SATURDAY MAY 12th AT 3PM
ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH • 7 RUTHERFORD PLACE, NEW YORK, NY 10003
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ELSA & MATT
Matt and Elsa met each other online through a dating website. Matt (uninspired by the dating scene in NYC) did a nationwide search for his top match and found Elsa (a grad student in Chicago). Matt asked her on a date to Cafe Skype and she fell head over heels. After a few painfully long weeks and hundreds of hours on the phone, Matt flew to visit Elsa in Chicago. O'Hare International Airport's baggage claim #5 will forever hold a special place in their hearts.
Long weekends were spent visiting each other. Frequent flier miles accumulated. Matt learned about Adivasi theology and inculturation; Elsa learned about sand. Ice skating turned to wet suit buying. Matt composed music for a horror film; Elsa graded horrible freshman English papers. New acquaintances became fast friends. They packed up thousands of books. Farewell parties were followed by welcome parties. They unpacked thousands of books. Matt toured the Polka circuit from New England to Guantanamo Bay; Elsa toured Indian churches, writing away. Exactly a year after their first fateful meeting, they regrouped at baggage claim #5 and decided to keep this adventure going.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Elsa is an advanced Ph.D. student in Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She has spent much of the past year in India doing ethnographic fieldwork for her dissertation. Elsa is also an approved candidate for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). After finishing her dissertation, Elsa hopes to combine her passions for pastoral ministry and higher education.
Matt is a composer who's written music for projects ranging from independent films to Google photos. He also plays the accordion in a polka band, and does video and media work for the Parish of Calvary ~ St. George's. In the summer ("which goes until December, right?"), Matt can be found sailing his Hobie 16 during the day and fishing at night.
 Our first meeting, at baggage claim #5 (O'Hare Airport). |  Matt met Elsa's grandparents on day #3. |
|---|---|
 Ice skating in Hyde Park |  Matt cut Elsa's hair on day #4. It's still the cut you'll see on the wedding day! |
 Elsa's first trip to New York: a New Years Noodles party to meet Matt's friends. |  Elsa's first trip to Long Island. The balloon followed them home. |
 Climbing trees |  Matt tastes dutch letters from the Jaarsma Bakery for the first time and is an instant fan. |
 Matt conducting the strings session for the score of "Clovehitch." |  The closest Matt will ever get to broccoli. |
 Meeting Elsa's parents for the first time at Minneapolis' finest dining establishment, Gorkha Palace. |  Recreating the prom we always wanted! |
 Elsa's first wetsuit; Matt's third. |  New York residents! (The DMV was all we'd dreamed of.) |
 Fun times with our downstairs neighbor / priest / little brother. #Mockingbird |  EPISCO-DISCO |
 Elsa's 10 year college reunion. UM YAH YAH! |  Floatiiiiii boiiiiii |
 We call it "fake boarding." |  Marty De-party Party |
 No comment. |  Packing up the moving truck! |
 Matt and his Slovak "Baba" always enjoy singing polkas together. |  6 months! Best card ever. |
 Finding "treasures" on the streets of NYC. |  Elsa dove right into life in NYC as a teacher for "Creative Arts Camp" at the Parish of Calvary ~ St. George's. |
 Blessing of the boat. (All that work on the hulls surely make it count as "new.") |  Washington Island in Wisconsin with Elsa's grandparents. |
 Came with the frame. |  Exploring the nests on Gull Island. |
 Katerskill Falls |  Elsa meets "Gram" for the first time. |
 Leveling the playing field. |  Elsa preaching at St. George's on Transfiguration Sunday. |
 Elsa catches some waves for the first time. |  Finally named the motor boat. |
 Chillin' |  The Hobie 16 and a shirtless wonder. |
 Fun in the sun! |  Matt's birthday with his parents. |
 Matt's birthday with his friends. |  Sometimes we make our own happy hour. |
 It's Marty Time! |  Elsa's goodbye party before she left for the fall in India. |
 Matt makes some Indian friends. |  Harvest time in India. |
 We spent the night in a tree house in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. |  Kayaking in Kerala's backwaters. |
 Matt built bookshelves for Elsa while she was in India. |  Elsa comes home from India. Matt welcomes Elsa home, with a sign that says "Welcome Home Elsa." |
 Elsa's books have a home! |  Christmas parties at the rectory, always full of surprises. |
 Matt and his niece Nora playing her favorite game, "Chef Funny Face." |  Christmas with the Jaarsmas. Matt's first time in Pella. |
 Winter sports |  Exactly one year later, back at baggage claim #5, we decided to keep this adventure going! |