Michael Divito & Ylenia Hyrule
After 5 years together I, Michael, had decided to finally propose to my beautiful girlfriend. Being animal lovers and having always talked about going to the Bronx Zoo, we finally decided to go for our fifth anniversary, the day before my roommate moved out and my girlfriend (soon to be fiancee) moved in. We had an amazing time there and immediately after we met my brother in Manhattan at the newly renovated Highline. There I presented a scrapbook album of our memories as pictures, saved love notes, movie tickets, etc and on the last page I wrote a poem, omitting the last line of “Will you marry me?” which I then read with her and there after proposed. Now I am able to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.
Andre & Joy
Our engagement is a beautiful story that I will always hold dear to my heart. I was lucky because Andres’ proposal was a full day filled with love. I was awaken in the middle of the night on Feb 6th, 2014 by Andres who informed me that I should pack our bags the next morning since he had a special weekend getaway planned. I was extremely excited and assumed we were going to have a romantic weekend celebrating Valentine’s Day a bit early. I did as I was told, “packed for a cold weekend and drove into work that day.” Andres told me he would inform me of the details throughout the day. I was excited at work for what was to come. At 12pm, I received a gorgeous bouquet of rare spring flowers with a card that read “Will”. The most beautiful flowers I had ever seen and I was in awe. I assumed Andres was simply asking me to be his Valentine… “Will you be my Valentine” in a very elaborate way but I also hoped he had a more important question to ask. After calling him and thanking him for the beautiful bouquet he confessed his love to me over the phone and asked me to meet him at the Sagamore Hotel in Soho. I remember crying at work from his words because I never felt so loved in my life. I was also excited for a weekend in the city. So excited and nervous I bought a new pair of shoes on my lunch break. LOL I wanted to look perfect for him that evening. When I checked in, the concierge gave me another intricate bouquet with a card that read “You”. Awaiting for Andres, I went up to our gorgeous suite and put on a cute pink dress and tried my best to get ready but as I put on my makeup and did my hair my hands trembled with excitement. When Andres knocked on the door, looking very handsome, he escorted me downstairs where we took a car to a lovely Italian restaurant in the Meat Packing District. As we walked to the table, I noticed 3 dozen white roses on the table with a card that read “Marry”. A stream of tears ran down my face and Andres reacted with a smirk and said “I didn’t ask you the full question and it may take all weekend so let’s enjoy dinner.” We had an amazing dinner and then headed off to a lounge next door for some drinks and dancing. It was the perfect night. As we walked back into the hotel, I was telling Andres how beautiful and romantic the hotel entrance looked. The hotel had a long archway leading to the entrance with dripping plants and hanging lights. It looked very whimsical. As I kept walking and talking, Andres called my name and when I turned around he was on his knees holding a yellow rose and a card that said “Me”. He then opened a lit box with a gorgeous ring from Casale. Of course I said yes!!!! On February 7, 2014, we were engaged. It was such a beautiful and emotional moment. The rest of the weekend we enjoyed what the city had to offer, some wonderful dinners and made even more magnificent moments.
