About Us

We met in 2007 at the Palais Royale on Jefferson Street in Albany. Liz’s friend had been set up on a blind date with Charlie’s friend, and we were each recruited as back up. While the blind date was a flop, we stayed and played darts until late that night. Within a month, we went on our first date at Justin’s on Lark Street, where Charlie corrected Liz’s pronunciation of “espresso.” At least Liz knew what she was getting into from the beginning.

By 2008, we had moved into our first apartment together on State Street. The back deck overlooking Chestnut Street was home for many summertime barbecues, filling the neighborhood with the smell of slow-smoked ribs. On August 28, 2011, just before Hurricane Irene plowed up the East Coast, we went for a walk in Washington Park. Charlie proposed to Liz across the pond from the boat house.

After making it official and three years in our fun but crammed apartment, we started looking for a house. On December 9, 2011, we closed on our home in Albany’s Upper Washington neighborhood. On January 11, 2013, we welcomed our beautiful Sophie. And on June 14, 2015, our cute little Lucy joined us.

On March 11, 1972, Pat Schwingel married Larry Liddington. On that same day, Jessie Ballard married Edward Albanetti. We had to wait 7 years for the date to fall on a Saturday, but it wouldn’t have been right to get married on any other day. We’re looking forward to celebrating our parents’ 45th anniversary with them.