Andrew Douglas Ousley and Fay Eva Leshner met via mutual pals on Aug. 9, 2014 whereas having cocktails on the now-closed Portuguese restaurant Pão! in SoHo. They bonded immediately, as artistic New Yorkers typically do.
Ms. Leshner, 35, is a contract trend stylist and designer from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Mr. Ousley, 40, who’s from Midtown Manhattan, owns Unison Media, a publicity and branding company for classical musicians. He additionally runs Demise of Classical, a New York-based nonprofit group that presents classical music concert events in crypts, catacombs and cemeteries.
“Fay was charismatic, had a enjoyable presence and a ardour for all times that got here out instantly,” Mr. Ousley stated.
Ms. Leshner stated she was “so comfy being with him, I turned my inappropriate foolish self.”
A primary date passed off 4 days later on the Amor y Amargo, Mr. Ousley’s favourite cocktail spot within the East Village. Though Ms. Leshner arrived an hour late, Mr. Ousley remained unfazed. The pair had a drink, then went to Raoul’s bistro in SoHo for dinner.
A second date adopted, then a 3rd. The couple moved swiftly, making a relationship rhythm involving New York nightlife, cooking, music, pals and events.
Their first main bump occurred in February 2017, when Mr. Ousley accepted what he referred to as “a as soon as in a lifetime gig” performing guitar and singing on a six-week cruise to Antarctica. With little Wi-Fi out there and few alternatives to speak, every felt disconnected.
“We actually struggled,” Mr. Ousley stated. “I needed to forgive myself for taking this loopy journey and for not being there when Fay wanted me, as a result of she was going via some household points, and to forgiving her when she obtained indignant at me for not being there.”
Ms. Leshner’s father was sick and she or he stated, “I needed Andrew was there with me, moderately than distant. I missed him deeply and realized he was price combating for.”
When Mr. Ousley returned on the finish of March, the couple shortly closed the hole created by their separation, and in July 2017, moved into their first house collectively, a two-bedroom in Lengthy Island Metropolis, Queens. For 18 months, their relationship thrived. However then Mr. Ousley fell deeper into his work, and their relationship started declining.
“I overlooked us and the life we had been sharing,” Mr. Ousley stated. “I spotted I’d been prioritizing the fallacious factor, and refocused on Fay and myself.”
Ms. Leshner stated she had felt secondary to Mr. Ousley’s work. “Once I introduced that up, he shut down,” she stated. “He felt misplaced however not gone. I didn’t wish to abandon him and gave him the prospect to vary, which he did. He made time for me, shocked me with plans and flowers. I felt necessary and observed once more.”
The pandemic introduced an appreciation for his or her shared isolation and the life they’d constructed collectively, then a transfer to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in July 2020 supplied the couple a recent begin.
Mr. Ousley proposed in Monsignor McGolrick Park in Greenpoint on Aug. 13, 2021. Because the couple strolled, he steered Ms. Leshner previous a musician who was taking part in a music he had written years in the past for Ms. Leshner on a guitar and had secretly employed. Mr. Ousley whistled alongside, then sang and danced. A videographer, photographer and a trumpet participant, who had been hiding within the bushes, then appeared.
“We by no means talked about getting married or if we wished to,” stated Ms. Leshner, who replied sure, and was “blown away with good feelings. I used to be crying and dizzy and overwhelmed with pleasure.”
The couple had been married June 1 on the Church of the Holy Trinity on the Higher East Aspect, with 50 members of the family and shut pals attending. Mr. Ousley’s father, the Rev. Canon John Douglas Ousley, an Episcopal priest and an honorary assistant priest on the church, carried out the ceremony.
Two days later, round 270 friends hailed the newlyweds on the Nice Corridor, an underground house in St. Mary’s Catholic Church on the Decrease East Aspect. They celebrated with a cabaret-style wedding ceremony ceremony full with a swing band and theatrical performances. Everybody danced till 1 a.m. whereas having fun with Manhattans and martini cocktails.
“Fay has opened my world deeper than anybody I’ve ever met,” the groom stated. “She’s taught me how household works, and learn how to love emotionally and unconditionally.”
The bride spoke equally. “We each discovered learn how to be with one another and to be emotionally upfront,” she stated. “I really feel protected and beloved.”
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