Francine & Danielle
THE HISTORY: The first time Francine and I met, was November 18th, 2009. I was on my way to class at CSI, and stopped by the library café. While I sat with a friend, I noticed a girl sitting across the room, looking at me. We had a moment, you know… THAT kind of moment. But neither of us approached one the other or went beyond across-the-room innocent flirting. After that class, a classmate asked if I could give her an extra copy of my paper because she knew a friend who would absolutely love it. In her comments on the draft she gave back (it was a workshop writing class), she gave me the girl’s name and to look her up on Facebook, as we “might” hit it off. A few days later I receive a message from a name I recognize as the one on the paper. It turns out, she was the girl staring at me from the library café! Without plan, without being set up, the universe’s designs aligned. We both immediately laughed and recognized each other – there were many late night text, phone call and facebook messages. . . but as they say, timing is everything – and when we were supposed to meet in person, Francine got scared, and ran for the hills! THREE TIMES! A bit of a bruised ego, I’ll admit, but something in my gut told me our paths would cross again. Cut to 2011: Seemingly enough, according to the universe, things have a funny way of working themselves out, and our paths crossed again. We reconnected on Facebook, and finally met in person this time! We had our first kiss on November 18th, 2011, two years to the day we flirted across the room…This time she planted her feet firmly on the ground. THE PROPOSAL: I planned for months about when, where, and how I was going to propose to Francine. Thanks to Casale jewelers, they hooked me up with a new ringbox that has a camera built inside to record the proposal. I gathered at least 100 of our closest friends and family members to hide out in the restaurant where we had our first date – 200 5th Avenue in Brooklyn – the first proposal to happen there. I asked 2 friend so sing and play “A Thousand Years” on guitar, while cousin and friends were on call to throw rose petals in the air simultaneously as a dear friend photographed this special moment from the surprised face to the tears that wouldn’t stop. On April 3rd 2015 – 8:30 p.m., the manager sat us exactly where Francine and I sat for our first date. She was a little oblivious – “oh wow, didn’t we sit here for our first date?!” YES! The manager waited on us, and handed us our menus of that day’s Specials with special titles for each entree, like “We’d Make a Great Team”, “Who’s Keeping Score”, “We Have Eternity”, “This One’s in the Bag”, “I Have My Game Face On”. As the manager read on down the list, Francine began to well up in tears because she was impatient and read ahead of him to the bottom, where it said “Francine, look up..” Thankfully we have it on video from that ring box, because the speech I fumbled giving and her “Yes” through sobs are a bit of a blue. The friends came out singing and playing and rose petals were being thrown into the air! I left Francine with them, and ran into the other room. Francine was led by the manager and the singing rose petal entourage parade into the bar area, to find all of our friends and family waiting there. Literally everyone crowded into a small room waiting for us – SURPRISE! She tells me she loves me like pi – which is an irrational number, continuing infinitely with no necessary pattern. And I tell her I love her like a repeating decimal – which is a number that repeats over and over again without ending. I think that I knew I loved Francine back in 2009 without even meeting her, by merely talking and exchanging with her through Facebook and seeing her pictures, and the way she loved life. I’ve not gotten over it since. That night in 2011, and April 3, 2015 – are two of the best nights of our lives.
Peter & Jesse
Peter and I have been together for years and live together so there was no big surprise. After going to see a few jewelers we loved Karen at Casale so decided to buy my ring from her. I chose the diamond and setting so when Peter went to go pick it up he came home and said, “I got the ring, do you want to see it?” Yeah so that’s it that’s us very simple people and just content.
Michele & William
Michele Fischetti-Campbell and William Catalano I never thought I would meet my best friend and soul mate on line, but it happened. Our first date was 11 hours. Second date was just as long. A couple of years later we are engaged. It was a tough time getting to this point. Not because of any type of problems with our relationship but my fiancé’s parents both had cancer. I was lucky enough to meet them before they passed away. I am happy that they both approved of our relationship. The proposal was not as my fiancé originally planned. He set up with several people at my job to propose when I was at work. The day before the proposal at work he changed his mind. He decided to propose with just the two of us at home. He wanted to be able to say everything without being interrupted . It was very romantic. It didn’t matter to me how he did it just that he did. He was happy that I said “yes”. We are looking forward to spend the rest of our lives together and making a lot more special memories in our life.
Zach & Veronica
We have a very unique engagement story. Back in 2012, me an. Zach entered a contest hosted by Casale Jewelers called Race for the ring. The contest in many ways mimicked the challenges of matrimony — sometimes working together, sometimes working apart, but always working toward the same goal. The competition was 3 months long, starting on Facebook, then to movie making , and lastly ending with 5 couples competing so this beautiful ring. With friends, families and camera crews in tow, we had to performed tasks that ranged from stuffing gift bags, setting an elegant dinner table and fitting together an awkwardly-shaped jigsaw puzzle. With sticking with the puzzle reference we are a perfect fit. After that long day of not believing we could win since we were trailing in 2nd all day, Zach pulled through on the last challenge and complete our puzzle. Not many couples can say they worked hand in hand to get engaged. Just like our engagement we hold the same values in our every day life. We stand by each other and work through things together. After a very long engagement, we finally tied the knot this past May!
