Our loved ones,

We are so excited to finally be able to celebrate our marriage with our family and friends on the East coast! So that everyone is caught up to speed on our history and story here are a few things we wanted to share.

We were married on 12.11.2020, in a beautiful (but private) ceremony thanks to the recent coronavirus pandemic, but after 13 LONG years, Joey wouldn't have had it any other way...

From Joey: 13 years, 3 months, and 14 days ago at 9:30am I finally had the courage to say hello to Lielah. This was after a month of walking past her downstairs in the clinic and trying desperately to catch her eye. I asked for her email, and the first communication between us was her sending me an email that literally said "email" so I could have her email address. Today, I have a printout this email hanging in my office.

The first time she looked at me, I remember where and how she was sitting, exactly how she turned her head to look at me, and how her hair twirled onto her back. I remember what she wore and how beautiful she was. I had never seen someone so beautiful and unbeknownst to her, I knew she was the one for me.

For the next 12 years I called and texted her. When she answered, those were the best moments of my life. We were always off with timing. But I finally let her know how I felt in December 2019. She was hesitant, but she took a chance on me, and now I'm married to the most beautiful girl I've ever met and is the absolute love of my life, and I have an amazing son whom I love as my own.

From Lielah: If someone had told me that I had met my future husband in 2008, and that is was Joe from VIP, I would not have believed it! But, from the minute we met we had an instant connection ... our taste in music, our senses of humor, and our ability to confide in one another like we never had done with anyone prior to each other was identical. We would take long walks together on our lunches, joking around and his saying inappropriate comments to me while he chased me running away. :) Years passed and Joey would call, email, and text me and sometimes we would speak for hours, and other times I was unable to take his calls.

In December of 2019, Joey sent me a text message on the night that my family found out some difficult news ... and I took almost a month to respond. We spoke that day and night for over 4 hours, and did every day following that connection. When we met up on March 7, 2020 he told me he had been in love with me for 12 years and I knew then after years and months that I felt the same. When I saw him meet my son, and the connection Hawthorne had to him and the love they instantly had for each other, I was all in.

After a dinner with my parents, and his asking my father for my hand in marriage, Joey drove home after Hawthorne went to bed, came back to my house and proposed. It was exactly what I wanted - private, no production. I wish I had known, like Joey had, that he was exactly what I wanted all along.

We do not expect any gifts at our reception, as we only want to celebrate our marriage with our loved ones on the East coast! However, if you insist, please browse our wish list, where you can contribute funds to the reception and items for our new home.

Feel free to contact us via the link below if you need more info about how it works.

Thanks for visiting and we can't wait to see you to finally celebrate our big day!