Mat and Amy met in a very old-school way: at a house party, introduced by a mutual friend. Amy had moved to Syracuse for graduate school less than forty-eight hours earlier. Following a night of live jazz music, Felipe, a friend from college – who had not-so-subtly suggested even before she moved that she might get along with his friend Mat – argued that the night was young, and they might as well go to a social dance house party. The night, in fact, was not young; the party was winding down by the time they arrived. But still, it was there that Amy first saw her future husband: bathed in the golden light of an IKEA lamp, draped over an armchair at the end of the night, already very sleepy.

But a week or so later, at a daytime dance event, conversation started to flow. Over the next month, Mat and Amy attended local jazz shows, open mics at Funk ‘n’ Waffles (featuring performances from some of the wedding band members!), and as many swing dance events as they could find in the area. And after about a month, they decided to give good old-fashioned dating a try. It turned out dancing wasn’t the only thing they had in common: they both loved science fiction and fantasy, adored good animation, and liked a night in with friends and a board game.

Fast-forward seven years, a house, two cats, a dog (gone too soon), and an entire Ph.D. later, Mat and Amy are still dancing, still geeking out, and still collecting far too many hobbies for any one couple to handle. They are excited to continue doing so forever!