Thomas & Thomasina
I’ve never been the type to use a dating website. In fact, whenever I saw online dating commercials with the “happy couple”, I laughed to myself and wondered how much they got paid to say all of that fake, cheesy, romantic, soulmate nonsense. Never in a billion years did I think that one day that would be me. After a few bad relationships and being hounded by my friends, I finally gave in and created an online account. Almost immediately, there was a match and his name was Thomas! Seriously… Thomas and Thomasina? It was meant to be, right? I was skeptical. Yet, here I am telling you the story of our engagement!! We clicked immediately and it all fell into place so perfectly. On our anniversary, my fiancé recreated our first date. We returned to the same restaurant for dinner. Afterwards, we grabbed drinks at the beach bar where we had originally kicked back a few, and danced the night away. The only difference was that this time my friends, as well as his brother and sister in law, were going to meet us for a few cocktails. My fiancé had asked me to hold his drink while he stepped outside to give them a call saying we were there and to head over. About 10-15 minutes went by and I started getting annoyed. Where the hell did he go? His sister-in-law walked in and my best friend was shortly behind her. She came over and gave me flowers, saying Thomas told her they were for me. What is going on? The DJ started playing our song, I look up and Thomas is walking towards me in a tuxedo! Extremely confused I blurted out “What the $!&# is he doing?” (Which I now regret since it’s on video!) Within seconds he was in front of me, on one knee asking me to marry him… and my response ladies and gentlemen, “I’m going to vomit!!!” No, seriously! My nerves, excitement and adrenaline got the best of me. Of course, after I stopped shaking, it was followed by a “YES!” The whole place went nuts, clapping and cheering for us both! I turned around and to my surprise both of our families and friends were standing behind us. My fiancé had planned for them to sneak in and see the proposal while all carrying bouquets of flowers for me. It was everything I had dreamed of! With the assistance of Cory Schifter and the staff of Casale Jewelers, my fiancé got the most beautiful ring for me. And, with the help of our family and friends, Thomas was able to make it such a special moment for us all to share! As for those cheesy girls that I always made fun of on commercials — you know, the ones talking about meeting the love of their life and future husband on a dating website… yeah, that’s ME!!
Eric & Jill
If you ask Eric and Jill how they are doing, their response is most likely “LIVIN’ THE DREAM”. It all started in 6th grade when Jillian fell head over heels, literally, because Eric decided it was a fantastic idea to jam a stick in Jillian’s bicycle tire. She flipped over the handlebars and everyone laughed…except for Jill’s mom. That didn’t keep Eric away though. On November 8th 2002, Eric officially asked Jill to be his girlfriend on the S.I. Railroad. Pre-snapchat and before selfies were a hashtag, Eric and Jillian attended different colleges and became “College Legends”. Post college and after being in love for 11 years, Eric and Jillian planned an adventurous road trip in California. The trip took a big turn when an urban wine trail in Santa Barbara turned into a night Jill would never forget. Eric proposed on the beach during sunset and the blurry pictures still remind them of how they felt during that beautiful moment.
Michael & Jaime
I was completely surprised and shocked when Michael proposed. After being friends for a lifetime and in a relationship for over 5 years, Michael proposed to me on May 24,2013. He chose that date because my softball number is 5 and his softball number is 24 so the proposal date is 5-24. Those are our favorite numbers of course! Michael dropped down on one knee during Memorial day weekend where we rented a house with friends on Lake Wallenpaupack. Michael had it all planned out to take me on his friends boat and popped the question. He even put a bottle of champagne in the boat to prepare but I refused to go on the boat. I thought that the weather was bad out and I was afraid of getting seasick. It was a miracle, that finally he was able to get me to go outside near the boat so he could propose on the dock or he may have had to wait til the next 5-24 date came around.
Maria & George
Maria and George’s fairytale love story goes back almost 20 years! They met for the first time in a third grade religion class. That very day when George’s mom picked him up from class, he told her there’s a beautiful girl named Maria that sits in front of him. A few years later in sixth grade they met again at I.S. 34. They started dating in eighth grade, and continued until they were 16 years old. That’s when Maria had to move to Florida. It was devastating to both Maria and George who were so in love at such a young age. Maria and George went their separate ways since Maria moved away. In 2011, after 8 years apart, George and Maria got back in contact with each other. They knew they were meant to be. After dating long distance for one full year, Maria moved back to Staten Island to live with George. On May 14, 2015, George and Maria took a trip to Vermont to climb their first mountain. At the top of Stowe Pinnacle, after a two hour hike, George proposed to Maria. And their fairytale love story continues…
Joseph & Toniann
Joe told me we were going to see the Broadway show Wicked and that we were staying in a hotel over night . Little did I know when we went to dinner he had the hotel staff put petals of roses from the floor to the bed. On the bed was heart shaped rose petals – as I entered I thought we were in the wrong room! As I turned around Joe was on his knee with the most beautiful ring – it was then he asked me to marry him ! We are so thankful to Casale Jewelers!
