From the Bride and Groom…

Rachel likes to tell people, “We met at a bar.” Simon prefers, “We met at an Oxford Alumni event.” The truth is somewhere in between. Rachel and Simon met at an Oxford Alumni pub-crawl. By the end of the night, Simon was pretty sure he wanted to see Rachel again, but couldn’t find the right moment to ask for her number. But Simon found a way, asking the event organizer if he could have Rachel’s email address. After drinks at the rooftop bar at the Heights on the Upper West Side the following Sunday, Simon and Rachel were pretty smitten. After 10 wonderful months in New York together, Simon got a job at Lehman Brothers in London. (Simon and Lehman’s relationship didn’t last nearly as long). After a year apart, Rachel moved to the UK in the summer of 2009 to pursue her MBA at Cambridge University and after a year commuting from Cambridge to London (much easier than New York to London!), Rachel and Simon moved in together after Rachel finished her MBA.

Simon proposed to Rachel one night in Paris, after a delicious 7 course tasting menu, and a bottle (or two!) of champagne. Rachel was in Paris for a work trip (her work life is so hard!) and Simon joined her for a weekend away. On Saturday night, after a day in all of their favorite Parisian places, Simon took Rachel to a delicious dinner and a walk along the Seine. Crossing over the river to the Louvre, Simon proposed in the Tuileries with a view of the Louvre on the right and the Eiffel Tower on the left.

We’re often asked why DC? Rachel is from Richmond VA, a 2 hour drive from Washington. With so many international guests, we thought it would be easiest for everyone to go to a major US city (Don’t worry Richmond, you’re a major city in our hearts!). With DC so close and the capital of the US, we thought it would the perfect place to be married.