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How ‘Snowmageddon’ led to $1,000 in parking tickets — and a priceless romance
Ten years later, Peter Cullen recalls falling in love during the winter storms of 2015.
For Peter Cullen, a thousand dollars in parking tickets was a small price to pay after finding Lindsey.
A few months before the historic winter storms of 2015, Peter met Lindsey through a mutual friend at Lulu’s. After an official date and a stroll to what he now refers to as “their bench” in Coolidge Corner, Peter realized that he was falling hard.
“It was a quick courting period,” said Peter. “We both realized that we were very interested in each other.”
But there was a bit of distance between them. Peter was still living with his parents in Needham after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, and Lindsey lived near Brighton along Commonwealth Avenue. The drive and the snow starting to pile up, but it didn’t stop Peter from spending as much time as he could with Lindsey.
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“I had a hockey stick and some ice skates in the back of my car. They were the tools of choice when I needed to widen out or elongate a parking spot,” said Peter.
Even though his hockey stick was a “quirky” and “efficient” tool to clear out parking spots, the city did not care for his parking style. He began to get parking tickets, and ignored them.
“Lack of ‘legal’ parking was the last thing I was going to let stop me from seeing my new boo,” said Peter. The city sent a letter to his family’s Needham home where he reassured his parents that he pay the parking tickets.
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“[The car] was registered to my parents, which was a selfish and carefree mindset to have but the con does not outweigh the pro,” said Peter. “As long as I’ve got the keys I am going to continue going into the lion’s den of Brighton.”
Instead of paying the tickets, he continued to dedicate all of his time and income to wooing Lindsey as the ‘snowmageddon’ set in.
“I accrued so many that they were sitting in the center console of my car. When I was looking to park and getting exasperated, I would find a really marginal spot and take out a recent parking ticket to put on my windshield in hopes of it acting like a decoy,” said Peter.
In total, Peter racked up more than 15 tickets.
For Valentine’s Day in 2015, Peter decided to go to La Morra in Brookline after hearing that it was one of Tom Brady’s favorite spots. After a romantic meal, they found a taxi to take them back to Lindsey’s apartment.
The snow began to pile up and the couple planned to spend the weekend together with Lindsey’s roommate, later their maid of honor, playing Heads Up! and mixing Bloody Marys.
The two laughed and talked for hours while the snow poured down. In a moment of privacy, Lindsey looked at Peter and asked why he hadn’t officially made her his girlfriend yet and he melted.
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“It was a really special moment that we look back on fondly,” said Peter. “Being our true, silly selves is something that defines our relationship.”
After the snowfall ended, the pair looked forward to getaways. The first was a birthday trip to Newport where Peter planned a picnic for Lindsey; another was to Jay Peak in Vermont to celebrate Valentine’s Day and their one year anniversary.
The two married in September 2021 at the Bradley Estate in Canton and had a daughter in October 2023. Peter is looking forward to taking his daughter sledding near their Roslindale home and continue to grow with his family.
“There’s still so much more coming. We’re going back to Newport to celebrate ten years together,” said Peter. “I shouldn’t even have to say that those parking tickets were the thing that sealed the deal. My devotion to her was made clear by disregarding close to a thousand dollars which was, at the time, a lot more money than I had available.”
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