Stephanie & Chris
One random night, 20 years ago, Chris and I shared our first kiss. We were just kids at the time and had no idea that one day we’d meet again and marry. Each of us going through life, both married, had children and were later divorced. Sharing the same best friend we never fully forgot one another. Over the years we’d always ask our best friend Gina how the other was doing. One random night, Chris asked Gina if she minded if he requested me on Facebook (yes Facebook). She said of course I don’t mind and the rest is history! That very night we found out that we had soo much in common and we hit it off immediately. Gina was shocked at how in love we fell and only wished she thought of reconnecting us sooner. In a short time it was evident that not only were we perfect for each other but it was destiny. Our destiny. After just 6 months we knew we were meant to be together so we decided to move in together. We were the modern day Brady Bunch! Two of us very much in love and our 4 children under one roof. As in any normal family the next 4 years flew by and getting engaged was always on the back burner. The home and kids always came first until one day we decided to go see Cory at Casale. So you see the ring was no surprise. As a matter of fact the honeymoon was already booked. Still some how he managed to surprise me with the proposal and it was perfect. It was the last day of school (I’m a teacher) and said that our best friend Gina wanted to meet for drinks in Point Pleasant. I happily agreed. What better way to end the school year and start my summer than drinks on the beach with my favorite people. Once we got there I received a message from Gina saying they’d be late. No big deal we had a sheet in the trunk so we decided to “wait” for her on the beach. Once set up I began to relax. Sitting on the beach as the sun went down was a favorite thing of ours. I was laying down on the sand when it dawned on me that I wished Gina wasn’t coming and we were going to stay right there on the beach. Out loud I said, “I wish Gina wasn’t coming because I could stay right here all night”. My eyes were closed but I could hear him shifting and feel him moving to sit up. He started to speak and the next thing I knew he was proposing. Through tear filled eyes I could see my beautiful ring and the man that I adored with every fiber of my being. There was no question that I’d spend forever with this man…my destiny…my soulmate. The final thing he said to me before we went off to have dinner was “Gina was never coming”. Here we were, full circle….Gina, a friend to us both had somehow been a force that brought us together …together 20 years ago…together that fateful day he requested me on Facebook…and now together forever. One week later we married. July 3, 2014 I looked into his eyes and I knew that everything we’d both been through in the past needed to happen so that we could be brought together to finish out our lives beside the person that truly completed us. Some don’t believe in fairy tales but we are living proof of true love and that fairy tales do come true!
Sara & Vickash
On September 19, 2014 we went to Atlantic City to celebrate our 2 year dating anniversary at the Borgata Hotel and Casino. I was very suspicious because I knew he went to Casale Jewelers a few months ago. We went out to the casino that evening and then to dinner but nothing happened. I was disappointed because I thought for sure it would happen at dinner because he was acting a bit nervous. Plus I was extra dressed up for what I thought would be a moment I will never forget. After dinner he said lets go back to the room and relax before we hit the casino again, I was again feeling disappointed but I said okay that’s fine. In my head I was thinking maybe it will happen tomorrow. As I was opening the hotel room door I noticed a trail of red rose petals leading up to the bed. On the bed there were rose petals in the shape of a heart with an anniversary card in the center, I was so surprised! I read the card and it said the sweetest things, at the end of the card it said “I have just one question for you…” I turned around and there he was on 1 knee asking me to marry him. As he opened the Verragio ring box I saw my gorgeous Verragio Couture custom ring. I was glowing with happiness and of course I said “YES!” I was so excited and even happier that he was able to find a way to surprise me despite my suspicion and eagerness. I am currently planning our elaborate September 2016 wedding and cannot wait for the big event!
