And you are invited! We are so excited for you to share in our special day! We created this website to provide you with important information about our wedding (as well as a little fluff). Keep scrolling to see how our love story evolved, and use the quick links above to quickly find any wedding details you need in a pinch.
On a chilly weekend in Fall 2014, a group of friends made their annual trip to “the island”, a small boat-access-only campsite in the middle of Indian Lake in the Adirondacks. Jory had made this trip multiple times in the past, and was looking forward to a weekend in nature with his friends, disconnected from society.
Valerie--through her brother Tom, and of course, her charm, wit, and charisma--had over the course of the year slowly started infiltrating the wonderful community of friends that Jory associated with. But it wasn’t until this fateful trip that our paths finally merged. As the weekend went on (and as the libations flowed more freely), we started to realize the connection between us. At the trip’s end, Valerie paddled away with not only many new friends, but also a spark that would ignite a wonderful romance.
Once back in Rochester, the relationship that started at the islands continued to grow. Although it was not always easy; Jory worked the day shift from 9 to 5, and Valerie worked the B-shift from 4:00 to midnight, and this made spending time together difficult. But we were determined to make it work, sneaking away for lunch break dates and cooking elaborate brunches on the weekend (a tradition that has persisted to this day).
Eventually, we were able to get on the same schedule, and things escalated quickly from there (insert Ron Burgundy quote here). Before we realized what had happened, we found ourselves forging full-steam into our thirties, buying a house (and making it a home), adopting our (slightly damaged) rescue dog Grim, and planning for our future together.
Our love grew strong roots in those first years, with all the things needed to have a strong foundation -- passion, patience, honesty, openness, and adventure. We are each other’s best friend, but ultimately we are each other’s steady ground in a chaotic world. And over those years, we flourished as individuals in a community of amazing humans. Trips were made to NYC, Texas, and California. Dinner parties were had, and games were played. All of which centered around sharing time with dear friends and family.
After three and a half years of dating, things started to look serious. Jory had been waiting for the “perfect moment” to pop the question. On a beautiful summer evening in Rochester, on the last day of the 2018 Rochester Jazz Festival, that moment finally came. At the 6x6 art exhibit at Rochester Contemporary Art Museum, we stumbled upon a wonderful painting of two cardinals, which was still available for sale. After seeing that the title was “Pair Of Cardinals”, Jory knew it was the right moment, and asked Valerie to "be his pair". Of course she said "YES!"
Our wedding day is about celebrating our love and devotion to each other, but it is also about celebrating the center of our love story: the love of our family who grew up with and beside us, guiding us into adulthood; and the friends that we have since chosen as family who continue to support us and to push us to never stop growing. We are so excited for what the future will unfold, and have faith that we will continue to grow with each other and our community.
Our wonderful friend and very talented photographer Avi (@avitheamazing) helped us mark our engagement by taking these wonderful photographs!
Wedding Party Only
Please contact the groom's parents, April and Jim Love with questions
Join us for craft cocktails (and food, if desired) at one of our favorite local places!
We say our I do's in the company of our friends and family on the shores of Irondequoit bay
Please note:
Our ceremony will be held outdoors (barring any severe weather).
Please dress appropriately!
Join the newlyweds for a cookout to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend
The Waterfront Lodge is on the eastern shore of Irondequoit Bay, just off of Empire Blvd in Webster.
If you use your GPS or Google Maps to get there, please be sure to select Abraham Lincoln Park Lodge, as directions to the park itself may take you to the wrong entrance.
Alternately, the link below should pull up directions in Google Maps:
Please Note: There is no overnight parking allowed at the venue.
Please plan your transportation accordingly.
For your convenience, we are providing $5 Lyft vouchers for trips to/from the venue
Please enter the following code in the Promos section of your Lyft app:
EASTERNBIRD2019
The event code can only be used once per person, so if you are able to carpool, one guest can use the code in each direction.
Here's what to expect on our wedding day
Dan is the wife of the Matron of Honor, Kelsey, and a wonderful musician. Allow his beautiful sounds to penetrate your ear-holes!
Paul is in a unique position to have met both Valerie and Jory before their relationship, and Jory and Valerie are honored to have him officiate their wedding.
Kelsey and Valerie go way back. Way waaaay back. They like to say they’re “soul-bonded” -- which might explain the hours long phone conversations and enduring friendship!
Alex is a wonderful, thoughtful and caring brother, and Jory couldn't possibly ask for a better person to stand by his side!
Valerie used to beat on Tom until he got bigger then she was. Good thing they still like each other! He's a quiet soul always up for adventure.
Haley is a strong independent spirit, and also she threatened to boycott the wedding if she wasn't my best woman (kidding!)
Jay was always the 'cool older brother'. Some things haven't changed. Plus he's got the biggest heart of anyone you'll meet.
Matt and Jory were roommates for several years at Congress Ave. Their friendship has grown ever since, partially due to Matt's enthusiasm (ask him about nuclear fusion!)
Tasha quickly bonded with Valerie and Jory after meeting Nick, the love of her life. They're glad she stuck around, as her drive and creativity is contagious!
Nick met Jory and Valerie at Indian Lake (albeit a few years apart), and regularly geeks out with them over technology, books, and the outdoors.
We could not be where we are today without the help of our parents.
School 31 Lofts is located near Village Gate. The lofts are booked through Airbnb. Click here to view available lofts
A group rate is available ($109 per night) at the Fairfield Inn and Suites. Please click here to book a room using the group rate. Please book by 5/3 to ensure you receive the group rate.
Here's a few things happening in the area over Memorial Day Weekend
So important, it deserves its own section!
While your presence at our wedding is the best gift we could ask for, if you would like to provide us with a physical or monetary gift, we are registered at the locations below
Help us make a house a home!
Help us explore Italy on our honeymoon! Check out our itinerary and planned activities
Help us capture the moment, tag your photos with the hashtag #easternbirdwedding
One of the biggest questions when getting married is what to do about last names. In most Western cultures, the bride takes the groom's last name as her own. However, this is a relatively recent phenomenon (past few hundred years) and is far from universal even today. We decided pretty quickly that this was not for us. But then our last names double-barrelled are quite the mouthful, and simply doing nothing didn’t feel right to us either. It was important to us to share a last name that had personal meaning and captured the important social changes happening in women’s rights and individual equality...
Then we found out that in New York State, it's possible to create an entirely new surname without difficult legal proceedings, as long as it contains parts of either of the newlyweds surnames. We thought that this was a wonderful way to ensure that we will continue to view ourselves as equals in marriage, just as we have in our relationship (read: do our part to smash the patriarchy). Plus, we thought it was just cool.
So we took what we consider the most "meaningful" part of our last names, Osterman (Man from the East) and Ptaszek (Little Bird), and merged them together to form a new surname for our future... Osterptak ... or, Eastern Bird!
