Finding Love from Studio 1A at Rockefeller Plaza

Libby Leist, executive of NBC's "Today" show, had been single for years when host Jenna Bush Hager introduced her to Sayan Ray , who then proposed with the help of presenter Willie Geist.

Last year, around Valentine's Day, Jenna Bush Hager, host of the NBC's "Today with Hoda & Jenna" has embarked on a mission: to help her friend and co-worker Elizabeth Harrington Leist, who goes by the name Libby, find love.

"Jenna was talking about love during the pandemic and how people were coming together," Ms. Leist, senior vice president of "Today" and senior vice president of NBC News, said. "I was looking to meet someone."

Mrs. Leist, now 43, had been single for years then — “since I was 30,” she said. "I had been arranged with a million people who weren't working." She had also recently been promoted from her previous position as executive producer of "Today," which meant she no longer had to go to bed early and wake up at 3:45 a.m. open to new possibilities of encounters. "I was transitioning and gaining a new perspective," Ms. Leist said.

Although she discussed her love life with Ms. Bush Hager, Ms. Leist had never before been introduced by her. To research potential suitors, Mrs. Bush Hager contacted her fraternal twin sister, Barbara, and two friends. One of them was Emily Fisher, a fine art photographer, who had met Mrs. Bush Hager years ago through "Sunday Today" host Willie Geist. Ms. Fisher quickly responded with a suggestion: Sayan Ray, her husband's best friend.

Like Ms. Leist, Mr. Ray, 48, was going through a period of transition . In the summer of 2020, her previous marriage of 12 years ended in divorce. But he wasn't as keen on meeting new people. Father-of-two - daughter Shailey, 12 and son Kieran, 9 - Mr Ray said after his divorce 'making sure my kids were okay was my priority'. p>

His first reaction to Ms. Fisher's opening was that he wasn't ready. "Then she sent me a picture of Libby and I thought she was really beautiful and had a lovely smile and I could tell she was a good person," he said. "So I agreed."

ImageThe bride shares a few hugs with some of the children who attended the wedding.Credit...Benjamin Cleeton for The New York TimesImageThe groom and his daughter, Shailey Ray, at the reception, where the couple sat at a table with 13 children.Credit...Benjamin Cleeton for The New York Times at Harrison and Star Anywhere, a healthcare marketing agency in New York, invited Ms Leist on a date -you. She suggested they meet virtually, on Zoom, but he persuaded her to meet in person. "I wanted to get out of the house," he said.

Their first date, February 21, 2021, started in Central Park, where they walked around the tank. A coffee at Consulate, a restaurant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, followed.

...