Kristine & DianaMy fiancé Kristine, always remembered June 12th as the anniversary of when she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Last year, I told her “Babe… We need a better memory for this day” which brings us to June 12, 2015… The year of a better memory! Having never gone, we had recently talked of going to Peter Lugar’s Steakhouse for the first time and I decided this would be the place. I started to get my ducks in order! First I spoke with my twin boys and received an overwhelming approval. Next, I asked her Mother for Kristine’s hand in marriage and received a million blessings. Finally, thinking I’m all ready with ring in hand, a surprise reservation at Peter Lugar’s and a photographer to capture the proposal when there’s a glitch…The release date for season 3 of Orange Is The New Black is announced and you guessed it…it’s Friday, June 12th. Being fans and after waiting a year for the new season, Kristine suggested we stay home with a nice cooked meal and binge watch OITNB! With my wheels quickly turning, I obtained the assistance of a colleague. He called to announce great news (wink, wink) apparently I was the winning ticket holder of an animal rescue fundraiser raffle, which I actually supported, and the prize was a gift certificate to Peter Lugar’s Steakhouse on Friday, June 12th. Pheww, she agreed to forgo OITNB for an undeniable fabulous dinner. We arrived at the restaurant, where the manager and staff were in on the plan, and proceeded to enjoy our wonderful meal and even better company…each others! I must admit, maintaining the 3 Cs…cool, calm & collected, wasn’t easy as she asked once or twice if I was ok. After the dessert arrived, I got down on one knee and proposed. Kristine was completely surprised!! She appeared confused and flabbergasted at first, however quickly realized what was happening and said YES!! Favorite quotes of the night… “Yes, I’ll marry you” “There’s someone taking pictures of us” “Wait…there’s no gift certificate is there?” Thank you. Hope you enjoyed our engagement story as much as we do.
Barbara Jane & Pawel
Our engagement story isn’t a traditional one, but it IS one that shows what a great team we are! By 2013, we had been dating for almost three years and knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Pawel wanted to get the most beautiful ring, plan the best proposal, do everything he could to make it extra special, but that was no easy feat. Around that time, someone told us about Casale Jewelers Race for the Ring contest. We hadn’t heard of it before, but it looked like a lot of fun and if it ended with us getting engaged then why not try it? And so we did. We entered the first round of the contest – a photo vote – using a picture of us dressed as Popeye and Olive Oyle for Halloween in costumes we made ourselves. It’s still one of our favorite photos! It was only after deciding to participate that we realized that we *might* have a problem. The final day of the contest we were supposed to be in Disney World on a vacation leading up to our best friends’ wedding. We decided that if we made it to the big race, we would figure out a way to get there. We made it to round 2 of the contest and this time we needed a video. It was a no-brainer what we would do! We reenacted the night we met – a chance meeting on the train that led to an exchange of numbers and our first date. Once we uploaded the video, we continued to bug our friends to vote for us until we made it to the final race. SO we made it, but what about Disney? Not wanting to miss our friends’ pre-wedding festivities for too long, we flew down to Florida, but bought round trip tickets that landed us back home at midnight on Thursday and would fly out on Friday afternoon – just enough time for us to Race for the Ring! The stakes were high, but we felt good about our chances. That morning, we had barely slept but were excited to find that the final leg of the contest was actually a RACE! We needed to walk, run, or take the subway all over the Times Square area to meet up with all of the contest sponsors and be the first ones back at the CW11 studios to win the ring. One thing we have in common is a love of running, and when Barbara saw the map, she knew we would be fastest on our feet! The minutes ticked by as we hit each checkpoint. We didn’t know if we were ahead or behind, but we kept pushing, running as fast as we could as the sun rose over the streets of Manhattan. As the finish line came into view, we could see Barbara’s dad jumping up and down, yelling and screaming that we were in the lead. We joined our hands and ran full speed the last three blocks to cross the finish line a mere 35 minutes after we started! After a flurry of phone calls to TURN ON THE NEWS, we got engaged live on television. When the reporters asked us what comes next, we shouted, “We’re going to Disney World!” We hurried to the airport to catch our plane and by that evening we were celebrating with many of our closest friends in Epcot! We’ve been married almost a year now, and our wedding day was the biggest and best party we’ve ever thrown. So much of it is thanks to Casale Jewelers and the team of vendors who we met through the contest, but it’s also because of our ability to work together and push each other to do our very best!
