Carol-Anne Drescher and Robert McMahon Carroll were musicians in the same wedding band for more than a year before their own love story began.
Both had joined the Dane Wright Band of Hank Lane Music, a production company that coordinates live bands, in April 2019 and met on their first gig that month at the Mansion at Oyster Bay, in Woodbury, N.Y. Mr. Carroll joined as the keyboard player, and Ms. Drescher is a singer for the group.
“We were filling a void for two members who got married to each other and moved,” Ms. Drescher said. “I found Rob intimidating, because he was very stone-faced and had a few tattoos.”
Mr. Carroll, though, was attracted to Ms. Drescher. “When I looked at Carol-Anne, I thought, ‘Uh-oh, I’m in trouble.’”
“Every time I tried to talk to Rob, he gave me one-word answers and didn’t engage,” Ms. Drescher, 32, said.
Mr. Carroll, 33, said he had found Ms. Drescher “too forward and loud.”
The two became friends that August when Mr. Carroll drove Ms. Drescher to her apartment in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood after a wedding job in Montauk, N.Y. During the three-hour ride, they discovered their shared interests in reading, weight lifting and alternative rock.
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They began chatting outside of work, by text and phone, usually late into the night. “We used to send each other memes or swap names of cool books we had read,” Ms. Drescher said. “Rob had become a part of my daily life, and eventually, we started hanging out in person.”
Ms. Drescher had recently moved to New York from Annapolis, Md., and Mr. Carroll, who lived in New Hyde Park, N.Y., helped her explore her new home. “Rob used to take me to museums like MoMA and his favorite bars and restaurants,” she said.
Mr. Carroll and Ms. Drescher also performed together at social and corporate events under the name Dane Wright, which is unrelated to their roles in the wedding band.
Their relationship turned romantic on Dec. 15, 2020, when they attended a mutual friend’s birthday party near New Hyde Park. “It got too late for Carol-Anne to take the train to Manhattan, so I offered for her to spend the night on my couch,” Mr. Carroll said. “When we got to my place, we talked and talked and couldn’t get enough of each other.”
At one point, Ms. Drescher grabbed Mr. Carroll’s hands and leaned in to kiss him. “I was worried about ruining our friendship, but the feeling was so strong,” she said. “Luckily, Rob was receptive and kissed me back passionately.”
Ms. Drescher knew she wanted to marry Mr. Carroll when she watched him sing the Chris Stapleton country love song “Tennessee Whiskey” at a wedding in January 2021. “His voice was beautiful, and he looked so sincere,” she said.
Ms. Drescher, who grew up in Annapolis, is a full-time musician who sings and plays several instruments, including the piano, drums, and bass guitar. She has a bachelor’s degree in music from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and another, in nursing, from Farmingdale State College on Long Island.
Mr. Carroll is also a full-time musician who sings and plays several instruments, including the piano, guitar and drums, and performs at Catholic masses and funerals in Long Beach. He has a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.
When wedding season slowed in February and March 2021, the couple got closer but kept their courtship a secret from bandmates. They spent their days at Mr. Carroll’s home, cooking, watching movies and reading books. “Carol-Anne pretty much lived with me without it being official,” Mr. Carroll said. “It was clear that we were soul mates.”
When weddings picked up again in late April, and the two had no doubt about their commitment, they let their bandmates in on their romance. That same month, they moved into an apartment in Westbury, N.Y.
They became engaged on Aug. 14, 2023. Ms. Drescher walked into their living room to find Mr. Carroll on his knees, holding a box with the diamond ring that they had picked out months before.
In May 2024, the couple bought what they described as their “dream home,” a waterfront three-bedroom colonial, in Lindenhurst, N.Y. In another milestone, Ms. Drescher graduated from nursing school; she plans to pursue a career in the field while continuing as a musician.
They married on March 7, before 140 guests at the Mansion at Oyster Bay, where they had performed in their first wedding together. Michelle LaRosa, who was ordained by After Hours Wedding Ministry, officiated.
During the reception, Mr. Carroll surprised Ms. Drescher and the crowd with a recording of a slow love ballad he had written for her, called “The One.” “The song is about finding that perfect person, which Carol-Anne is,” Mr. Carroll said.
