We are a modern day app love story… with a twist - and there’s an article* to prove it! Rewind to fall 2019 and Casey was admittedly frustrated by dating in the Big Apple. Her roommate at the time, Hillary Hoffower, was a reporter at Business Insider covering millennial lifestyle and one of her assignments was to profile a NYC matchmaker specializing in the apps - from curating clients’ profiles with particular photos and prompts to having ghost banter with their matches. Hillary thought it would be a brilliant idea to apply some of her learnings from shadowing the matchmaker to Casey’s Hinge profile, and Casey was game - with some supervision. Hillary uploaded Casey’s account to her phone and got to work, soon after sparking up a conversation with one Daniel Tully. Hillary’s first comment as Casey’s ghostwriter was about the photo Dan had with a cute doggo, which was later revealed as not his own but as one of the Tully Construction office dogs, Chloe. Following some initial back-and-forth between Dan and Casey’s ghostwriter, Casey peeked at his profile, was intrigued by his love of Liverpool FC and the fact that he went to Villanova (fellow UNC alum will understand), plus noticed how very handsome he was, so she swooped in and took over. A few days later on Friday, November 15, they met at The Jeffrey on the Upper East Side for their first date… and the rest is history! Hillary’s story was published in February 2020, three months into their seeing each other, and she's convinced it was the dog photo that made the perfect icebreaker! *Read Hillary's article HERE & below is the dog photo along with our first ever picture together.

Around the time of Hillary’s article publishing, Casey and Dan were gearing up for their first trip together - to Vermont for Dan to teach Casey how to snowboard. It started out strong… but a couple hours in while putting together some of the basics, Casey took a tumble on a *beginner* green (no Dan, it wasn’t a total bunny slope!) and ended up with a forked wrist (X-ray photos available upon request). Trying to keep it cool in front of the guy she liked, Casey remained shockingly calm and even tried to convince Dan to continue on the slopes without her… but a true gentleman, he refused and was the best caretaker that weekend (and beyond). Casey wouldn’t allow an early end to their getaway to return to the city, so after grabbing dinner in town (Casey demanded it, sling and all), they cozied up and eerily watched “Contagion,” without realizing the full extent of the reality the world was about to face with the COVID-19 pandemic. After a car ride bonding over their favorite punk rock bangers, they made it back to the city and Casey’s wrist recovery began with a surgery and cute cast.

The world was starting to shut down because of COVID as all this was happening (March 2020), so one bright spot of everything going on globally was that there wasn’t much to miss out on while Casey was in her cast. Casey and Dan spent the next several weeks / months enjoying each other's company in the simplest ways - from engaging in conversation, making each other laugh, playing board games and doing puzzles, binging TV and movies, watching sports, going on walks and exploring nearby hiking trails, hitting the tennis courts, cooking and sipping wine… all while falling in love.

As a new “normal” set across the world, Casey and Dan were able to enjoy more adventures and outings over the next two and a half years. They road tripped to North Carolina (twice!), visited the low country (Charleston and Savannah), spent Casey’s 30th birthday upstate in Saugerties, jetted off to NoCal to check out wine country and the incredible Redwoods, soaked up sunshine in Mexico, got rowdy (then sad) at the 2022 Final Four in NOLA, chillaxed at “Moon Mountain” with friends, returned to Vermont and the slopes (!!), camped with black bears along the Appalachian Trail in NJ, explored the rich history of the northeast (Boston and Philly), and much more, including…

Iceland, where Casey and Dan got engaged on Sunday, October 9, 2022! They mapped out a long weekend of excursions and during a Saturday outing to snowmobile a glacier, were told a big storm would be coming through some of the island. They were asked to join a different tour group - one that was making their way through the Golden Circle that day - since their guide needed to stay back to prepare for the incoming snow. With the Golden Circle being on their itinerary for the next day, Dan asked the guide for other recommendations around Iceland that would be spared from the storm and they settled on exploring the beautiful Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Starting with Kirkjufell (where Jon Snow saw beyond the wall), they continued to the black sand beaches of Snæfellsjökull National Park, where Dan popped the question surrounded by stunning volcanic rock formations and with a glacier in the distance.

Casey and Dan have been thoroughly enjoying engaged life and were able to celebrate with both the Johnson and Tully families together soon after their return stateside. Also soon after, Casey and Dan welcomed a wonderful whippet puppy into their home - Rey, short for Reykjavík (the capital of Iceland). Rey was born on October 10, 2022, the day after their engagement… it was meant to be! She is a pure *rey* of sunshine in their lives.

The couple cannot wait to wed in June 2024 on another European island - the Emerald Isle aka Ireland!