Michael & Marialaina
Mike had known from their first date that one day sooner then later that he was going to ask Marialaina to marry him, but first he needed to get permission from her father. After permission was granted the next two weeks consisted of phone calls and text that went back and forth that were all about planning, keeping secrets, and most importantly making the day absolutely perfect for Marialaina. On Saturday, Valentines Day 2015, Mike had come over to Marialaina’s house for a relaxing night before they left for their trip to Punta Canta early in the morning. However, when Mike came in he frantically ran straight upstairs to his room, and made up some story as to why he brought a suit for the trip. Of course he blamed it on his parents and she believed him, and went back to watching T.V.. Meanwhile, during this time Mike and Mr. and Mrs. Lavrigata were all upstairs looking at the engagement ring, that he would be placing on their daughters finger one week from today. At 4:00am Marialaina and Mike left for their vacation, which they had the time of their lives and not to mention escaped the freezing weather and snow storms. The couple returned home late Friday night, exhausted, and ready to get back to reality. Saturday, February 21, 2015 Marialaina woke up early as always, to start their laundry and to paint her nails. Hours went by and two loads of laundry completed, as Marialaina grew frustrated because she was doing all the work and Mike was just sleeping all day. Mike eventually came out of his room and said that he wants to go to Press 195 for lunch to finally have some good food. (Mike complained all vacation the food was terrible, just to play this off) Marialaina agreed since they LOVED this restaurant and it was the place they had their first date. How could she say no after him complaining all week? Mike began to rush her, and she was slowly becoming hangry. Her hair straightener wasn’t working, her coverup makeup exploded from the flight, and needless to say she was the one up early in the morning, doing chores around the house to add doing his laundry. Eventually, the couple left and headed into RVC. As they got out of Mikes pickup truck, he had a gift bag, and explained that it was a keepsake he got her to remember our vacation, and that Marialaina had to wait to the end of lunch to get it. So the couple had a delicious meal and truly enjoyed each others company as always. On Mikes return from the bathroom, he sat across from Marialaina and finally it was gift time. Mike handed the gift bag to Marialaina, and she pulled out a black leather photo album. Inside this album were all pictures that were taken together from day one of their relationship. Beneath some pictures Mike had made captions to explain the memory in the picture. Marialaina was nearing the end of the book when she came across a picture of when she was in the hospital of the two of them. Underneath, Mike had wrote “Through Sickness and Health”. It was at this current second that Marialaina began to question what was really going on. So she began to flip the pages quicker, and Mikes heart began to beat faster. She turned to the last page, and Mike moved closer. The page read “Marialaina, will you marry me?, check yes or no.” When Marialaina looked up from the book, Mike had placed the ring box on the table. She looked at the ring in the box, to Mike, and back to the ring. Mike began expressing his true love to Marialaina and asked her to Marry him. Before Marialaina gave her response she made sure that he Mike had asked for permission and that he did get her fathers blessing. When Mike replied with yes Marialaina said “YES!”. As the couple kissed and Mike placed the ring on her finger, what felt like an empty restaurant around them began to cheer and clap. Their waitress even snapped their picture off a Polaroid Camera that Mike had asked to do when he went to the bathroom. Marialaina and Michael were engaged, excited to start their journey to a life as husband and wife… But only after they celebrated with family and friends first.
James & Patty
Patty and I are both retired from the New York city Police Department . We both had worked years earlier on the lower East side of Manhattan where we knew each other but just in passing. We met Again at a Seventh Precinct reunion in Oct of 2011 and have been together since. Two years later on the anniversary of our meeting I along with my two kids took Patty to her favorite Restaurant on the Island Arirang . I wanted to include the kids in the proposal because she was joining a ready made family and to show her that she was an important part of it to us all. As the Hibachi Chef put on his show i nervously gave Patty the ring and then got on my knee . One year after that our house was washed out in Hurricane Sandy, After throwing out most of our belongings and rebuilding the house we knew that after that experience we could stick through anything. We were married on 12/13/14 and had a great reception with family and friends from all over the Country and England.
