Back together again, and this time, it’s for good

Nov. 19, 2022, in Philadelphia

They met as sixth graders at Bunker Hill Middle School in Washington Township, N.J., but it was in Miss Lewis’ seventh-grade reading class in 2007 when Alex really noticed Amanda.

“I just remember seeing her and knowing instantly – oooh! That girl is exactly my type,” he said.

Everyone wanted to be around Alex, Amanda remembers. “He was very much the class clown, the one making jokes, while I was the more reserved bookworm.”

They swayed to the music together at the seventh-grade dance. Alex was the first boy Amanda ever invited to her house. And then one weekend, she had a bunch of people over to play video games and board games in the basement. “He lingered on the steps when everyone was leaving, and we had our first kiss,” she remembered.

By eighth grade, their romance had fizzled, but they remained friends. Freshman year at Washington Township High School, he was her escort in the cheerleader fashion show. They flirted a little. Then, in sophomore year, they fell into dating again. They went as a couple to the sophomore dance and he was her date for her Sweet 16. They were together every weekend until almost the end of summer. Then Alex told Amanda that he worried they were too serious for two 16-year-olds and they broke up.

By senior year, they got past the awkwardness. “We started talking again, being friends again, and texting every day again,” said Amanda.

Amanda, who is now 27 and teaches math at Rosa International Middle School in Cherry Hill, studied math education at the College of New Jersey. Alex, who is now 28 and a facilities support specialist for environmental consulting firm Integral Consulting, studied philosophy at West Virginia University. The friends still texted each other, and always got together with the old gang on school breaks. “He came to my parents’ house for dinner one night, and they have a pool and he would come over to go swimming,” Amanda said. He even visited her at college during their junior year. It was always platonic – both were dating people they met in college.

After graduating in 2017, both returned to Washington Township. In October 2018, the gang that had been pals since middle school met up once again at Ott’s On the Green. For the first time in years, both Amanda and Alex were single, and their friends were all contemplating whether they would get back together. They did not have to wonder for long.

“We kissed at the bar,” Amanda said. “And then we all went to his house afterward, and we kissed there, too.” There was no prior discussion, no should we or shouldn’t we, Alex said, they were just together again – and for good this time.

“I love his sense of humor,” Amanda said. “I’m a very naturally uptight person, and he definitely relaxes me and makes me more carefree and a happier person in general. We are always smiling and laughing and making jokes together.”

“I can be a little unserious, and I think Amanda motivates me to be the best version of myself, because I want to be the best for her that I can be,” said Alex. “We have always gotten along so easily, and we know each other so well. It just always felt right.”

In April 2021, Alex used AmazingCo to create a mystery picnic scavenger hunt in New Hope. He asked them to tell him the final answer – the picnic location – so he could have a friend there with her camera.

From site to site Amanda and Alex went, with some clues leading them to ceviche and baguettes and macrons, and finally, with supplies gathered, to a park on the outskirts of town.

“I was nervous,” Alex said. “I drank half our bottle of prosecco.”

Amanda hadn’t seen him drink like that before. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Are you OK?”

He knelt and answered her questions with one of his own. “Will you marry me?”

There was never a question that Amanda and Alex would marry at Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church in South Philadelphia. When she walked down the long aisle, Amanda followed in the footsteps of four previous generations: Her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents had all gotten married there, as did her sister and brother-in-law and many aunts and uncles.

“I have seen the photos of all of these generations of women in my family getting married in this church, and it was so exciting to be the next in line,” she said. “My grandmother passed when I was young, and I felt like a piece of her was there with me. And my grandfather was so excited to see me married there.”

“We were able to recreate some of the pictures that Amanda has of her grandparents and other family members from their weddings, and it really just makes those pictures timeless,” said Alex.

The couple had 18 attendants, including six people who have been their friends since middle school. Amanda’s niece, the flower girl, and nephew, the ring bearer, stole the show, though. Her nephew held a sign that read “Uncle Alex, just wait until you see her!”

The reception for 125 was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, where the bride and groom had their first dance to “Is That Alright” by Lady Gaga. The lessons they took didn’t make it any less nerve-racking, but it was also wonderful, Amanda said.

The dance floor was packed as the DJ played hits from their high school days and going back to the 1950s and ‘60s. It was all the more fun because Amanda hired sax player Jason Nelson – who she knows from college – to add a live performance element, Alex said.

On and off the dance floor, Amanda and Alex made a conscious effort to be together as much as possible. “I have vivid memories of us sitting together at our sweetheart table, just taking it all in together,” Alex said.

The couple spent a week in the Virginia mountains, hiking the Appalachian Trail and visiting wineries and restaurants. “After so much time worrying and stressing about the wedding, and what could go wrong, and deadlines and payments, it was nice to take a deep breath,” Alex said. “We made good use of the Jacuzzi.”

The couple bought their Merchantville home in March 2022 and have been doing a lot of renovations, learning as they go. A day of work often left them with energy enough only to order takeout and watch a movie, with black and brown tabby cat Marla on Alex’s lap and tortoise shell Prudence on Amanda’s.

Between renovations, wedding planning, and Amanda’s wrap-up of her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, it’s been awhile since they’ve had much time for other things. This spring and summer, Alex and Amanda plan to spend more time with friends and family and head down the Shore.

They dream of traveling to Europe one day, but a bigger dream comes first.

“Kids are next on the list,” Amanda said.

Both sets of parents have already volunteered to babysit.