm nature that she applies to the people and animals (especially puppies) around her. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and family and manages to love people through their flaws. People respect her for her intelligence and work ethic, value her for her energy and her sense of humor, and love her for her childish goofiness and her striking humility. She is never too serious to laugh, never too proud to laugh at herself, and never too busy to make others laugh.  Even when I am at my most focused and serious, even when I am overwhelmed by the day-to-day strife, she can instantaneously shake me out of that mindset and remind me how happy I am to have her. She has taught me that some situations in life don’t react as quickly to reason and logic as well as they do to a smile. She has consistently taught me the power of kindness and warmth by the impact her unabashed joy has on those around her.

“My relationship with Gina is best characterized, in my mind, by 3 moments:
When I first met Gina, she had just started as a recruiter at my company. She was introduced in our morning status meeting. As she introduced herself, I was struck by her obvious beauty and energy. When she finished, she smiled and it lit up the room. I remember thinking to myself, “What do I have to do to get a girl like that. It’s too bad that we can’t date coworkers.” In retrospect, I wish my inner monologue had more poetic diction and am happy that I thought the rules were more suggestions than binding guidelines.

“Leading up to the second of these moments, I invited Gina to a wine tasting for my financial advisor. It was a good time and lasted for an hour or two. Not wanting that time to end, I invited Gina to the bar to grab a(nother) drink with me. We sat down and struck up a conversation with a couple who were on a date together. At this point, we were both in relationships with other people. After talking and laughing with these people for hours, the lady in the couple turned to us and said, “You guys are a cute couple. How long have you been together?” We looked at each other in silence for a couple of seconds before responding and continuing the conversation.

“The third moment that I think of, when I see the change in myself as a result of her presence in my life, is the process of buying her engagement ring. I don’t like jewelry or the culture surrounding it. I don’t like spending money. I don’t like using time to talk about fashion and trends. Finally, I don’t like being pushed out of the comfortable life that I enjoyed. The process of buying a ring was harrowing. I spent hours meeting with dealers and learning about all of the relevant facets. I spent days reading blogs and articles about diamonds, cuts, clarity ratings, etc. I spent this time full of anxiety, always hoping that the next conversation or article would provide me with clarity about what to buy. When it finally came time to pay for her ring (the painful part), I was shocked to find myself calm and confident. After weeks of research, hours of conversations, and repeated negotiations, I was finally as certain that I was getting the right product as I was that I was giving it to the right person. I felt the same contentment with moving out of my previous life into our joint life that I feel each time I see her smile.”