Joseph and Ellana Maria
It was the year 2002 and I was starting my sophomore year in a new school in Brooklyn. I was a shy 14 year old with braces in a new environment. Little did I know this was the year I was going to meet my soul mate and future husband. Joe and I spoke briefly in passing but it wasn’t until my junior year that we built a friendship in our Physics class. We both did poorly in that class, possibly because we were distracted by each other. However, we were both too shy to admit it. Fast -forward 10 years later our paths crossed again and we have been inseparable ever since. On a sunny St. Joseph’s Day (March 19th 2015) I arrived home from a long day at work to an envelope attached to the door. I opened it up to find the first love letter to a scavenger hunt. I thought to myself “How thoughtful of Joe to do this before he went to work.” As I followed the clues to each letter, I found myself stumped on the final clue. I was overwhelmed with emotions as to what was happening. After a few moments, I composed myself and realized the final clue was the code to the garage. Once the code was entered, the door slowly opened to reveal Joe on one knee with the magnificent ring in hand. At that moment my best friend and partner asked me to be his wife. I immediately accepted and Joe let out a sigh of relief. He was ecstatic that I accepted his proposal and relieved that I finally figured out the last clue.
Steve & Shannon
The night before my birthday, Steve surprised me by taking off of work so we could celebrate. As we drove to what I thought was just dinner with friends, he started making some weird turns, and eventually pulled up in front of the bar 5th and Vine (formerly Rhythm and Brews), which we happened to have met outside of almost 6 years ago. I was totally thrown off and could not figure out why we were stopping there, completely oblivious to what was about to happen. As he helped me out of the car, he explained that there was a reason why we were both standing there in the same spot that we had met. He told me that I changed his life that night and got down on one knee to ask me if I would spent the rest of my life with him. I was so overwhelmed with happiness and emotion that I immediately dropped down to my knees to hug and kiss him, completely unaware of the camera man coming out from behind the building, the cars honking on the street or the cheers coming from inside the bar. Once I was able to gain composure, Steve led me inside the bar to find our friend’s band (my favorite) playing “Wonderwall” (our song) and all our friends and family inside waiting for us. It turned out that Steve had not only planned the most beautiful proposal for me with the most beautiful ring, but he had also arranged to have my parents, who I had not seen in 2 months, come home early from Florida to be there with us. We spent the night dancing, singing and celebrating with all the important people in our lives and I could not have asked for anything more magical. Steve had really pulled out all the stops, creating for me my very own fairy tale.
Nicole & Chris
About two years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to make an OkCupid account. After many failed attempts, I gave it one last shot to try and meet someone “normal”. I came across Chris’ profile and my first thought was “oh my goodness his DIMPLES!” So I decided to message him and say “hey, what’s up? :)” and the rest is history. We went on our first date at a pizzeria, and talked for hours, it was like we had known each other for years. A few days later, I took him to my favorite spot, the Alice Austen house, where we had out “first kiss”, which in Chris’ eyes was a kiss on the cheek! We started dating on February 9, 2014. From the beginning, we both knew there was something between us that you read about in those mushy books about love at first sight. Ever since the first day we met, we have spent every single day together. It was fate, I fell in love with him almost immediately, and decided a week into dating was a good idea to tell him “I love you.” When he finally reciprocated (a week later) the rest was history. We were talking about spending the rest of our lives together sooner than most people ever would. We connected in ways I never dreamed would ever be possible. At 6 months, we were already living together, and it was like nothing in our relationship had changed, if anything we had grown stronger as a couple. On April 9, 2015, I had just come home from a really bad at work, and Chris was trying to get me to go on a walk by the water. I kept insisting I was too tired, but he convinced me anyway. So we went for a walk with our dog Midnight by the Alice Austen house, because he knows that’s my most favorite spot in the world. And right before we left, Chris took my hands and said to me “Remember how I said when I felt it, I would propose?” I was beyond confused, but I said “yes, why?” And he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Never in my life could I have ever pictured something so perfect. He has become my best friend, someone that no matter what happens, I can tell anything too. Despite my quirks, this man decided to love me, and I have absolutely no idea why, but I thank God every day for bringing him to me. I always tell him how he is my penguin, and how when penguins find their one true mates, they are together forever. And on May 28, 2017, we are getting married at Long Island Aquarium in front of 2 penguin statues with penguins for ring bearers! And I get to marry my penguin, my one true love.